Why are state and local government officials in North Dakota freaking out about peaceful protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline? It's because the protesters are challenging economic development amidst a tanking state economy, plain and simple.
North Dakota “has been the economic envy of every state in America for most of the past decade” according to Bloomberg. North Dakota had the lowest jobless rate, the highest increase in personal income, and the fastest-growing population, added Bloomberg, the result of the fracked tar sands oil boom that made North Dakota second only to Texas in domestic oil production.
But as you would expect from a boom-and-bust product, the market for North Dakota oil has tried up, the state's economy has collapsed, employment has plummeted, and the state has a $1 billion budget deficit.
Finding more markets for North Dakota oil would help reverse this free-fall. That's where the oil pipelines come in. DAPL says it would create 8,000 to 12,000 local jobs across its route during construction, plus lots of on-going local tax revenue. It is not surprising that North Dakota officials eagerly want this revenue, and officials in all four states like the idea of income that does not result from taxes on voters.
THAT is why the local authorities are so vehemently on the side of the pipeline company.
As I have said before, I believe we need to get off fossil fuels as a primary energy source. We need to do this because we are running out, because they cause global warming, and because renewable energy is simply a good idea.
Pollution of drinking water and tribal rights are important, but there is considerably more justification to NOT build new fossil fuels infrastructure.
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