<p><div class="image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/51f925b66bb3f70e5200000d-1200-800/174480636.jpg" border="0" alt="Williston North Dakjota" /><p class="source"><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/gas-flare-is-seen-at-an-oil-well-site-on-july-26-2013-news-photo/174480636#">Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images</a></p></div></div></div>Advancements in pulling oil out of shale changed North Dakota forever in 2008, and no place is that change more evident than the city of Williston.</p>
<p>Like a modern-day gold rush, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/young-man-chases-the-american-dream-in-williston-2012-3">workers have flocked to Williston for work and paychecks</a> that can't be found anyplace else in the U.S. The hours on the job here ensure that even a modest hourly wage can bring in $100,000 a year doing anything from working a rig to driving a truck.</p>
<p>But this economic largesse comes with a cost as the population has doubled in size since 2010, residents have been forced from their homes by doubling rents, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/boomtown-girls-and-the-williston-strip-club-2012-4?op=1">a transient workforce shifts the city's focus</a>.</p>
<p>When <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/youve-never-seen-anything-like-the-williston-oil-boom-2012-3?op=1">Business Insider went to Williston in March of 2012</a> the city had accepted the challenge before it, and the amount of work it would take to grow. The following photos show Williston's progress since our visit last year.</p>

This Boomtown Has So Much Money It Burns Off $100 Million In Natural Gas A Month [PHOTOS]

<p>Things are a bit lopsided in <keyword id="824183" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="North-Dakota">North Dakota</keyword> when it comes to collecting tax revenues from the state's explosive <keyword id="6359072" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="oil">oil</keyword> boom.</p>
<p>T<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">he state government — headquartered of course, in the city of Bismarck — collects a full 89 percent, while local communities take the paltry remains.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://headwaterseconomics.org/energy/western/unconventional-oil-and-north-dakota-communities/">Here's the table</a> from Montana-based Headwaters Economics, with three other states' breakdowns shown for comparison:</p>
<p><div class="image-container" style="width:620px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/513a3d7d6bb3f71d03000002-750-621/harvest%20state%20local%20oil%20tax%20revenue%20table.png?maxX=620" border="0" alt="harvest state local oil tax revenue table" width="620" /></div><p class="source"><a href="http://headwaterseconomics.org/energy/western/unconventional-oil-and-north-dakota-communities/">Harvest Economics</a></p></div></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">As a result, some cities at the heart of the state's oil boom are in danger of going bankrupt, </span><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-27/north-dakota-fracking-boom-leaves-oil-hub-a-bust-muni-credit.html">according to Bloomberg's Jennifer Oldham</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">.</span></p>
<p>The situation is compounded by the distribution formula the state uses to send money back to counties where the drilling takes place, Headwaters' Mark Haggerty told us by email.</p>
<p>While ground-zero areas where the drilling actually occurs have fared better, cities and counties that ring those areas — and often bear most of the costs — get practically nothing.</p>
<p>"We call this issue 'jurisdictional unevenness' but in English it just means that revenue goes to the place of production, not necessarily to the place of impact," he says.</p>
<p>The only silver lining may be that the oil boom has been so huge the state ties with Wyoming for most revenue generated from a given Bakken-type well: $1.5 million in the first 35 months, according to Headwaters' report.</p>

North Dakota Is Cleaning Up On The Oil Boom, But Some Cities Are Feeling Cheated

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:940px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/50f7fc2b69beddff50000003-2000-1500/img_7413-1.jpg?maxX=940&amp;maxY=705" border="0" alt="Heartbreakers Williston Strip Club" width="940" height="705" /></div><p class="source">Robert Johnson - Business Insider</p></div>Early last year in Williston there had been too much attention focused on the local gentlemen's clubs for any strippers to talk with me about what they earned, but apparently that's changed.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/us/16women.html?hpw&amp;_r=1&amp;pagewanted=all&amp;">John Eligon from The New York Times</a> just visited the North Dakota boomtown and one visiting dancer says she often earns more than $1,000 a night. That may be a conservative estimate as word last year was dancers were making <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/25/pf/America_boomtown_strippers/index.htm">two to three times</a> that amount, but club owners were concerned with IRS attention and prohibited employees from speaking to the press.</p>
<p>With nearly two men for every woman, tension and opportunity often run high. Eligon tells the story of a local 22-year-old woman bar patron offered $7,000 for a few hours of nude cocktail service. The five guys making the offer just wanted to spice up their mixed martial arts viewing, anything to cut the monotony, lack of women, and long hours in the fields.</p>
<p>Back in New York last year Williston resident Kelsey Nehring contacted me offering insight into what working at one of the strip clubs, and her life, was like. She sent most of the following pictures.</p>

Strippers Can Earn $350,000 A Year In This Oil Boomtown Club [PHOTOS]

<p>Here's a reason to stop complaining about the rent on your New York apartment.</p>
<p>According to apartment-finding website <a href="http://www.apartmentguide.com/" target="_blank">Apartment Guide</a>, Williston, North Dakota, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/williston-north-dakota-most-expensive-rents-2014-2">an oil town that's seen explosive growth in the last few years</a>, was the most expensive place in the country to rent an entry-level apartment.</p>
<p>The company looked at the average cheapest rent price for every town in the U.S. on December 31, 2013, meaning it took the price of each apartment community's least expensive floor plan and averaged them for each Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA).</p>
<p><a href="http://www.apartmentguide.com/blog/williston-nd/">According to Apartment Guide</a>, a 700 square-foot, one bedroom apartment in Williston can cost upwards of $2,000 a month - more than many apartments in New York or San Francisco.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">These 10 cities topped the list, with average monthly rents for entry-level apartments:</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">1. Williston, ND </span><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">($2,394)</strong></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">2. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA <strong>($1,881)</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">3. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA<strong> ($1,776)</strong></span></p>
<p>4. Dickinson, ND <strong>($1,733)</strong></p>
<p>5. Key West, FL <strong>($1,640)</strong></p>
<p>6. <span>Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH <strong>($1,537)</strong></span></p>
<p>7. <span>New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA <strong>($1,504)</strong></span></p>
<p>8. <span>Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA<strong> ($1,411)</strong></span></p>
<p>9. <span>Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA <strong>($1,387)</strong></span></p>
<p>10. <span>Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, CA <strong>($1,346)</strong></span></p>
<p>Hover over the interactive map to see all the regions included in Apartment Guide's results, or visit <a href="http://www.apartmentguide.com/blog/williston-nd/" target="_blank">Apartment Guide</a> for the full report.</p>
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MAP: The Most Expensive Places To Rent An Apartment In The US

<p><img class="float_right" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/530d1b6369bedda010777d14-1200-924/north-dakota-state-sign-1.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="north dakota state sign" width="480" />In a recent Gallup ranking of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/happiest-states-in-america-2014-2" target="_blank">happiest states in the U.S.</a>, North Dakota shot up the list from number 19 to number 1, ousting <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-hawaiians-are-so-happy-2013-2">longtime frontrunner Hawaii</a>.</p>
<p>It ranked as the top state in both work environment and physical health, and was ranked 2nd in emotional health and 4th in life evaluation.</p>
<p>A big reason for North Dakota's success on this year's list has been a boom in job growth. For the fifth year in a row, the Midwestern state was number 1 in employee perceptions of job creation at their workplaces in 2013, <span><span><a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/167126/north-dakota-leads-job-creation-fifth-straight-year.aspx">as measured by the Gallup Job Creation Index</a>.</span></span></p>
<p>North Dakota has also benefitted from a surge in its oil industry (look no further than its boomtown of Williston), and has the sixth-highest per-capita personal income in America, according to a new <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/check-out-north-dakotas-stunning-climb-to-one-of-the-top-10-richest-states-in-the-union-charts-2013-6" target="_blank">payroll-to-population state ranking</a>.</p>

What Life Is Like In North Dakota, America's New Happiest State

<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Nine in ten of America's fastest-growing counties by population are in states that went for Mitt Romney in November, <a href="http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb13-46.html#rankings">according to new Census data</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> Only Fredericksburg, Virginia made the cut among blue states. Growth in the rest was largely driven by America's oil boom, the <keyword id="6372870" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Census">Census</keyword> said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The data's for July 2011 through July 2012. </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Here's the list:</span></p>
<table style="width: 645px; height: 335px;" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr><th scope="col" width="67"> </th><th scope="col" width="404"> </th><th scope="col" align="center" width="167">Percent Increase</th></tr>
<tr>
<td>1.</td>
<td>Chattahoochee, Ga.</td>
<td align="center">10.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2.</td>
<td>Williams, N.D.</td>
<td align="center">9.3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3.</td>
<td>Geary, Kan.</td>
<td align="center">7.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4.</td>
<td>Richland, Mont.</td>
<td align="center">6.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>5.</td>
<td>Stark, N.D.</td>
<td align="center">6.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6.</td>
<td>Fredericksburg, Va.</td>
<td align="center">5.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7.</td>
<td>Long, Ga.</td>
<td align="center">5.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>8.</td>
<td>St. Bernard, La.</td>
<td align="center">5.3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9.</td>
<td>Russell, Ala.</td>
<td align="center">5.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10.</td>
<td>Midland, Texas</td>
<td align="center">4.7</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Meanwhile, eight in ten metro areas (population 50,000 or more) are in red states. And the two that aren't are both in the same state, Florida.</span></p>
<p>Here's the list:</p>
<table style="width: 591px; height: 327px;" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>1.</td>
<td>Midland, Texas</td>
<td align="center">4.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2.</td>
<td>Clarksville, Tenn.-Ky.</td>
<td align="center">3.7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3.</td>
<td>Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Fla.</td>
<td align="center">3.6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4.</td>
<td>The Villages, Fla.</td>
<td align="center">3.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>5.</td>
<td>Odessa, Texas</td>
<td align="center">3.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6.</td>
<td>Jacksonville, N.C.</td>
<td align="center">3.3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7.</td>
<td>Austin-Round Rock, Texas</td>
<td align="center">3.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>8.</td>
<td>Casper, Wyo.</td>
<td align="center">3.0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9.</td>
<td>Columbus, Ga.-Ala.</td>
<td align="center">2.9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10.   </td>
<td>Manhattan, Kan.</td>
<td align="center">2.8<br /><br /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>The percentage is even larger for micro areas — Pullman, Washington, home of Washington State University, is the lone blue state representative:</p>
<table style="width: 660px;" border="0"><caption> </caption>
<tbody>
<tr><th scope="col" width="67"> </th><th scope="col" width="404"> </th><th scope="col" align="center" width="167">Percent Increase</th></tr>
<tr>
<td>1.</td>
<td>Williston, N.D.</td>
<td align="center">9.3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2.</td>
<td>Junction City, Kan.</td>
<td align="center">7.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3.</td>
<td>Dickinson, N.D.</td>
<td align="center">6.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4.</td>
<td>Andrews, Texas</td>
<td align="center">4.7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>5.</td>
<td>Vernal, Utah</td>
<td align="center">4.1</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6.</td>
<td>Heber, Utah</td>
<td align="center">3.8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7.</td>
<td>Elk City, Okla.</td>
<td align="center">3.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>8.</td>
<td>Elko, Nev.</td>
<td align="center">3.5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9.</td>
<td>Pullman, Wash.</td>
<td align="center">3.4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10.</td>
<td>Fort Polk South, La.</td>
<td align="center">3.2</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

The Fastest Growing Cities And Counties In America

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/566ef6532340f827018b56ce-3500-2410/rtr29gat.jpg" alt="pro-fracking fracking shale oil protest" data-mce-source="Hans Pennink/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Alex Knapp (L) and his father Albert Knapp of Berkshire, hold placards as they protest in favor of the drilling process of hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas at the Capitol in Albany, New York January 25, 2010." /><p class="source"><span>Hans Pennink/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Alex Knapp (L) and his father Albert Knapp hold placards protesting in favor of fracking in 2010.</p></div><p></p></div></div>A new study in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/jes/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/jes201581a.html">Nature</a> published on Wednesday confirms an opinion long held by experts: that chemicals in fracking fluids and wastewater can pose serious risks for reproductive and developmental health. </p><p>This comes on the heels of a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041008X15300375">Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology</a> study from October, which first analyzed the connection between the toxicity of solids dissolved in fracking fluids and changes in the cells of mammals.</p><p>The authors of that study found elevated levels of harmful barium and strontium (metallic chemical elements) in cells exposed to the fracking fluid and wastewater, which were linked to the growth of malignant tumors. </p><p>The new study, in Nature, takes this one step further, by analyzing 240 of the known chemicals in fracking fluids. The evidence they found is shocking: 43% of the analyzed chemicals have <a href="http://www.ceh.org/news-events/press-releases/content/fracking-chemicals-linked-serious-reproductive-developmental-health-risks/">reproductive toxicity</a>, and are linked to problems including birth defects, infertility, reduced semen quality, and miscarriages. And 40% of the analyzed chemicals pose problems for developmental health, which can stunt fetal development and may cause premature or delayed sexual development later in life. </p><p>Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a method used to release oil and natural gas from tight rock formations deep underground. Fluids are injected deep into the earth at pressures high enough to fracture the rock surrounding the oil and natural gas deposits, allowing the fuel a clear path to the surface. </p><p>The fluids - <a href="http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/whats-fracking/faq/fracking-fluid">toxic slurries</a> of water and volatile organic compounds like benzene - are the primary cause of health impacts when they leach into groundwater supplies used for drinking due to improper storage, disposal, or work-site accidents. </p><p>It's a crucial sticking point for an industry that's had massively <a href="http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/01/frackings-future">positive economic impacts</a> across the U.S.</p><p>An <a href="http://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-07/documents/hf_es_erd_jun2015.pdf">Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report</a> on fracking safety released this past June that first looked at the effects of fracking fluid on drinking water found that the amount of contaminated drinking water wells was slight when compared with the overall number of fracked wells. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55319abc6da811d0258b4567-3587-2604/ap77668587737.jpg" alt="fracking" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast" data-mce-caption="In this June 9, 2014 photo, drivers and their tanker trucks, capable of hauling water and fracking liquid line up near a natural gas burn off flame and storage tanks in Williston, ND." /><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast</span></p><p class="caption">In this June 9, 2014 photo, drivers and their tanker trucks, capable of hauling water and fracking liquid line up near a natural gas burn off flame and storage tanks in Williston, ND.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>However, the EPA study does admit that insufficient long-term data on pre and post fracking water quality could have limited their results.</p><p>The Nature study, then, plays a critical role by highlighting exactly which chemicals in fracking fluids and wastewater are harmful. This will allow the EPA and other regulatory agencies to include these toxic chemicals in future analyses, and ultimately create up-to-date safe drinking water standards in fracking areas. </p><p>Though the hydraulic fracking industry is seen as a boon for American energy production, it's had a tough year. From numerous reports of <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/oklahoma-oil-firm-resists-call-to-shut-down-wells-amid-earthquake-concerns-1451989802?mg=id-wsj">earthquakes in Oklahoma</a>, to the <a href="http://insideclimatenews.org/news/07122015/methane-emissions-texas-fracking-zone-90-higher-epa-estimate">methane-spewing</a> fields of West Texas, it's evident that we need more research to get a better understanding of fracking's negative health impacts. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/map-major-us-oil-gas-energy-pipelines-2015-12">Animated map shows all the major oil and gas pipelines in the US </a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="NnaWRleTrxSh1MYgEFvTy9yUpzJwBOMZ" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'NnaWRleTrxSh1MYgEFvTy9yUpzJwBOMZ',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

We're finding out more and more about the worrisome link between fracking and health

<p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57f7d4319bd9782a188b5696-2400/trump energy 4x3.png" alt="Trump Energy 4x3" data-mce-source="Skye Gould/Business Insider" /><p class="source"><span>Skye Gould/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Solving America's energy problems, like reducing dependence on foreign oil and moving the country to a lower-carbon economy, will be a major election issue and a top priority for the next president.</span></p><p>Donald Trump's energy plan, is short on specific details and <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/an-america-first-energy-plan">spends a lot of time</a> calling out "extremist" Clinton. Trump's plan is supremely focused on American "energy independence" at all costs, and he's fully supportive of deregulating fossil fuels. </p><p>For his part, Trump supports "rational" environmental concerns but not at the expense of decreasing fossil-fuel production in the US. Trump called clean energy incentives "a disaster" during the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/clinton-trump-debate-live-blog-watch-stream-2016-9">presidential debate</a> at Hofstra University in September.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57f6e1989bd978e7018b55f6-2400/trump_energy.png" alt="Trump_Energy" data-mce-source="Skye Gould/Business Insider" /><p class="source"><span>Skye Gould/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>Renewable energy</h2><p><span>Clean technology - solar, wind, and hydroelectric - is a rapidly growing sector of the US economy. </span></p><p>Donald Trump has supported ramping up fossil-fuel production as a vehicle for job growth and feels it will lead to a "resurgence in American manufacturing." </p><p>Trump's campaign cited a study from the Institute of Energy Research (IER), a nonprofit that <span>conducts research on government regulation in energy markets, to support his claims. According to IER, lifting regulations on American energy production will amount to a $700 billion increase in annual economic output. </span></p><p><span>The IER's study was authored by <span>Dr. Joseph Mason, the <span>Endowed Chair of Banking at the Ourso School of Business at Louisiana State University. </span></span></span></p><p><span>It's important to note that IER is affiliated with the <a href="http://americanenergyalliance.org/">American Energy Alliance</a>, a pro-fossil-fuel group linked to Charles and David Koch. Many economists have expressed doubt over IER's findings, <span><span>reports <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/22/trump-again-touts-an-energy-plan-that-many-economists-seriously-doubt.html">CNBC</a>. </span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span>"<span>This is not academic research and would never see the light of day in an academic journal," Thomas Kinnaman, the <span>chair of the Economics Department at Bucknell University,</span> told CNBC, regarding IER's study. </span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>Chris Warren, IER's director of communications, pointed out to Business Insider in an email that the IER's study is based off of a report by the Congressional Budget Office, and uses a model frequently used by government agencies to score laws and regulations. </span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55d151592acae72c008c0a28-2400/rtx1459i.jpg" alt="oil rig" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny" data-mce-caption="The Bouri oilfield, Libya's biggest offshore field, is seen 130 km (81 miles) north of Tripoli October 9, 2013." /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny</span></p><p class="caption">The Bouri oilfield, Libya's biggest offshore field, is seen 130 km (81 miles) north of Tripoli October 9, 2013.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></span></span></p><h2>Oil drilling </h2><p>Oil drilling is an efficient yet highly destructive and invasive process for obtaining fossil fuel.</p><p>In March, the Obama administration announced that it would <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/03/15/obama-pulls-plans-to-allow-oil-drilling-off-southern-atlantic-coast/?utm_term=.2ae5dac64826">not open new oil reserves</a> near the southeastern Atlantic coast for drilling. Obama, however, did free up three massive reserves on sensitive habitat in Alaska earlier this year, though environmental activists say the land <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/03/will-any-oil-company-ever-drill-in-the-arctic/474234/">should never be drilled</a>. </p><p>Trump's "<a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/an-america-first-energy-plan">America First</a>" energy plan will lift most restrictions on oil and gas companies and allow them to drill in the Arctic and the Gulf of Mexico. </p><p>Trump's campaign said that he will <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/an-america-first-energy-plan">revoke all policies</a> that place "unwarranted restrictions" on new drilling zones, including in the Arctic and the Atlantic coast. Trump's <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/economic-vision">campaign also called</a> Obama's decision to close the Atlantic reserves to drilling a "job-killing" policy. </p><p>Though Trump's plan has few specifics, it's safe to assume that this means he will open up a lot more land - and ocean - for drilling. </p><p>Some experts think that's a misguided policy. </p><p>Installing wind power off of the southeastern Atlantic coast could produce more jobs and more energy over the next two decades than drilling for oil, according to <a href="http://oceana.org/sites/default/files/sc_offshoreenergy_op.pdf">a study</a> from Oceana, a conservation-focused environmental nonprofit.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55319abc6da811d0258b4567-2400/ap77668587737.jpg" alt="fracking" data-mce-source="AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast" data-mce-caption="In this June 9, 2014 photo, drivers and their tanker trucks, capable of hauling water and fracking liquid line up near a natural gas burn off flame and storage tanks in Williston, ND." /><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast</span></p><p class="caption">Drivers and their tanker trucks, capable of hauling water and fracking liquid line up near a natural gas burn off flame and storage tanks in Williston, ND.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>Hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking'</h2><p>Fracking is a method of injecting liquid deep into the earth's crust to release previously inaccessible natural-gas reserves. Fracking has helped the US significantly increase domestic fuel production, and it's a popular method anywhere there's shale, like North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma. </p><p>Fracking has also come under intense scrutiny for its environmental impact. It has been shown to <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fracking-can-contaminate-drinking-water/">contaminate groundwater</a> - used for drinking - in Wyoming, and there have been <a href="http://www.theoec.org/campaign/fracking-impacts-water-quality">multiple</a> <a href="http://www.athensnews.com/opinion/readers_forum/study-on-fracking-health-risks-reinforces-call-for-moratorium/article_bb60bb35-8424-5d6e-a1b9-159258c07e9c.html">reports</a> all over the US of similar issues. Wastewater disposal from fracking, which is injected deep into the ground, has also been <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/fracking-earthquakes-2013542184.html">linked to earthquakes</a> in Texas. </p><p>Trump's campaign has expressed that "energy independence" will be a top priority if Trump gets elected. Within the first 100 days of a Trump presidency, his campaign said he would "lift moratoriums" on energy production in federal areas.</p><p>He also <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/an-america-first-energy-plan">railed against</a> the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for fining energy companies in North Dakota, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service for abusing the Endangered Species Act for "restricting" oil and gas exploration. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54ed27c4ecad047f518b456f-2400/rtr4r18m.jpg" alt="Keystone XL pipeline" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Larry Downing" data-mce-caption="Veto supporters rally in front of the White House on the same day U.S. President Barack Obama vetoed a Republican bill approving the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, in Washington, February 24, 2015." /><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Larry Downing</span></p><p class="caption">Veto supporters rally in front of the White House on the same day U.S. President Barack Obama vetoed a Republican bill approving the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, in Washington, February 24, 2015.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>Keystone XL pipeline</h2><p>The Keystone XL pipeline is a proposed $8 billion oil pipeline that would bring crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Gulf coast of Texas, reports <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/07/business/international/transcanada-to-sue-us-for-blocking-keystone-xl-pipeline.html">The New York Times</a>. It was the subject of massive protests over the past few years and was ultimately vetoed by the Obama Administration.</p><p>Most of the oil produced in Alberta's oil sands - a process with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-destructive-canada-oil-sands-2012-10/#t-thousands-flock-here-to-make-real-money-in-the-oil-sands--where-creating-synthetic-crude-begins-in-the-strip-mine-3">notorious environmental repercussions</a> - is bought by American companies.</p><p><span>Trump has said that he will ask Trans Canada to renew its permit application to build the pipeline within the first 100 days of taking office, </span><a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/an-america-first-energy-plan">according to his campaign</a><span>. Trump's campaign said that the pipeline </span><a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/an-america-first-energy-plan">would create</a><span> 42,000 jobs, but it's unclear where this figure comes from. </span></p><p><span>Trump has <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/22/trump-again-touts-an-energy-plan-that-many-economists-seriously-doubt.html">remained silent</a><span> on the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline, which has been the subject of protests by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe on the border of North and South Dakota in recent weeks. The pipeline could pose a threat to the local environment and water resources.</span></span></p><p><span><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5078470aecad04d44d000000-900/coal-5.jpg" alt="coal" /><p class="caption">Coal miners.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></span></p><h2><strong>Coal power</strong></h2><p>Coal is one the cheapest and most polluting fuel sources. Coal production <a href="http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/#coal">has fallen</a> over the past decade, and it's critical to the economies of many Appalachian and Rust belt states. </p><p>Coal power is the US's <a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/coalvswind/c02c.html#.V-WIfJMrIlK">top source of carbon dioxide</a> - a primary cause of global warming - in the air, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit advocacy organization.</p><p>Trump's campaign <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/economic-vision">has said</a> that they will "save the coal industry" from Clinton's "extremist agenda." Trump wants to end regulation that impacts the growth of the coal industry, including the EPA's <a href="https://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan/clean-power-plan-existing-power-plants">Clean Power Plan</a>.</p><p>The loss of coal-mining jobs has <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/20/politics/election-2016-white-working-class-donald-trump-kaiser-family-foundation/">devastated many communities</a> in states like West Virginia and Pennsylvania - states that Trump hopes to carry in November. The low price of coal, coupled with declining production in these coal mines, means that <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2016/05/09/world/west-virginia-coal">these jobs likely aren't coming back</a>, Marketplace reported.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55e7048b5afbd358568b456b-800/national-emissions-plans-too-weak-to-limit-climate-change-study-2015-9.jpg" alt="Steam and other emissions are seen coming from funnels at a chemical manufacturing facility in Melbourne June 24, 2009. REUTERS/Mick Tsikas " data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="Steam and other emissions are seen coming from funnels at a chemical manufacturing facility in Melbourne" /><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Steam and other emissions are seen coming from funnels at a chemical manufacturing facility.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>Emissions</h2><p><span>Reducing harmful emissions from power generation is one of the key tenets of the </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-paris-climate-change-agreement-2015-12">Paris climate accords</a><span>, an international agreement ratified by over 60 countries.</span></p><p><span><span>Trump doesn't spend too much time discussing emissions. His campaign said that he's "committed" to the use of natural gas, which </span><a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/coal-and-other-fossil-fuels/environmental-impacts-of-natural-gas.html#.V-WSxJMrIlI">emits around half</a><span> of the carbon dioxide as coal when combusted. Trump has also made pulling out of the Paris agreements and rolling back emissions-reduction targets priorities for his first 100 days in office, should he be elected. </span></span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/map-shows-how-religion-spread-around-the-world-2016-9">This animated map shows how religion spread across the world</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="F5aHR4dTob1y4-cHP5qNzXITGcq1vPVW" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'F5aHR4dTob1y4-cHP5qNzXITGcq1vPVW',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

You Searched For "Williston ND" and got 8 results

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