Responsible Energy Development
Local voices are important, and every citizen should have the right to live in a healthy community. We can have oil development and a good place to live and work. We can have renewable energy, without having to leave behind our neighbors employed by coal. We can do it. To achieve this, we have to participate in a living democracy to see that its done right.
Oil & Gas Development
Oil and gas was one of DRC’s founding issues in 1978, and we continue to work with community members throughout North Dakota regarding oil and gas impacts. Western North Dakota is ground zero in one of the biggest oil extraction developments in the U.S. It has brought an economic boom, but the rapid, chaotic rush to extract as much oil as fast as possible has unnecessarily overwhelmed the region. Spills, explosions, blowouts, crime, contamination, and radioactive waste abandoned across the Bakken have led a growing number of people to understand there must be a better, more responsible way to do this.
Currently, DRC members are organizing to:
- Secure the BLM Methane Waste Reduction Rules from being repealed.
- Host community discussions to address the lasting impacts of the DAPL events and how to move forward in solidarity to protect our values, communities and resources.
- Intervene in the public permitting processes for the proposed Davis Refinery sited to be adjacent to the national park. Learn more here.
Renewable Energy & Paving the Way for a Diverse Energy Economy
DRC members take actions to ensure safe and responsible energy development and that new power production doesn’t leave costs and obligations to future generations. We recognize that North Dakota currently relies heavily on fossil fuels as a leading industry and that people currently depend on fossil fuels in their everyday lives. As time goes on we learn more and more about the impacts fossil fuel emissions have on the environment and human health.
In order to address the disastrous impacts of climate change, we support establishing a foundation for a just transition to a more sustainable, green energy economy. A just transition is a planned shift to address energy needs through sustainable renewable green energy to avert further climate crisis and for our benefit and that of future generations. The shift we envision is a long-term strategic plan to ensure that no one gets left behind, and everyone has a seat at the planning table, as the national energy economy adapts to meet consumers new needs.
DRC’s clean energy working groups’ works-in progress include address concerns on the Green Revolution Exhibit at the North Dakota Heritage Center and submitting comments on the Clean Energy Incentive Program on the federal Clean Power Plan.