School of Natural Resource Sciences-Range Science Program, 201D Morrill Hall, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108-6050, USA.
Hanley Sustainability Institute, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH, USA.
Sci Total Environ. 2017 Dec 1;599-600:1993-2018. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.05.122. Epub 2017 May 23.
Ecosystems worldwide have been subject to new or intensified energy development facilitated by technologies such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, activity that has generated concern for air, water, biotic, and social resources. Application of these technologies in the development of the Bakken oil patch has made it one of the most productive petroleum plays in North America, causing unprecedented landscape industrialization of otherwise rural, agricultural counties in western North Dakota. The region is isolated, and development impacts have not been well-studied. To identify concerns of citizens of the Bakken and determine how research and policy might support them, we conducted a two-part study: First, we held focus groups with resource management and community leaders in three major oil-producing counties. Second, we used an outline of the major concerns expressed by focus group members as a survey for landowners and farm/ranch operators. We found little relationship between survey respondents' reported categorization of energy impacts and actual land area impacted, suggesting factors such as attitude towards development, degree of compensation, and level of disturbance are relevant. Landowners agreed with focus groups on the nature of relationships between energy companies and locals and development impacts on infrastructure and communities; those reporting greater impacts tended to agree more strongly. But many specific problems described in focus groups were not widely reported in the survey, suggesting energy-community relationships can be improved through state-level public policy and respect from energy companies for locals and their way of life. Consideration of these concerns in future energy policy-both in the Bakken and worldwide-could reduce social tension, lessen environmental impact, and increase overall social, economic, and environmental efficiency in energy development.
全球生态系统已经受到新技术的影响，例如水平钻井和水力压裂技术，这些技术促进了新的或强化的能源开发，引发了对空气、水、生物和社会资源的关注。这些技术在 Bakken 油田的开发中的应用使其成为北美最具生产力的石油产地之一，导致北达科他州西部原本以农村和农业为主的县出现了前所未有的景观工业化。该地区较为偏远，其发展影响尚未得到充分研究。为了确定 Bakken 居民的关注问题，并确定研究和政策如何为他们提供支持，我们进行了一项由两部分组成的研究：首先，我们在三个主要产油县与资源管理和社区领袖举行了焦点小组会议。其次，我们使用焦点小组成员表达的主要问题大纲作为土地所有者和农场/牧场经营者的调查。我们发现，调查受访者对能源影响的分类与实际受影响土地面积之间几乎没有关系，这表明态度、补偿程度和干扰程度等因素是相关的。土地所有者对能源公司与当地人之间的关系以及基础设施和社区发展的影响与焦点小组的看法一致；那些报告受影响较大的人则更为一致。但是，焦点小组中描述的许多具体问题在调查中并未得到广泛报道，这表明通过州一级的公共政策和能源公司对当地人及其生活方式的尊重，可以改善能源社区之间的关系。在未来的能源政策中考虑这些问题——无论是在 Bakken 还是在全球范围内——都可以减少社会紧张局势，减轻环境影响，并提高能源开发的整体社会、经济和环境效率。
