North Dakota

Community-Owned Clean Energy

When I was a younger man than I am today, I had a vision of the Great Plains transformed: buffalo roaming across great tracts of tallgrass prairie studded with wind farms that powered the whole Midwest. Tribal communities, farmers and ranchers and young people all working together to develop an economy that could sustain the […]

What might Sen. Byron Dorgan’s retirement mean for climate legislation?

Sen. Byron Dorgan, a 18-year veteran Democrat, dropped a late-day bombshell, announcing he will retire when his term ends this year. Dorgan’s announcement represents an opportunity for Republicans: North Dakota is a Republican-leaning state, where President Obama got just 45 percent of the vote last year. What’s bad news for the Dems in the longer term […]

To unlock wind power, put a price on carbon

A stone marker in Rugby, N.D. identifies the town as the “Geographic Center of the North American Continent.” No marker identifies the state as one of America’s top two or three in wind-power potential. Yet North Dakota’s vast expanses and steady winds endow it with the capacity to generate more than half as much electricity […]

Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.)

Byron Dorgan Sen. Byron Dorgan says he wants to address climate change: “I think there is enough science out there to suggest something is going on.” But he opposes the cap-and-trade approach. “I’m in favor of taking action to reduce CO2 emissions and to protect our environment. But I don’t support the ‘cap-and-trade’ plan now […]

Kent Conrad (D-N.D.)

Kent Conrad Sen. Kent Conrad’s colleague in the House, Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.), voted against the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act, and Conrad says he wouldn’t vote for the bill either. He also joined with three other moderate Democrats in suggesting that the climate vote should be put off until next year. Last […]

Energy execs and GOP reps grow apart on climate action

Things may be getting a little weird in what's traditionally been a cozy long-term relationship. A Republican state representative in North Dakota last week ripped electric company executives for being too liberal on climate action:

State Rep. Jim Kasper, R-Fargo, said the companies have a responsibility to "tell the truth" about global warming.

"What I hear you saying is that, 'It's going to be a reality and we're just going to play the game as best we can,'" Kasper told company officials Wednesday, at a conference sponsored by the Utility Shareholders of North Dakota. "For you to throw in the towel now, is really disheartening to hear."

The issue was raised by Bill Brier, a vice president at the Edison Electric Institute in Washington, D.C. He said all three presidential candidates favor some sort of requirements dealing with climate change.

"We can argue the science, which we did for years," Brier said. "Now we are saying, 'It's going to happen. We want to be at the table.'"

What's going on here? Aren't Republicans and energy executives like peas and carrots? Is this just a lovers' quarrel or a sign of a more serious problem?

Elk populations getting out of control in some national parks

Forget hungry, hungry hippos — here come the hungry, hungry elk. Three national parks in Colorado and the Dakotas are awash in antlered gluttons, at some places more than twice what’s considered a preferable population. “Willow and aspen stands are declining [and] that deprives other species of habitat they need,” says a spokesperson for Colorado’s […]