The “curse” of oil wealth is a well-known phenomenon in Third World petro-states where millions of lives are wasted in poverty and the environment is ravaged, while tiny elites rake in the energy dollars and corruption rules the land.  Recently, North America has been repeatedly hailed as the planet’s twenty-first-century “new Saudi Arabia” for “tough energy” -- deep-sea oil, Canadian tar sands, and fracked oil and natural gas.  But here’s a question no one considers: Will the oil curse become as familiar on this continent in the wake of a new American energy rush as it is in Africa and elsewhere?  Will North America, that is, become not just the next boom continent for energy bonanzas, but a new energy Third World?

In today’s Washington Post, it was revealed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been investigating peaceful climate and anti-fracking activists as a threat. In response to anonymous complaints Rising Tide North Texas, a part of the Rising Tide North America network, has been the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation. The FBI has visited and called for an interview Rising Tide organizer, University of North Texas (UNT) student and a marine veteran of the Afghan war Ben Kessler, as well as UNT philosophy professor Adam Briggle.

“If all I have done to be investigated as a threat is to peacefully express my opinions, then we are in serious trouble,” said Ben Kessler. “Activism is not terrorism. The only dangerous threat in North Texas is the threat that hydro-fracturing, or “fracking,” has on the health and lives of the residents of our communities.”

Four remarkably brave activists eluded the barricades and put their bodies between enormous Alberta tar sands upgrader parts and the ecological and climate devastation they will visit on us all.  As three of the last five of 78 ExxonMobil/Imperial Oil megaloads moved through downtown Moscow, Idaho, two protesters were arrested for linking arms and sitting down in Washington Street late Sunday night, March 4.  Police arrested two men but pulled two women to the side and detained and released them when the convoy passed.  The women did not appreciate the discrimination.

An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study has linked a contaminated Wyoming aquifer to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. This is the process required to make natural gas extraction profitable, as it opens up cracks and pores in rock formations to make the gas flow. Scientists for the EPA stated that high levels of benzene were found in the water beneath Pavillion, Wyoming, which is located on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

 This is not the first time fracking has been linked to water contamination, but it is the first time the Federal Government has liked the two with scientific evidence. The owner of the well is Encana Oil and Gas, and this is also not the first time Encana has been blamed for contamination due to fracking. There have been other incidents of contamination in surrounding states, and many in western Colorado, over the past several years However, up until now, very little action has been taking to address the problem as a whole. There are several states that have been experiencing increased natural gas production recently, as it is a vital part of the U.S.’s energy future, and this makes proper regulation and oversight critical. Water sampling began in the Pavillion area in 2009, and since there have been small amounts of benzene and other toxic chemicals found in the water. The chemicals found did not exceed national drinking water standards in most cases, but either way, residents were advised to get drinking water from other sources. Since Encana was drilling wells in that area, it has been providing drinking water for 21 households at a cost of approximately $1,500 monthly.

Houston based Anadarko Petroleum recently drilled 11 horizontal wells in the Wattenberg Formation, which sits below portions of Colorado’s Front Range. The wells are expected to bring in an estimated $4 billion per year to Colorado’s economy. The reserves are estimated to contain between 500 million and 1.5 billon barrels, with 70 percent of the production in oil, and the remainder being natural gas. This is undoubtedly a positive discovery for the state. There are, however, several factors that must be considered when looking at this picture as a whole.

This discovery will play a significant role in Colorado’s energy economy, but just like with any new energy production, there are critics. The Clean Water Action and Clean Water Fund of Colorado stated that this discovery is mixed. Wells require water and fracking to extract the oil and gas, and this has implications on the environment. This will increase the demand for water and also increase the risk of contamination from fracking chemicals. The argument for increased water use must be carefully considered, as the Rocky Mountain West already has limited water and 80 percent of the water used in Colorado comes from the Western Slope but is consumed on the Front Range. These are valid arguments and very real risks, but there is also an argument for job creation and how this discovery will help the local economy. The Wattenberg is not as big as the Bakken in North Dakota, but the economic benefits from the Bakken have been significant for that region, and at an estimated $4 billion annually, Colorado’s economy will likely see many benefits from the Wattenberg discovery. This discovery has also prompted other companies to drill exploratory wells in other areas of Colorado such as El Paso, Arapahoe, Douglas, and Elbert counties. If these exploratory wells are as successful as the Wattenberg Field, Colorado could yield much larger benefits.

Given the twin concerns of peak oil and climate change, it's no surprise that natural gas (with its lower carbon intensity than coal) has been hailed by many as the salvation of our modern way of life, at least for now. And with the discovery of enormous deposits under Marcellus Shale in the Eastern US, and other deposits in the Southwest, it's even more appealing, since that is keeping prices relatively low.

Inflammable tap water, cancer threats and earthquakes: probably coming soon, near you. Sebastian Doggart reports from New York on the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, or 'fracking'.

Go to your nearest tap. Light a match, and place it next to the running water. If it catches fire, as it has in many American homes, your water supply has probably been polluted by a natural-gas extraction process called fracking. If no flames appear, don’t get complacent. Fracking is becoming the gold rush of the 21st century – as well as an urgent wake-up call on the irreparable damage we are wreaking on our environment. Fracking began in Britain in March, and is probably coming to a gas reservoir near you.

The Bureau of Land Management says there are 1,800 oil wells on public and tribal land in North Dakota and asked for public opinion Wednesday on the industry’s method of hydraulic fracturing those wells.

Hydraulic fracturing is coming under increased public and government scrutiny and about 250 people attended a forum in Bismarck on Wednesday, one of three the BLM will hold by Monday – here, in Colorado and Arkansas.