North Dakota, which has struggled with a declining population, has seen a turn-around.
According to this article, North Dakota has had a 3.6 percent increase in births.  It appears that several new young families have been drawn to the state by the oil boom.

In spite of its relatively slow pace, today was a surprisingly productive day in the North Dakota Legislature for energy related issues.
This morning three resolutions that could let Congress know where the state of North Dakota stands on issues like greenhouse gas regulations and drilling for more oil were heard.  In the afternoon, three bills offering tax [...]

Here are more articles on clean coal technology from the Bismarck Tribune’s business magazine, Business Watch:

The Lurgi Process
The Cost and Byproducts of Controlling Emissions
CO2 Sequestration in North Dakota:  Making History

This was an extremely fun package to write.  I learned much about coal-fired energy and about carbon sequestration in particular–something that could be a lot of  fun [...]

Fifty percent of the nation’s energy needs are currently filled using coal.  That’s good for states like North Dakota that have enormous coal reserves.  It’s also something to watch as the nation leans toward cleaner fuel sources and renewable ones.
Some feel that developing clean coal technology may buy us time to develop economically feasible and sustainable [...]

According to this Prairie Business Magazine article, Basin Electric Power Cooperative has two wind projects near Minot, North Dakota that “are expanding the traditional boundaries of wind farms.”  This is a good spot to read about how North Dakota is leading out in wind energy production and also in an interesting wind-to-hydrogen project.
From the article:
“Our [...]

Just for fun–I liked reading about the Bakken on Wikipedia and thought others might enjoy it, too.  So here it is!
It’s interesting to compare mental notes of last Legislative session ,when oil drilling in the Bakken area was a huge deal to this session, when legislators are concerned with how much money to save and [...]

Now that the legislative session has started, I find myself wondering what kinds of energy initiatives we’ll see.  Oil seems to fluctuate a lot and I know a lot of people are worried about depending too much on oil revenues to run our state.
According to an article printed in Business Watch, there is another oil-rich [...]

According to this Minot Daily News article, an oil summit held in Williston Tuesday was full of positive vibes…except where getting more funding to maintain roads was concerned.
However, that issue will most likely be addressed in the upcoming legislative session.  Meanwhile, North Dakota leaders seem to have strong faith that our oil industry will continue [...]

Bismarck Tribune reporter Brian Duggan recently wrote a column about North Dakota’s economy, saying that it wasn’t what he expected it to be. 
While touting the state’s relatively healthy economy, which many people attribute to oil development on the Bakken formation, Duggan worked in the forecasts showing a slightly higher chance than 50/50 that the recession will hit [...]

According to this Minot Daily News article, the Turtle Mountains near Bottineau, North Dakota could be another oil hotspot.  If so, oil activity could eventually move east of the Bakken oil formation, which has seen heavy drilling in the past year.