Oil:Buffalo::Us:Indians — Single-Resource Dependence Unwise

North Dakota has more job openings than unemployed workers. Their booming energy sector is a big part of their economic success. By tapping the Bakken Shale, North Dakota has become the fourth-biggest oil-producing state in the Union.

Yet North Dakota recongizes the danger of relying too much on one resource for economic growth. My friend Toby visited the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck last week and found among the many enlightening exhibits this single crude oil barrel. Printed on the barrel was this stark historical analogy and warning:

The text:

Imagine a world in which everything around you is made of buffalo: your house, clothing, food, even your warming fire. We can imagine such dependence on one thing if we consider our own use of fossil fuels for manufacturing, for power and heat, for driving and flying, for fueling of trains, busses [sic], trucks, and farm equipment, for asphalt roads, petrochemicals, plastic goods, and packaging. The Indians' familiar world, centered around the buffalo, vanished within 40 years; they had little time to adjust to the shock. We know that fossil fuels will run out, but we still have a chance to develop alternatives.

Sure, Russ, TransCanada will be here pumping oil and paying taxes for 20 to 30 years. But some us will be around much longer than that. We'd like to have a little longer-term plan for our energy sustainability.

As TransCanada tries to sell us on the short-term gains of its pipelines, and as Exxon spends Independence Day scrubbing crude from 180 miles of the Yellowstone River in Montana, we do well to consider the dangers of dependence on one economic resource. We can coast along thinking we're fine, we won't run out of oil... but that's what our Native American neighbors thought 150 years ago about the buffalo.

Even North Dakota, flush with petro-jobs and dollars, recognizes that true independence means having a diverse economy. Thanks for that reminder, North Dakota.