"A County Resents Oil Drilling, Despite the Money It Brings In."

Nate Moore

11-4-14

Current Events

Batheja, Aman. "A County Resents Oil Drilling, Despite the Money It Brings In." The New York Times. The New York Times, 30 Oct. 2014. Web. 02 Nov. 2014.

The article, "A County Resents Oil Drilling, Despite the Money It Brings In.”, was extremely interesting and provided insight into the power that oil companies have over small farmers. For generations small farms have been providing sustenance for thousands of people throughout Texas. Often theses farms have been passed down from generation to generation. Now, with the advent of modern day oil drilling, these farms are in risk of disappearing. In many other regions of the U.S. this would not be a problem. However, the majority of farmers in Texas sold their mineral rights dozens of years ago, often in order to survive. In turn, this does not protect the common farmer from oil corporations drilling on, or near their land. Drilling causes extreme loss of nutrients in the soil, this prevents farmers from producing as plentiful a crop as they might have. Even those not involved with farming, believe that the oil drilling is detrimental to the community as a whole. Wherever the drills dig in, a road must be paved to the main road as a way to transport the crude oil. According to multiple farmers, any crops within a five acre radius of the road will no longer grow. However, there is nothing the farmers can do as they no longer have mineral rights. Often, in an attempt to assuage the farmers complaints, oil companies will pay farmers to cover damages (10,000$/ well) but often this is inadequate. The article also discusses the loss of tranquility within the region. There are always people coming and going and litter dots the once clean ground. Thousands of oil workers are also present near the wells. These employees often live in temporary housing, which contributes to the loss of peacefulness. Due to the influx of people in the community, accident rates have also increased by 500% over the last five years.

This topic is relevant to our country today and could have a long term impact on the U.S. economy. As farmers grow more and more displeased, this topic will continue to divide America further adding the the duality in American politics and opinions. Unless the issue is addressed now, it will soon become headlines all over the country, not just in regions affected by the drilling. Although the authors view appears to be biased, it would appear as if the farmers have the advantage. Although legally, the oil corporations have the right to build wells there, morally it is wrong and legislative action should be taken to prevent further takeover. On the other hand, although it is hurting some peoples lives, the wells also benefit hundreds of peoples lives. This topic looks to be headed toward the classic “big corporation versus small businesses” situation. If this were to be brought to national attention, the big corporation would take the majority because of the economic benefits that the wells provide. This article is also important because it touches on the growing despair within the U.S. agricultural community. Farming is becoming less and less important to the U.S.  economy, and the oil wells are just one example of the dominance of industry over agriculture.

Overall, this article was extremely well written and brought forth a very relevant topic. One section that I felt was very well done was the explanation of the despair the farmers are feeling. The author was able to truly express the bleak situation for the farmers, through both quotes from farmers as well as statistics. However, I would have liked to see the author develop his ideas about the ethos of why people are drilling wells. As I mentioned earlier, the article seemed biased towards the farmers side, even if it was objective. This article raises a couple of major questions, one of which is the future of localized agriculture in the United States. Will it fade away as oil becomes more prominent or will it continue to coexist with the oil buisness.