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AN EXAMINATION OF IDEOLOGY AND SUBJECT FORMATION AMONG ELITE AND ORDINARY RESIDENTS IN THE BAKKEN SHALE, NORTH DAKOTA, 2015-2016 A Dissertation by THOMAS ANDREW LODER Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Christian Brannstrom Committee Members, Forrest Fleischman Wendy Jepson Kathleen O’Reilly Head of Department, David Cairns August 2018 Major Subject: Geography Copyright 2018 Thomas Andrew Loder ABSTRACT The US shale energy boom of the late 2000s and 2010s has brought both economic growth and negative externalities to communities undergoing extraction. Building on previous research on fracking landscapes – as well as geographies of energy and natural resources and case studies of environmental subjectivity in extractive zones – this dissertation employed a suite of qualitative methods to examine the discourses and ideology used to support and oppose fracking-led development in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale. The dissertation consists of three substantive chapters. The first employs key actor interviews and participant observation to examine how pro-oil ideology is advanced by economic and political elites in North Dakota. This chapter concludes that elites frame support for oil as an extension of existing conservative ideologies prevalent in the state. The second substantive chapter consists of content analysis of coverage of oil- related events in state-level newspapers, specifically concentrating on a 2014 conservation ballot measure and the Keystone XL pipeline. This chapter concludes that pro-oil writers are more effective in their messaging due to focusing on economic and emotional appeals. The final substantive chapter uses interviews and focus groups to gauge fracking opinions of residents of Minot, a key city in the Bakken Shale. This chapter concludes that residents find cultural changes related to oil and gas development of greater consequence than political or economic changes. ii CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES This work was supported by a dissertation committee consisting of Professor Christian Brannstrom and Professors Wendy Jepson and Kathleen O’Reilly of the Department of Geography and Professor Forrest Fleischman of the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. Research was supported by a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (#1536201), a Dissertation Year Fellowship (2017-2018), an Energy Institute Research Fellowship (2014-2015) and a Glasscock Graduate Research Fellowship (2014), all from Texas A&M University. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Several people aided me in the completion of this dissertation. My great uncle LaVern Neff hosted me in Williston during my preliminary research trip and took me on my first tour of the oilfields. During this same trip, I was able to stay rent free at my uncle, Thomas Wentz, Jr.’s house in Minot. Uncle Tommy also took me as his guest to the 2014 North Dakota Association of Telecommunication Cooperatives conference, which provided me with my first experience with North Dakota politics. Thanks must also be given to each of my grandfathers; Thomas Wentz, Sr. for sparking my initial interest in North Dakota and LeRoy Loder for putting me in contact with many key Minot respondents. My adviser Christian Brannstrom served as a tireless advocate for both me and my research throughout my graduate career. Additionally, he took time and care in reviewing my writings and pushed me in countless superior directions that have led to this dissertation being radically improved from its initial drafting. My parents, John and Elizabeth Loder, provided untold support throughout my graduate career, for which they deserve praise. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Emily, for her unending emotional support throughout this project. Without her patience and love, completing the dissertation would have proved a far more daunting task. iv NOMENCLATURE CCW Concerned-Citizen Writer DP Dickinson Press DU Ducks Unlimited FF Fargo Forum FTZ Foreign Trade IAW Industry-affiliated Writer (petroleum) IGW Interest-Group Writer (non-petroleum) KXL Keystone XL pipeline LEW Local Editorial Writer (within ND) LTE Letter-to-the-Editor M4 Measure 4 M5 Measure 5 MDN Minot Daily News NDCSC North Dakotans for Common Sense Conservation NSC Nationally-Syndicated Columnist OHF Outdoor Heritage Fund TT Tioga Tribune WH Williston Herald v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... ii CONTRIBUTORS AND FUNDING SOURCES ............................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv NOMENCLATURE .......................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ x 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Study topic and goals ..................................................................................... 1 1.2 Overview of substantive chapters ................................................................... 3 1.2.1 Chapter 4 overview ........................................................................... 5 1.2.2 Chapter 5 overview ........................................................................... 7 1.2.3 Chapter 6 overview ........................................................................... 9 1.3 Study area .................................................................................................... 11 1.4 Overall aims and preview of remaining chapters .......................................... 17 2. REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE ................................................................... 19 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Geographies of energy and natural resources.............................................. 20 2.3 Social science studies of fracking ................................................................. 29 2.4 Environmental subjectivities and natural resources ...................................... 44 2.5 Bakken case studies ..................................................................................... 53 2.6 Summary of key findings from the literature ................................................. 56 3. RESEARCH DESIGN ................................................................................................ 60 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 60 3.2 Preliminary research ..................................................................................... 60 3.3 Positionality .................................................................................................. 62 3.4 Research objectives ..................................................................................... 68 3.5 Objective rationale and identification of respondents ................................... 70 3.5.1. Policy rationale and respondent identification ................................ 70 vi 3.5.2 Newspaper analysis rationale ......................................................... 74 3.5.3 Sampling strategy for longer-term residents ................................... 77 3.6 Data Collection ............................................................................................. 80 3.6.1 Policy interview and participant observation procedures ................ 80 3.6.2 Newspaper data collection .............................................................. 84 3.6.3 Longer-term interview and focus group procedures ........................ 97 3.7 Data analysis .............................................................................................. 102 3.7.1 Interview, focus group and participant observation analysis ......... 102 3.7.2 Newspaper coding and analysis ................................................... 110 3.8 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 120 4. HOMO DAKOTICUS ............................................................................................... 122 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 122 4.2 Homo Dakoticus ......................................................................................... 122 4.3 Key themes for the creation of Homo Dakoticus ......................................... 124 4.3.1 The North Dakota Way ................................................................. 124 4.3.2 North Dakota exceptionalism ........................................................ 133 4.3.3 Resiliency ..................................................................................... 139 4.4 Chapter summary ......................................................................................
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