Three Stories in Today’s News: Alaska, Canada and North Dakota.  Here’s a question for our NGP readers: Which elected and appointed leaders of which jurisdictions seem to be caring most for the sustainability of their economies and the future of their children?   Which seems to be succumbing more to the greedy demands of current constituencies?    -dh

NYT by Ann Carrns.  Here is one of the best stories we’ve seen on the personal side of work within the Williston, N.D. oil shale phenomenon.  See the report of our own Williston trip last year!  -dh
 
Financial Post Editorial: History is littered with the wreckage of past plans to develop Canada’s North. Diefenbaker’s 1958 election platform envisioning a “Canada of the North” never amounted to much, and he was soon tossed out of office. Charles Hays ran a rail line to the northern tip of B.C.’s coast in 1905, earning Prince Rupert its derisive nickname of “Hays’ Orphan” for most of the 20th century (Hays did not have to endure these taunts, having gone down with the Titanic in 1912). The Mackenzie Valley pipeline has been stuck in the planning stages for decades.
 
Alaska Dispatch Op-Ed by Senator Donny Olson, Alaska LegislatureAndrew Halcro Andrew Halcro, Alaska oil taxes, Photo by Dave Harbour(NGP Photo).  Sen. Donny Olson (NGP Photo-R) said the committee should remember what oil from state lands provides for the people of Alaska through oil taxation, especially for its poorest citizens and especially as oil prices rise.  Nonsense. The state’s fair share is the royalty, everything else is just a tax and simply because Olson’s constituents feel government owes them more, that shouldn’t ruin the future of Alaska’s economy.
 
Homer News by Tim Bradner.  With less than four weeks left in the 2012 legislative session, state senators are on the slow track in their work on changes to the state’s oil production tax.