Jeopardy?
w/Alex Trebek?
the TV Game Show?
Saw this post made by "Energy from Shale" on Facebook:
"Those results, among some very smart people, are a good reminder that we need to continue to build energy and economic literacy in this country. The story of our industry's contributions is extraordinary, and we are thankful that Jeopardy! is helping spread that message in its own way."
Which linked to Exxon Mobil PR site:
http://www.exxonmobilperspectives.com/2014/05/12/this-is-shale-energy/
Regular readers of the Perspectives blog likely had no trouble coming up with the Final Jeopardy question on May 6 during Jeopardy!'s "Battle of the Decades" Tournament. The Final Jeopardy category facing the three contestants was "U.S. States." The clue – which also doubled as The New York Times Clue of the Day – read:
To the surprise of no one who reads this blog, the question that host Alex Trebek was looking for was "What is North Dakota?"
Oil production from the Bakken shale region in the western part of North Dakota has soared in recent years, something I have blogged about from time to time. As a result, the state's economic fortunes have soared as well.
The rapid economic transformation hinted at by Jeopardy!'s clue roughly mirrors the impressive and rapid increase in oil production I noted last week: Since 2011, North Dakota has produced close to one billion barrels of oil. That's a rate roughly 10-times faster than the nearly four decades it took North Dakota to produce its first billion barrels, which the oil and gas industry did between 1951 and 1989.
The recent oil production growth has transformed the North Dakota economy. As former governor Ed Shafer pointed out in September, over the previous 10 years "our wage income growth in North Dakota has grown 86 percent, the personal income growth has been 100 percent, our GDP growth has been 150 percent."
It's a remarkable story, but last Tuesday's episode of Jeopardy! revealed that not everyone is familiar with the North Dakota economic miracle. Only one of the three panelists answered correctly. (The incorrect guesses were for Texas and Washington.)
Those results, among some very smart people, are a good reminder that we need to continue to build energy and economic literacy in this country. The story of our industry's contributions is extraordinary, and we are thankful that Jeopardy! is helping spread that message in its own way.
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May you, and all beings
be happy and free from suffering :)
-- ancient Buddhist Prayer (Metta)
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