Where there’s oil and natural gas, there’s money to be made and jobs to be found. But the challenges these dramatic booms present for rural communities in South and West Texas are immense.
How does a county with fewer than 100 residents cope when oilfield workers descend by the thousand? How do understaffed emergency response teams handle the rise in traffic accidents, and local prisons keep guards from defecting to high-paying energy jobs?
What do farmers do when oil wells pop up on their land and compromise their crop yield? How do communities balance their newly-minted millionaires with crowded man camps for transient workers — and help existing residents priced out of housing?
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✓ Roughly a dozen stories, multimedia elements and data tools exploring the latest energy boom in Texas from all angles.
✓ Behind-the-scenes features to let you know how our reporting is unfolding.
✓ Access to every story by every writer on Beacon.
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The emptiest county in America
Loving County is the emptiest county in America with only 72 residents, yet each day the population swells to more than 1,000 due to a flood of oilfield workers. Through articles, video and interactive data, we’ll examine how communities balance the troubling side-effects of the boom with the opportunity to reverse decades of population decline.
Disputed drilling
Complaining about the oil drillers has become a common pastime among cotton farmers in Glasscock County. Few of the farmers in the area own the mineral rights to their farms. As oil wells pop up across them, farmers say the value of their land has been severely compromised and their crop yields have been curtailed, possibly for decades. Adding to their frustration, they feel powerless to do anything about it in a state where the widespread perception is that oil and gas are unbeatable.
Emerging emergency
Ride along with short-staffed first responders as they describe the transition from supporting their once sleepy communities to addressing the new challenges of traffic accidents and hazardous chemicals. We’ll examine the communities that are taking steps to bolster their emergency response capabilities — and those that can’t afford to.
… and other fascinating stories that are costly to produce and difficult to execute.
Over the next month, we’ll be sharing even more stories that we have planned in exclusive updates to backers.
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The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit newsroom that depends on reader support. This project is a unique opportunity for you to become deeply engaged with a single area of our coverage.
By backing this project, you directly help to support a balanced, nuanced understanding of how the shale boom affects communities across Texas.
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Tim Griggs
Jake Zapalac
Patty Rogers
John Barton
Jay Evans
Eileen Sudela
Eric Stumberg
Albert M. Adams
Meredith Bush
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Jane Scroggs
Sean McCaffrey
Janet Horton
Ellen Taylor Seldin
Gene Whittle
Sara Netzer
Agnes Varnum
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Susan Cummings
Christy Rome
Terry Quinn
Jacob Villanueva
Kati & Zach Parker
Vick Gercans
Emily Ramshaw
James Teal
Corrie MacLaggan
Michael Netzer
Carolyn Savino
Jeff Eller
Rosental Calmon Alves
Lois Strand
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Traci Vahrenkamp
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Joseph Krauss
John Leicht
Jill Welch
Amanda Russell
Stuart W Stedman
April Brumley Hinkle
Good morning!
As of around 9am CST, we have reached 104% of our crowdfunding goal for The Shale Life project. This has been a true labor of love and we could not have pulled it off without your support. Our editorial and tech teams are hard at work to bring this critical series to life, so stay tuned and thanks again!
The Texas Tribune Team
P.S. For those who contributed at the Platinum level, be on the lookout for an invitation to an exclusive Q&A with our reporters.
Good morning!
We have four more days to go to reach our funding goal for the Shale Life project - a new series of in-depth stories about the state’s energy boom and its impact on small towns.
If you have time today, please consider posting to social media (just use trib.it/shalelife) or even increasing your current support of this critical project….our largest multimedia undertaking to date.
Thanks in advance and we will keep you updated!
The Texas Tribune Team
Dear Friend of the Tribune,
Thanks to your support, The Shale Life Project is now 51% funded!
This series, which would be the largest multimedia project we have ever undertaken, will help provide a balanced, nuanced understanding of how the shale boom affects communities across Texas.
So, with 10 days and a little over $2,400 to go, we are counting on your help to spread the word and bring this reporting to life…we can do it!
Many thanks and stay tuned,
The Texas Tribune Team
Good morning!
There were cheers in our newsroom yesterday afternoon when we hit the 40% mark for The Shale Life project - thanks to all of you!
We have been pulling some data to help us better communicate the campaign and it looks like Facebook is the most effective way to get the word out right now.
So, as you wrap up your work week, please consider a post (sample below) to help us carry the momentum into the weekend:
Join me in helping to get this critical project over the finish line! trib.it/shale/
Thanks again and stay tuned!
The Texas Tribune Team
P.S. The photo below is our Art Director checking on the project early this morning before he dug into his breakfast :)
Dear Shale Life Project Backers,
We are incredibly grateful for your support of this critical project as every contribution brings us closer to telling the stories of these small-town Texas residents, from newly minted millionaires to transient oil-field workers.
As of an hour ago, we reached our first milestone….$1,000+ raised!
Please continue to spread the word and thank you again for your support.
Have a great weekend!
The Texas Tribune Team
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