Communitarian-conservative blogger goes back to small town, gets write-up from big-time pundit

"They decided to accept the limitations of small-town life in exchange for the privilege of being a part of a community." That's how conservative columnist David Brooks, a pretty good sociologist, summed up the decision of conservative blogger Rod Dreher and his wife to return to St. Francisville, La., after they witnessed its outpouring of kindness for his sister, who did of cancer this year.

"They moved in just before Christmas," Brooks notes, linking to the blog post about the decision. Dreher's sister and mother "had a tradition of going to a nearby cemetery on Christmas Eve to put candles on all the graves," but her mom "was too sad to do it," Brooks reports in The New York Times. "But, as she was driving by the cemetery that night, she noticed little flames dotting the graveyard." A neighbor had filled the vacuum.

"Dreher is a writer for The American Conservative and is part of a communitarian conservative tradition that goes back to thinkers like Russell Kirk and Robert Nisbet," Brooks writes. "Forty years ago, Kirk led one of the two great poles of conservatism. It existed in creative tension with the other great pole, Milton Friedman’s free-market philosophy. In recent decades, the communitarian conservatism has become less popular while the market conservatism dominates. But that doesn’t make Kirk’s insights into small towns, traditions and community any less true, as Rod Dreher so powerfully rediscovered." For The Rural Blog, it's a nice way to end 2011. (Read more)

Oversight panel says Postal Service used unreliable data to draw up post-office closure list

The Postal Regulatory Commission, which advises the U.S. Postal Service and Congress, said today that the service used questionable data to choose more than 3,600 post offices for possible closure. The PRC opinion is pretty dense, and the press release isn't much better, but Lisa Rein of The Washington Post sums it up nicely: "In many cases the selection process ignored whether an alternate post office was nearby and which closures would reduce costs the most and lacked sufficient data and analysis to make the best decisions."

“We certainly challenge their methodology,” Commission Chairman Ruth Goldway told the Post. “They had a simple screening process, but it did not optimize the choices. They don’t have really good data that tells them which post offices will continue to grow or be on a downhill path.” The commission said in its opinion that it could not "develop reliable cost-savings estimates because the Postal Service does not collect facility-specific revenue and cost data, or separate retail costs from other operational costs. The commission found that such data should be available for use in comprehensive facility closing plans."

Rein notes, "The opinion is not binding, but it carries weight with Congress, which has questioned whether so many closures are necessary. Lawmakers are worried about leaving too many constituents without mail service, especially in rural areas. Under pressure from Congress, the Postal Service earlier this month agreed to delay the proposed closures and consolidations until the spring in hopes that pending legislation to shore up the agency’s finances will pass."

The service said it was most likely to close rural post offices "that take in less than $27,000 in revenue each year and suburban and urban ones with less than $500,000," Rein reports. "But the oversight commission consulted economists and other experts who concluded that other factors should come into play: How many miles away is the nearest post office? Would closing deny service to large groups of customers, such as seniors, who would have trouble finding alternatives?" (Read more) The same concerns have been voiced at many public meetings held by USPS about possible closures of individual offices.

'Business as usual' by big energy company, hiding its leasing, angers Mich. farmers denied bonuses

An investigation by the Reuters news service has found that Chesapeake Energy Corp., the No. 2 natural-gas driller in the U.S., used shell companies to conceal its role in a big gas play in rural Northern Michigan, and has since voided the deals, leaving farmers without the bonuses they expected.

"Chesapeake's effort to hide its involvement isn't illegal," Joshua Schneyer and Brian Grow report for Reuters. "To the contrary, the company's maneuvering exemplifies how U.S. corporations routinely can conceal financial and corporate transactions through the use of shell companies. President Barack Obama has called on other nations to improve corporate transparency, but under state laws governing corporate formation in America, privately held businesses aren't required to disclose the individuals or companies who really own them."

Grow and Schneyer note that the Chesapeake website advises landowners that their "main consideration" in leasing should be "to discover who will ultimately be producing your minerals." However, "Chesapeake's strategy made that extremely difficult for the Michigan landowners," they note.

Joshua Fershee, a contract law professor at the University of North Dakota, told Reuters that Chesapeake's tactics "raise moral and ethical questions about how entities can be used," but John Lowe, a professor of energy law at Southern Methodist University, calls it "business as usual" in the oil and gas industry. If large companies are known to be interested in leasing, that tends to drive up lease prices. (Read more)

Spokane paper has good take on troubles that may lie ahead for rural hospitals

Here's a good, localized look at the challenges facing rural hospitals all over the U.S., by John Stucke of The Spokesman-Review in Spokane: "Many of Eastern Washington’s small hospitals are bracing for cutbacks as federal and state governments look to save money.

"Consider Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Chewelah [pin on MapQuest image]: On any given day perhaps nine of its 25 patient beds are occupied. Two of those patients might have private insurance. One might not pay the medical bill. The rest will be covered by government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

"And yet the hospital has made money in four of the past five years, in part because rural hospitals receive richer payments from government than larger urban hospitals to care for proportionally higher numbers of the poor, elderly and uninsured who populate rural America.

"It’s a bottom-line boost that has kept 38 hospitals in rural Washington afloat. But that extra money from Medicare and Medicaid is drawing the attention of budget cutters. If proposals to retool and scale back the payments are adopted, up to half of these hospitals could be closed within a matter of years, say administrators and policy analysts." (Read more)

Idealistic Southern farmers and chefs find synergy in reviving, retaining old and tasty foodways

South Carolina heritage hog farmer Emile DeFelice, right, is "part of a thriving movement of idealistic Southern food producers who have a grander plan than just farm-to-table cuisine," Julia Moskin reports for The New York Times. "They want to reclaim the agrarian roots of Southern cooking, restore its lost traditions and dignity, and if all goes according to plan, completely redefine American cuisine for a global audience. Their work is being encouraged, and sponsored, by a new generation of chefs who have pushed Southern cooking into the vanguard of world cuisine — and who depend on these small producers to literally flesh out their ambitions." (Times photo by Kathryn Wagner)

Moskin says the synergy has high potential: "Like California in the 1970s — when Alice Waters collaborated with farmers, foragers and cheesemakers on the food at Chez Panisse — the South today has just the right combination of climate, culinary skill, regional chic and receptive audience." She says many Southern chefs are working along the same line as chef Sean Brock, from Wise County, Virginia, whose Charleston restaurant Husk " serves only food produced south of the Mason-Dixon line, from Georgia olive oil to Tennessee chocolate to capers made from locally foraged elderberries. . . . Perhaps most important, they are paying (and charging) big-city prices for down-home ingredients: money that is keeping food traditions, and small producers, alive."

Moskin notes, "The quest for 'real' Southern food isn’t new," citing the Southern Foodways Alliance and Slow Food USA. "Today, purists believe, Southern cooking is too often represented by its worst elements: feedlot hams, cheap fried chicken and chains like Cracker Barrel." DeFelice told her, "My mother didn’t cook like that, and my grandmother didn’t cook like that. And if you want to come down here and talk about shrimp and grits, well, we’re tired of that, too. Southern cooking is a lot more interesting than people think.” (Read more)

Stream gauges may be turned off, leaving communities at greater risk for flooding

Floods are hard to predict, but the U.S. Geological Survey attempts to warn of them through the National Streamflow Information Program, which enlists a system of stream gauges to track water levels of rivers, lakes and streams. The program is running out of money, though, and if the survey can't get funding by March 1, they will likely shut down 580 gauges, leaving communities with less warning about the possibility of major floods.

Jim Malewitz of Stateline reports the program is a partnership between all levels of government, costing a total of $146 million to operate. If all 580 stations are closed, it would save about $8.9 million, but some hydrologists and weather experts say the savings aren't worth putting communities at risk. In recent years, floods across the country have caused billions in damages, and flash floods have great potential to take lives; but National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration studies show warning systems greatly reduce both economic and human risk. Malewitz reports an hour of lead time can reduce damage by 10 percent and save an estimated $163 million annually.

The gauges also provide long-term data about weather patterns and changes, Malewitz reports. Losing older gauges is difficult, researchers say, because long-term data is "essential for documenting slowly developing climate changes." Shutting off gauges leaves gaps in data, making it less precise. Experts fear lawmakers won't see the importance of gauges, and say to open their eyes, another flooding disaster the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina will have to happen. (Read more)

More young people may be getting into farming

While the five-year Census of Agriculture won't be available until next year, increases in "enrollment in university agriculture programs" and "interest in farmer-training programs" show a growing number of 20-to-30-year-olds are taking up farming, Dinesh Ramde of The Associated Press reports.

Utah State University is among the universities seeing growth in its agriculture program. "In total, from spring 2008 to fall 2011, the College of Agriculture had one of the largest double-digit increases in enrollment over the last three years," writes Kevin Opsahl of The Herald Journal in Logan, Utah. Janet Anderson, associate dean of the college, says the economy, sustainability and the college's recruiting initiatives may all contribute to the increase. (Read more)

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture started giving money to universities and nonprofit groups to help train beginning farmers. The first year, the grants help train 5,000 people and the USDA estimates more than twice as many benefited this year. Faye Jones, who works with new farmers in Wisconsin, says she sees as many as 100 people on "some farm tours where would-be farmers can learn and share information," Ramde reports.

Young entrepreneurs typically cite two reasons for turning to farming: lack of job security in the corporate world and a growing demand for locally grown and organic foods, Ramde reports. Laura Frerichs, 31, of Hutchinson, Minn., and her husband own their own organic farm and believe that while it won't make them rich, they can definitely "earn a living" farming.

Frerichs told Ramde, there is "growing consciousness around locally grown foods, around organic foods . . . in the Twin Cities, there's been great demand for that." Many young farmers are even promoting their agricultural products by blogging, tweeting and using other social media. (Read more)

Farming and food industries voice concerns about EPA proposal to limit dioxins in animal feed

Many in the farming and food industries are raising concern about an Environmental Protection Agency proposal to limit human consumption of dioxins, a chemical that has been found in meat, seafood and dairy products and is known to cause cancer, Philip Brasher reports for the Des Moines Register. Industry groups argue EPA's proposed daily exposure limit for dioxin isn't justified and may scare consumers away from their products.

In a letter to the White House, the American Farm Bureau Federation and groups representing feed companies, meat processors and dairy manufacturers accused EPA of creating a situation "in which most U.S. agricultural products could arbitrarily be classified as unfit for consumption." EPA's proposed standard would not implement any new regulations for farmers or the food industry, but it could lead to future recommendations restricting content for livestock feed and reducing "the amount of dioxins that people could consume," Brasher reports. The National Fisheries Institute and the International Dairy Foods Association have asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Food and Drug Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to get involved.

EPA said its proposal is a result of an extensive review process that "incorporated significant new scientific findings." Some EPA officials have said industry groups are overreacting to the proposed standard, but Steve Kopperud of the American Feed Industry Association told Brasher the industry is "concerned about the overreaction of the consumer" and fears the measure could lead to "a ban on animal byproducts in livestock feed." (Read more)

Colorado Education Department tries to help rural school districts deal with reforms

Rural school districts often struggle with tight budgets, high numbers of low-income students and a myriad of issues specific to their location. States with a large number of rural districts could take note of a new initiative in Colorado, where the state has created the Rural Education Council to help rural districts address concerns specific to their area.

The Pueblo Chieftain reports creation of the council stems from a Colorado Department of Education study of rural districts. The results are nothing new: Rural schools have small student populations, small numbers of teachers, and low per-pupil revenue. They also face "severe economic constraints, significant population shifts and increased compliance requirements." All Colorado districts are facing new major reforms, and in rural areas incorporation of those reforms is typically led by one administrator. Many rural districts are still trying to implement initiatives from several years ago. Rural administrators also say federal mandates are hard to implement because the federal education department has even less understanding of rural districts than the state department.

The Chieftain reports out of the state's 178 school districts, 142 are rural, but educate only 20 percent of the state's students. The newly formed council consists of 17 members representing a rural region made up of several school districts. They recently met for the first time to "find ways to ease the rural districts’ burdens." (Read more)

Bats may be developing resistance to killer fungus

There may be hope for bats threatened by a disease that has killed millions in the Northeast and is moving into the South and Midwest, reports Darryl Fears of The Washington Post. In Vermont, he writes, "Scientists who visited more than a dozen sites where the bats nest in the western part of the state found thriving colonies that appear to be resistant to white-nose syndrome, a disease caused by an aggressive fungus. Pennsylvania biologists are also monitoring about 2,000 bats that appear to be healthy in an abandoned coal mine in Luzerne County in the state’s northeast, The Associated Press reported." (Alan Hicks photo: bats with syndrome)

“It’s just a ray of hope that there are bats that have survived over three years of white-nose syndrome, and we want to know how they survived, or if they will continue to survive, and if this is enough bats to . . . recover a population,” Scott Darling, a biologist for the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, told the Post. Bats are important to agriculture, as eaters of harmful insects and as pollinators.

Fears writes that the discovery "raised hopes that bats in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions where the disease is established have somehow developed an immunity" to the fungus that linked to the disease and turns bats' faces white, says a study published last week in the journal Nature. Mollie Matteson, a conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity in Richmond, Vt., cautioned, “I don’t want people to get the sense that this crisis is done,” Matteson said. “It’s good news in the sense that bats haven’t entirely fallen off the cliff yet. They’re still hanging on by a tiny little fingernail.” (Read more)

EPA issues rules on mercury, other toxics from coal plants; expected to be political issue in 2012

As expected, the Obama administration issued the first limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from coal-fired power plants yesterday, but the 20-year battle over the issue will continue, writes Neela Banerjee of the Los Angeles Times.

The rules and the administration's plan to delay a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf until 2013 "are political gambles for President Obama, since Republican challengers could push the jobs argument in crucial coal-reliant states like Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania," Banerjee writes. "Obama put himself squarely behind the mercury decision, releasing a short video in which he underscored the fact that President George H.W. Bush had signed the 'bold and necessary' law authorizing the EPA to reduce toxic substances in the air in 1990."

The rules would allow power plants to emit 1.2 pounds of mercury per million BTUs of energy produced. The industry wanted a 1.4-pound limit, but the Environmental Protection Agency "arrived at its figure based on a formula set out under the Clean Air Act, and analysts said the agency could not deviate from it," Banerjee reports. "The rule would remove 90 percent of the mercury spewing into the air, the EPA said." (Read more)

Small Ozarks towns go all-out to save post offices; 'You don't have to take a stick and beat us'

Retired Postmaster Kathy Henthorne looks at a display

about the Fox Post Office at a meeting on its possible 

closure. (Photo by Lori Freeze, Stone County Leader)

All across America, rural residents have mobilized to save their post offices. This is a story of two towns in the Ozarks: Ponce de Leon, Mo., which has probably lost its battle, and Fox, Ark., which remains on tenterhooks.

The U.S. Postal Service has delayed closure of any post offices until May, but that is unlikely to save the one in Ponce de Leon, despite residents' concerted efforts to save it.

Debbie Essick, the postmistress in unincorporated town about 20 miles southwest of Springfield, got a notice last week saying that if Congress doesn't intervene, her office will close in May, reports Mary Moloney of Springfield's KSPR-TV.

To help save the office, residents had staged a campaign of letter-writing to lawmakers, and buying merchandise to increase the office's sales. They gave the small office one of its busiest days this year on Monday, with close to $400 in sales. They say they do it all because the post office, which has served the rural community since 1800, is more than just a building.

Local illustrator Shelly Smith, who uses the office to mail business items, told Moloney she can't do that any other way. "In this little town, it's the last business in this community. It is vital to this community. And if it goes away, this community will, I think fall apart really," she said. The closest post office to Ponce de Leon is 10 miles away in Spokane. Another resident, Annie Grobe, told Moloney if the post office goes, the community will suffer: "I understand that little towns have to fade away, but you don't have to take a stick and beat us to death. Give us a fighting chance to at least make life out here as simple as possible. Don't make it any harder than it has to be." (Read more)

In Fox, nearly 200 people turned out for the Postal Service's Nov. 28 community meeting on the future of the post office. Locals had worked hard to draw a crowd, posting banners, a YouTube video and a display showing what the office means to the community. "The daily walk to the mailbox or the post office gives many residents a reason to get out in the fresh air and exercise," Kathy Mulady writes for Equal Voice, a news outlet for poor families. "And the post office serves as a community hub: There is always the chance of running into friends or family picking up packages or placing a money order."

Mulady's 1,160-word story, drawn in part from The Associated Press, is a good summary of the issue. To read it, click here.

National Guard troops along U.S.-Mexican border will be replaced by air surveillance

The Defense Department announced this week that most National Guard troops stationed at the Mexican-American border will come home next month, and will be replaced by helicopters and planes to save money, reports Daniel Gonzalez of The Arizona Republic. Aircraft can cover more ground than troops, Defense and Department of Homeland Security officials said.

The decision was made because illegal immigration from Mexico has fallen to one-fifth the level in 2000 (in Arizona, the number is at its lowest in 17 years) and the Defense Department has to cut its budget by hundreds of millions. The new strategy will use National Guard aircraft as a deterrent and for surveillance and reconnaissance missions to assist Border Patrol on the ground. Aircraft will also transport Border Patrol agents to rugged and roadless areas. Officials also hope soldiers in aircraft will be better able to spot drug and human trafficking activities from Mexico.

The Obama administration authorized 1,200 troops stationed at the border last year, and the total cost of deployment was $180 million. The aircraft mission will cost $60 million, and its ultimate goal is to end National Guard deployment at the boarder by the end of 2012 as Border Patrol continues to increase in size. (Read more)

Backlogs of work pile up as state budgets shrink

An increase in demand for services during rough economic times is creating a backlog of work for many state agencies, where budget cuts have decreased their ability to keep up, Stateline's Melissa Maynard reports. Her investigation discovered budgets for agencies like public housing, crime labs, restaurant inspectors and court systems have been squeezed by four years of layoffs, furloughs, hiring freezes and unfilled vacancies. Most of the government services affected are necessary to the lives of rural Americans. Some of the most severe backlogs are in Hawaii, Georgia, California, Texas, Michigan, Arizona and Iowa.

At best, taxpayers will be waiting longer for marriage licenses or birth certificates; at worst, these backlogs take a toll on at-risk children, the elderly, the disabled and investigations about abuse and neglect. Maynard reports the most severe backlogs are the result of "chronic underfunding and mismanagement, sloppy hiring and training practices, obsolete technology and data management systems, and low morale tied to crushing caseloads." Bureaucratic processes make the situation worse, and once the backlogs exist they are difficult to eliminate.

Overloaded agencies try to handle backlogs by prioritizing work. "If there’s not enough manpower to handle every case, the thinking goes, better to focus first on the ones that cost the most or leave vulnerable people at the greatest risk. The cases that would appear most scandalous if they hit the evening news," Maynard reports. However, this leads less severe cases waiting in the wings, and they don't go away, making them harder to resolve the longer they wait. Also, backlogs in one section of government contribute to backlogs in others, Maynard reports.

More farmers' markets are open in winter

Tomorrow is the first day of winter, normally a down time for farmers' markets. But winter farmers' markets have expanded by 38 percent since last year, according to National Farmers Market Directory data. They now make up almost 17 percent of the more than 7,000 farmers markets nationwide. In a news release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan said winter markets fill the need of consumers who want to continue buying local produce and of farmers to generate income in the off-season.

According to the news release, "hoop house" technology has allowed growers to extend production into winter at low cost, and has contributed to the growth of winter farmers markets. The USDA also provides support to winter growers through many programs, including AMS Specialty Crop Block Grants Program and Farmers Market Promotion Program. The top 10 states with winter markets are New York, California, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, Maryland, Florida, Massachusetts, Virginia and Michigan. (Read more)

A song about center-pivot irrigation, illustrated

Some may find it hard to write a song about farm equipment, but New Jersey's self-described "indie folkpop star" Sarah Donner was up to the challenge. She performed "The Center Pivot Irrigation Song" on YouTube, which landed her a guest spot on NPR's "You Bet Your Garden" blog last year. It's not clear if she comes from an agricultural background, but it is clear she has a lot of knowledge about this irrigation system, used mainly in the drier parts of the Great Plains.

New York Times Co. selling rural, small-city papers

UPDATE, Dec. 27: The Times announced the sale, for $143 million, a price media analyst Ken Doctor called “incredibly low” for papers' that had approximately $264 million in revenue in 2010. (Read more)

The New York Times Co., whose flagship newspaper often provides the best coverage of rural America because it has reporters chasing rural stories over most of the country, is completing its long, drawn-out withdrawal from the rural newspaper business.

The company said yesterday it was in "advanced discussions" to sell its Regional Media Group to Halifax Media Holdings LLC, which owns, among other papers, the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Five of the Times regional papers are in Florida: the News Chief of Winter Haven, the Gainesville Sun, the Star-Banner of Ocala, The Ledger of Lakeland and Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the largest paper in the chain at 76,000 circulation.

Most of the 16 papers are in the Southeast, but the chain also includes three California papers: The Press-Democrat of Santa Rosa, second largest in the chain; the weekly Petaluma Argus-Courier, and the North Bay Business Journal. Other major papers in the chain include The Star-News in Wilmington, N.C., the Herald-Journal of Spartanburg, S.C., and The Tuscaloosa News in Alabama.

Besides the News-Chief (circ. 4,839) and the weekly business paper, the truly community papers in the chain are The Gadsden Times of Alabama, 20,663; The Courier of Houma, La., 14,715; the Times-News of Hendersonville, N.C., 13,603; the Daily Comet of Thibodaux, La.; The Dispatch of Lexington, N.C. All told, the papers have a weekday circulation of 433,251 and 1,755 full-time employees.

One of Halifax's key investors is Stephens Capital Partners, a Little Rock, Ark.-based private equity firm. It owns Stephens Media Group, a Las Vegas-based company that owns 11 daily and 64 weekly newspapers in nine states, primarily in Nevada and Arkansas. Its flagship is the Las Vegas Review-Journal," reports Kevin McCallum of the Press-Democrat. "The Times Co. has shed assets as it tries to focus on its anchor newspapers: The New York Times, The Boston Globe and the International Herald Tribune."

Amy Chozik of the Times writes that the company "went on a regional-newspaper buying spree in the 1970s and 1980s," but does not note that it began selling some of its smaller papers, such as those in the Kentucky coal towns of Harlan, Middlesboro and Madisonville, a few years later.

Essay on small-town druggist gets award from national columnist

A long essay in The New Yorker about the life of a small-town druggist in southwestern Colorado is among the latest winners of a Sidney Award, named for philosopher Sidney Hook, which New York Times columnist David Brooks gives to essays that he deems to be the best of a year.

New Yorker illustration by Ben Katchor

The first winner was Peter Hessler’s article, “Dr. Don: The life of a small-town druggist,” Don Colcord of Nucla, Colo., a local native who "serves that community medically, spiritually, financially and beyond," Brooks writes. "The article is a beautiful description of what it’s like to live in a small town, where everybody knows each other’s sins and virtues." He cites one resident's view: “I like to play chess. I moved to a small town and nobody played chess there, but one guy challenged me to checkers. I always thought it was kind of a simple game, but I accepted. And he beat me nine or 10 games in a row. That’s sort of like living in a small town. It’s a simple game, but it’s played at a higher level.” (Read more)

Hessler introduced his subject to readers this way: "Don Colcord has owned Nucla’s Apothecary Shoppe for more than thirty years. In the past, such stores played a key role in American rural health care, and this region had three more pharmacies, but all of them have closed. Some people drive eighty miles just to visit the Apothecary Shoppe. It consists of a few rows of grocery shelves, a gift-card rack, a Pepsi fountain, and a diabetes section, which is decorated with the mounted heads of two mule deer and an antelope. Next to the game heads is the pharmacist’s counter. Customers don’t line up at a discreet distance, the way city folk do; in Nucla they crowd the counter and talk loudly about health problems." (Read more)

Hillman Prizes seek journalism 'in service of the common good'

The Sidney Hillman Foundation, named for a pioneer labor leader, seeks entries for the 2012 Hillman Prizes in Journalism. "The annual $5,000 prizes are for excellence in journalism in service of the common good," the foundation says. Categories include book, newspaper, magazine, broadcast, photojournalism, web and opinion journalism. Eligible work must have been published or released in 2011. The contest is open to journalists and subjects around the world, but the work must have been published in the U.S. Go to http://www.hillmanfoundation.org/nominations-0 for more details. The postmark deadline for entries is Jan. 31. Winners will be announced in April.

Many state oil and gas regulators come from the business, and some of them are still in it

There could well be a story in the backgrounds of your state oil and gas regulators, because they may be regulating an industry in which they still have a personal interest. (Photo by Joel Sartore, Getty Images)

"More than 40 percent of officials regulating oil and gas production in the top drilling states, records show, come from the industry they are charged with policing," Mike Soraghan reports for Energy & Environment News. "It is a degree of self-regulation enjoyed by few other industries, if any. And it heightens suspicion among critics of the nation's drilling boom that companies are allowed to damage the environment with impunity."

Supporters of the approach, and the industry, say regulators need the technical experience that can be gained mainly through working in the industry. But critics say it's going too far when most members of the state oil and gas board have their own drilling companies, as is the case in Arkansas. "Among the 71 members of boards and commissions, at least 20 are actively engaged in the business they are regulating," Soraghan reports. Of the 95 commissioners, board members and agency heads in the top 27 major producing states, "39 had an oil and gas background, or 41 percent." Most Eastern states don't have boards or commissions, but are part of a governor's administration. "In at least eight states, the head of the state oil and gas agency comes from industry."

Soraghan notes, "The laws creating the governing panels often require that industry be guaranteed seats on commissions, along with royalty owners, local government officials and sometimes environmentalists. Others designate that some number of the board have 'substantial experience' in the industry, the environment or fields like petroleum geology." Arkansas requires the board to have three owners of oil or gas production companies, but the nine-member board has five. For the rest of the story and the figures from your state, click here.