The rising cost of the oil industry’s slow death
By Mark Olalde, ProPublica, and Nick Bowlin, Capital & Main This story was originally published by ProPublica. In the 165 years since the first American oil well struck black gold, the industry has punched millions of holes in the earth, seeking profits gushing from the ground. Now, those wells are running dry, and a generational bill is coming due. Until wells are properly plugged, many leak oil and brine onto farmland and into waterways and emit toxic and explosive gasses,…