Pumped Up

摘要

The state of our state is strong," de-clared North Dakota's governor this month. It is a rarity. Forty-one states face budget gaps; North Dakota has a surplus of $1.2 billion. Part of its success lies in the countryside. In the summer the sun lingers over fields of wheat and sunflowers. Now darkness comes early and snow often. But there are constants in the landscape: smoking coal plants, flares from oil wells and, increasingly, towering windmills.