A drilling rig resumes operations beside the Platte River in Weld County, Colorado, after massive flooding caused by heavy rains caused the spill of 5,250 gallons of oil. A boom in oil and gas drilling across the American West has led to pollution and environmental problems in what were once pristine lands. Traveling rigs go from location to location, drilling down into the shale rock, and are soon followed by pumps that inject a toxic brew of water and chemicals for hydraulic extraction or 'fracking' of oil and gas. Photograph by Roger M. Richards
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