Grist: In the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, European settlers stole a lot of land from Native Americans. They killed them, they cheated them, and they robbed them of most of the continent. But they made one mistake. Back then good land was fertile land for growing crops. The Great Plains and interior West - dry, dusty, freezing cold in winter and broiling hot in summer - had little to offer.
Now, however, the Europeans and their descendants lust for oil and gas to provide electricity, heat, and...