Joe Wertz
Joe was a founding reporter for StateImpact Oklahoma (2011-2019) covering the intersection of economic policy, energy and environment, and the residents of the state. He previously served as Managing Editor of Urban Tulsa Weekly, as the Arts & Entertainment Editor at Oklahoma Gazette and worked as a Staff Writer for The Oklahoman. Joe was a weekly arts and entertainment correspondent for KGOU from 2007-2010. He grew up in Bartlesville, Okla. and studied journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma.
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Oklahoma's oil industry is spending millions on science lessons for public schools. But environmentalists say omitting climate change leaves students unprepared. -
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has sparked controversy for his denial of climate science and his ties to fossil-fuel interests. Here's what to expect in Wednesday's confirmation hearing. -
This year could see a wave of state tax hikes on gasoline and diesel. Oklahoma is one of about a dozen states seriously considering increases. -
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.6 hit Oklahoma on Saturday morning. StateImpact Oklahoma reporter Joe Wertz talks about earthquakes and their connections to oil and gas production.
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Oklahoma's earthquake boom is now a national security threat. No damage has been reported, but operators at the hub are on high alert for a disruption that would ripple through the U.S. energy market. -
Oklahoma is home to bison who roam freely on the last stretches of open prairie. Once a year, the bison are rounded up, vaccinated and de-wormed. It's part of the effort to bring back the herds.
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Oklahoma set a state record last year with more than 5,000 earthquakes. This year, the state is poised to have even more. Now oil and gas regulators have taken notice and are working to curb them. -
The U.S. Geological Survey issues a report Thursday on quakes linked to oil and gas drilling, but Oklahoma has said that the industry's wastewater disposal is the cause. What's unknown is a solution. -
U.S. oil production is at near record levels. But the success has led to a question of where to store all that oil. One of the country's biggest oil hubs is now almost full.
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Big-energy states are hoping the cheap oil is just a blip. In Oklahoma, the head of a catering firm delivering food to oil field workers worries that "$40-a-barrel oil? It's going to shut everything."
