Environmental conflict
Lori’s Intro:
There is an important product being built that thousands of people are protesting against. The project is the “The Dakota Access Pipeline.” This project is being built across 4 states the costs $3.7 billion to help change the U.S crude oil supply. Many people are talking about this topic many The Rock Sioux Tribe and Dakota Access,LLC. These two groups have two different sides and opinions of this topic.
Ashley’s Intro: There is much controversy surrounding the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. First of all, what is it? It’s the Dakota Access, LLC, ongoing project to build a pipeline that will transport oil. The pipeline will be 1,172 miles long, and 30 inches in diameter, and extend across
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The stakeholder that supports this claim is the company called Dakota Access,LLC. Based on the article, “Dakota Access Pipeline: What’s at Stake?” the company said “decrease reliance on foreign oil.” This means that we don’t have to always depend on foreign oil because we have our oil when the pipeline is built. Dakota Access, LLC. also stated in the same article that it will help create many jobs for people. This shows that if there are more jobs, our economy will become better. The company also stated that when the pipeline is built it will be an easier way to transport the oil. This means that we will have easier access and it will not affect the environment around …show more content…
On one hand the pipeline will increase jobs and decrease reliance on foreign oil. On the other hand the only water supply for a native american tribe is at risk. It is up to each individual person to decide if the benefits of the many outweigh the loss of the few. Hopeful the Dakota Access Company and the Rock Sioux tribe will be able to reach a compromise. Perhaps by change in the course of the pipeline so that it no longer puts the Missouri River at risk. Whatever changes needed to reach a compromise, until they are made the protest are sure to
The Dakota Access Pipeline and the Keystone XL Pipeline are two pipeline projects that were suspended in the past. These pipelines were stopped because they could have a big impact of people and the environment. The making of these pipelines would cause a great amount of carbon pollution. Recently, President Trump signed the orders to approve the pipeline project. The projects have pros and cons, the people in favor of the pipelines think we would be able to rely less on foreign oil. The people against the pipeline believe that the pipelines would cause the release of gases into the air that could be harmful for other people.
On the 9th of February 2004 TransCanada Corporation, an energy company based in Alberta, Canada proposed a plan for the installation and use of a pipeline that would stretch from Alberta, Canada to oil refineries in the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States. The pipeline, titled the Keystone Pipeline, would be installed in four separate phases and once completed would transport up to 1.1 million barrels of synthetic crude oil per day. Phases two through four of the pipeline encompass the parts of the pipeline that would be installed in the United States and would be located in the states of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, and Illinois. TransCanada is currently awaiting approval from the US government in order to begin the installation of the US portion of the pipeline.
Kinder Morgan has proposed the idea of building a twin pipeline for that of the Trans Mountain pipe line. And the clear question for all Canadians especially in the lower main land of British Columbia is this proposition to twin the pipe line safe, economical for British Columbia, and reliable way to transport fossil fuel in the form of crude oil? Or is this just business as usual?
The oil companies, the customers, and the average employee will not benefit from the construction of this pipeline. If the pipeline does its job, it will take the whole load of oil from Canada to the United States. The other companies which are already responsible for transporting oil will not be required to do their jobs, as it is being done for them. All of these companies will go out of business. With three more pipeline plans in place for Canada, people are wondering whether they will ever need to build a new one again.
The Keystone Pipeline started construction in 2008 for the main purpose of connecting Canadian and American oil refineries to transport crude oil from the oil sands of Canada faster and more efficient. So far the first three phases of the pipeline have been completed but the proposed and most controversial is Phase IV. It connects Hardisty, Alberta to Steele City, Oklahoma which requires a presidential permit and it also connects the 485-mile southern leg known as the Gulf Coast Project between Steele City and Port Arthur, Texas, which is now operating (Eilperin). The benefits of the pipeline include an increase in jobs, contribute $3.4 billion to the U.S economy and also save time and money from transporting the oil by pipeline instead of tanks and rails. At the same time it would be a great harm to the environment, making the climate unstable, and could cause possible future oil spills. The articles covering the Keystone Pipeline generally list out the same points, covering the same benefits and consequences of building the pipeline. Sources like Fox News and CNS have more of an opposition towards the pipeline and narrow in on the risks and of the effects it would have on the people. Whereas news stations such as CNN and The Washington Post address both sides of the controversy but are subtle about being in favor of the pipeline. The international sources such as Al Jazeera and Reuters oppose the pipeline and are more open with supporting the environmentalists.
As a tribal member it is very important to care for nature and respect the land. With the recent problems Michigan has faced, including but not limited to, the Enbridge 5 pipeline that runs under the straights of mackinaw and the Flint water contamination, it is important to me that we do what we can to be a part of the solution verses the problem. No matter what the amount of recycling Bay Mills Community College accumulates, with no recycling plan set in place the tribal college of Bay Mills will remain a part of the problem.
I think that the Keystone XL is a good project and the benefits of building it outweigh the potential negative effects. I will discuss the reasons I think that this pipeline project is a good idea. Firstly the U.S. economy would benefit from an increase in jobs and revenue that the pipeline would bring. Thousands of jobs would be created. Much of the taxes from the construction and property owned by the pipeline would contribute to the local areas that the pipeline runs through. Also transporting crude oil through pipeline is generally the safest option. Transportation by barge, rail, or trucker are the alternatives to pipeline transportation. These would generally cost more and harm the environment further, in terms of carbon emissions, than a pipeline would. People argue that the pipeline would result in more carbon emissions produced since more oil would be able to be transported down to the Gulf Coast refineries to be eventually burned by end users. This is not true because the oil from tar sands in Canada does not necessarily need a pipeline to transport the crude oil. They will use alternative transportation methods, such as listed above, to transport the crude to refineries. At least the transportation of crude oil through a pipeline would be more cost-effective, would emit fewer carbon emissions, and would benefit the U.S.
In today's global economy, energy is one of the most crucial and sought after commodities. Who supplies it and how much they supply determines how much influence they have over other countries as well as the global economy. This is why hydraulic fracturing is currently such an important and controversial topic in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as "fracking" or hydrofracturing, is the process of using pressurized liquids to fracture rocks and release hydrocarbons such as shale gas, which burns more efficiently than coal. This booming process of energy production provides a much needed economic boost, creating jobs and providing gas energy for Americans. The efficiently burning shale gas reduces carbon emission from electricity production plants, reducing carbon footprints on the environment. However, the process of hydraulic fracturing uses millions of gallons of pressurized liquid, which contains toxic chemicals, and some of this water is left over undealt with. The air near fracking sites is often also polluted and unsafe for nearby community residents. Injecting millions of gallons of water laced with toxic chemicals into the rock thousands of feet deep can cause earthquakes, causing a safety hazards for all nearby areas. Hydraulic Fracturing makes rare natural gases easily attainable, boosting the economy and reducing carbon emissions. However, the negative side effects such as contaminated water and air, make hydraulic fracturing a process that may not be worth the benefits.
The construction of the pipeline will allow to transport large amount of barrels of oil all throughout the United States each day. As Adam Kelsey states in his report a few viewpoints from President Trump. He said that the transportation of the oil barrels throughout the US is a “vital energy infrastructure”. On January 24, 2017 Trump said “great construction jobs”, this will increase jobs for many workers. In addition to the construction jobs, there will be an increase in job for steelworkers. “We build the pipelines, we want to build the pipe, going to put a lot of workers, lot of steelworkers back to work”, says
Have you ever been to Hell? No one is quite sure how far underground you have to go to get there or what you have to do to be sent there, but no one truly wants to go. Fracking might be putting people closer to Hell than the government thinks. What is fracking? “…hydraulic fracturing… as a means of extracting natural gas and oil from shale formations located deep underground (Davis and Fisk 1). Fracking has caused many ethical issues due to the many problems it has caused for the people who live around the fracking sites. “…, it has become increasingly controversial because of rising public concerns about drilling-related impacts on environmental quality, local government infrastructure, and public health” (Davis and Frisk 1). The fracking
Some ask, Why should we be moving crude oil by pipeline instead of the railway? We have had many of the trains explode or even derail in the recent years. This isn’t a case of operation error though, many of the trains were going under the speed limit set for trains at 80 mph. We have had over 400 crashed or spilled oil in the U.S. in the past five years. This has cost $45 million dollars in damages, but if a pipeline leaks it will pour more oil into the ecosystem. Although it is less likely to explode, this is not good for our water and environment in any way. Moving oil by a pipeline is about $30 cheaper than the railway’s price for shipping the crude oil, but the estimated amount of deaths caused by rails every year is 94, and the pipelines’ is 2. Through all of this we have to consider the Native American protesters’ view on this.
The article, ‘I want to win someday’: Tribes make stand against pipeline by Jack Healy is primarily towards the Native American tribes in North Dakota. This articles purpose is to explain the situations between the Native American tribe members and Energy Transfer Partners behind the pipeline in North Dakota. The author, Jack Healy, shows the purpose and serious tone of his article by gathering facts and combining those with tribe members experience to clarify the tension there is between the two. He believes the pipelines shouldn’t be built, so they can conserve the sacred land of the Native Americans. The Native American Tribes that are surrounding the construction for the pipeline are protesting against the project because the tribes feel that the construction will destroy the sacred land. Past problems have happened to members of a tribe, such as member Verna Bailey, “Fifty years ago, hers was one of hundreds of Native American families whose homes and land were inundated by rising waters after the Army Corps of Engineers built the Oahe Dam along the Missouri River” (Healy 2016). This historical
The Dakota Access Pipeline, already rejected once, is now causing uproar from people protesting its construction. What is so bad about this pipeline that it is on its way to getting rejected twice? The pipeline not only carries oil, but also brings risks to the land and the people living there. Keeping this in mind, the government moved the original route of the oil pipeline and passes the burden of the risks onto Native Americans living near the area.
The more attention these protests get; the more individuals seek to have the federal government intervene. Politics are definitely highlighting on how ethical these constructions are to the tribes who live on these lands. Since the start of colonization indian tribes have been forced out of their lands, and moved westward. Is it right to create a pipeline, that has been proven have oil leaks into their water supply, so it is an environmental issue. Also these pipelines are being built on sacred land. Should we honor the tribe's traditions, or let into our greed, and seek economic
and Henry David Thoreau’s ideas of how government should not be followed if laws are morally unjust according to religion are reflected in the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock, South Dakota. They are a form of independent action and nonconformity that are quite distinct in their nature because they truly mirror ideas of great transcendentalist thinkers, unlike other protests in this era that seem to be unorganized and without clear purpose. The protests at Standing Rock are over the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline that would have to run through Sioux territory. The nonconformity seen at the Standing Rock protests is due to a feeling of a greater purpose due to religion. As a part of the Sioux religion, the people “[attach] religious and cultural significance to properties with the area” (Bailey). Therefore, any changes to the land around them goes against their morals and their religion, so action must be taken. This applies the principles of Thoreau because people are protesting the naturally unjust government, and the ideas of Martin Luther King Jr. can be seen because people are making their own decisions over whether or not the rule of government is just. Furthermore, it is not just the Sioux who are protesting, but also “religious communities such as the United Methodist Church and the Nation of Islam” (Bailey) This is because people of other religions also recognize the plight of unjust laws and act independently. They also