Cannonball Pipeline Debate

One of the most controversial issues faced nowadays is the way we deal with the transport of oil. One of the proposed methods is The Keystone XL Pipeline. Although there are some pros associated with building the pipeline, the risk outweighs the benefits by far. Building the Keystone XL pipeline would negatively affect the environment, jeopardize the public health and is to no benefit to the American people.

“In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources, and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy, and peace (Nobel Peace Prize Medalist Maathai 2004).” A Canadian oil company that goes by TransCanada hopes to build an oil pipeline that would extend an enormous 1,200 miles onto an already gargantuan 2,600 mile long pipeline. Keystone XL represents just under a third of the entire Keystone project, and every other piece of pipe has been built and laid out. In fact, TransCanada 's pipeline system is already shipping hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil from the Canadian oil sands across the U.S. border -- and into Illinois (Diamond). The current proposal would take the pipeline on a journey all the way through to Texas. Extracting crude oil from oil sands would be enormously problematic for the environment as it causes the pumping of about 17% more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than standard crude oil extraction. Tar sand oil has levels of carbon dioxide emissions that are three to four times higher than those of conventional oil, due to more energy-intensive removal and refining processes (Friends of the Earth). The construction of the Keystone XL pipeline would stimulate employment, the effects would be temporary and the whole scheme would produce a negative long term outcome. The construction of the Keystone XL pipeline has caused

The United States is currently attempting to build a pipeline underneath Lake Oahe that will damage Native American burial sites and will contaminate primary source of drinking water for the Sioux Tribe. First there will be a brief description of what happening with the protest at Standing Rock. Following these facts about this atrocity this paper will begin with a historical summary of the Sioux Tribe, the main set of protesters who are fighting to keep the pipeline from being constructed. Following this the paper will discus the culture and sacred sites that the pipeline would be affecting for the Sioux Tribe. Therefore no tribe should have to go through these abuse violation of their lands and such should be a better policy to protect

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe believes that there is a great risk of the pipeline leaking into the water source, even though there is already pipelines located below the Missouri River they do not want any more new oil pipelines to endanger their sacred burial land. They are at great risk of environmental damage and poisoning the people that use this water on a daily by putting this pipeline below Lake Oahe. Most of the 1,200 mile long Dakota Access Pipeline has already been built except for the last piece that is going directly under Lake Oahe, construction has been further halted because of the protesters and their supporters. They halted the construction of the pipeline because of the protest camps that were set up right near the construction site, located near the Missouri River.

The North Dakota Access Pipeline will span from the Bakken, North Dakota to southern Illinois. The Standing Rock Sioux reservation opposes the pipeline because they believe that it goes through sacred land. The Sioux tribe also opposes the pipeline because it will cross the Missouri River twice, which is the reservations main water source. They believe that the pipeline may contaminate the Missouri River, but the pipeline company claims that the pipeline is the safest method to transfer the oil. I believe that this is a tough topic to form an opinion on, but I will hopefully explain my stance on this issue throughout this essay.

For the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, water is sacred, and if an oil pipeline is built it will damage sites that have great historical, religious, and cultural significance to the tribe. Aside from the desecration of sacred sites, the environmental hazards caused by the pipelines and the possibility of a spill will be catastrophic. The US does not need another oil pipeline robbing innocent people of their culture, and threatening a source that keeps us alive.

The Dakota Access Pipeline is a problem for the natives, but obviously not for us Americans. Energy transfer quote that “Some protesters stayed overnight what looked like dog kennels and were let out in the morning”. This is why we need to stop the construction of this pipeline because it could leak and contaminate the water, the pipeline would be going through sacred grounds, and we need to stop the violence against the native protesters.

In the article, “A high-plains showdown over the Dakota Access Pipeline”, Justin Worland addresses the current situation the North Dakota Access Pipeline has brought upon America and its Native American tribes. In particular, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe has a conflict between the Energy Transfer Partners company. Energy Transfer Partners wants to build an oil pipeline near the Standing Rock Reservation. The Sioux tribe is against the project because the oil pipeline will destroy their historical ground and their water source of Lake Oahe.

Oil is one resource America relies heavily on. Oil has a negative impact on the environment and has long lasting affects. The Dakota Access Pipeline is a major controversial topic in the news. The Dakota Access Pipeline is being used to transport oil from North Dakota to Illinois. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is located where the pipeline will be passing through. The pipeline disrupts the lives of the Native Americans who live there. I believe that the Dakota Access Pipeline should not be built because of the affects on the environment and goes against the rights of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Greider and Garkovich’s Landscapes: The Social Construction of Nature and the Environment discusses how the environment we live in is apart of our landscape. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sees their landscape as sacred and a place they need to protect.

But, according to Yan (2016) the pipeline can have either a great economic benefit for the United States or it can cause an environmental disaster. The pipeline also is going to run through sacred Native American land and water source (Jensen 2016). This brings in protestors that range from humanist, Native Americans, environmentalist, state residents and even Hollywood celebrities (Yan 2016). According to Jensen (2016), these peaceful protestors are being treated harshly by law enforcement, which makes the pipeline even more controversial. The police are trying to run out the protestors by “using freezing water and concussion grenades” during winter conditions to get them to leave Cannon Ball, ND (Jensen 2016). Law enforcement doesn’t want the area to “swell” with protestors again when it comes spring (Reuters 2017). These protestors just want to be heard, which they were in Obama’s administration, but Trump’s administration wants to continue construction with or without the support of the community. This could be due to Trump’s investment and profit in the pipeline (Mufson 2016). On the another hand, the pipeline can help the economy by making the United States more independent on oil and reducing the use of trains. In some cases, trains that are carrying oil cargo has been derailed and exploding. This would also bring down cost for shipments with

What are these environmental issues exactly well it has to do with the water in the area nearby the site where they want to build their oil pipeline is the Missouri River and lake Oahe. The rivers and lakes are there main supply of water to the Native American reservation near by The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. This drive has been protesting since April about the dangers of the corruption their water supply. If this water becomes corrupt the water will be contaminated

With the rise in violence, the United States government must dispute equally amongst both sides. The land, in which the pipeline will be built, is not owned by the Sioux; it is owned by the federal government. The pipeline will pass through the land, but will not pass through the Sioux reservation. The pipeline is a resource that the U.S. is dependent on. Oil is a main contributor to the U.S. economy and without it, there would be a drastic change in the economy. A simple soloution could be to redirect the pipeline to where it does not cross the Sioux's holy land, but crosses through the Missouri River - containing already more than seven other pipelines - and must be secured so the water is not polluted by leakage in the pipe. This solution

Environmental welfare has become one of our most important priorities since the widely-spread awareness of climate change. Recently, there has been a controversial subject arousing from the midwest that is allegedly threatening our environment - the construction of Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). This $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile pipeline project will be crossing four states from North Dakota through Illinois to supply crude oil coming from the oil-rich Bakken area (Yan). DAPL will supposedly create new jobs like construction and maintenance, lower gas prices as we do not have to rely exporting oil from overseas, and boost energy production in our country as we continue to consume more energy resources. However, induced with negative feelings from

Oil is imperative to the endurance of today’s society and plays a major role in the world’s economy. The Keystone XL Pipeline is a crude oil pipeline that is designed to run from “Hardisty, Alberta…to Steele City, Nebraska,” (About The Project). Citizens of Canada and the United States are debating the development of the pipeline. There are two sides to this issue, to either approve or disapprove the Keystone XL Pipeline, and by researching this topic I will form an opinion.

For every spill of oil or gas, it damages that ecosystem sometimes beyond repair or it takes it many many years to recover from it. That being said the North Dakota Pipeline is going to be one of the safest most technologically advanced pipelines in the world. Another controversy is that the Native Americans are claiming that the pipeline runs through some of their sacred lands and can possibly contaminate their water supply. The North Dakota Pipeline can be a very successful oil transporter but there also seems to be some drawbacks like it possibly running through sacred land, contaminating water, and the possibility of leaking or exploding and causing a major disaster for the people and animals that live