Although the Dakota Access Pipeline would be a safer method of domestic oil transportation than rail, the potential environmental hazards far outweigh the benefits of seeking energy independence from foreign oil, disturbing tribal lands and possibly infiltrating groundwater with pollutants.
About this project
Maya Johnston is in a blended learning class for English 101 at the University of Maryland. This website gives students a chance to take ideas written in previous papers about one topic into a multimedia environment. Over the course of one semester, students have researched and analyzed their topics, and it all can be found here in this digital format.
An Introduction
On September 29th, 2013, a Tesoro Corporation oil pipeline broke in Northwest North Dakota, releasing 20,600 barrels of oil over 320 acres of land. This would be the second largest oil spill in the history of North Dakota, a state that is second to Texas in oil production and transportation. As state oil regulators have no legal obligation to publicly report spills, many of these spills go unseen by the public, despite the vast amount happening on public lands. Over the course of two years, 300 pipeline spills were documented by officials in North Dakota, which makes the looming construction of 2,500 miles of new pipelines in state seem misguided. Though landowners in North Dakota don’t have access to information of local spills, it is still safe to assume that pipelines have a steady reputation to spill, and maybe the million barrels of oil a day produced in North Dakota has something to do with that. Though these spills may be small, it is the existing reputation of pipelines that poses a threat to the land. The Dakota Access Pipeline is an perfect example of the detrimental threat that pipelines pose to land. With 1,172 miles of pipeline and the potential to carry and transport 470,000 barrels of oil a day, the risk of spilling and possibly infiltrating groundwater is probable and undeniable. The plan of this major infrastructure project not only demonstrates the impact of heavy fossil fuel use on our planet and the United States in particular, but also how in the midst of a debate about the value of energy independence, our country tends to overlook the value of the land, and in turn, the people that have been on that land long before our nation was established. By ignoring the massive amount of pipeline spills mentioned above, the United States government is deliberately overlooking the value of the land the pipeline sits on, as well as demeaning the protests of landowners and Native Americans who will be directly affected. This project will examine why the Dakota Access Pipeline needs to be shut down, and explain how the hanging weight of the implications of the Pipeline could have detrimental effects on the relationship between the government and indigenous people, as well as the environment. It will conclude with an exploration of solutions alternative to the pipeline, and how our nation can compromise its energy needs with the growing industry of alternative energy, instead of relying on fossil fuels and adhering to all the dangers that come with it. Although the Dakota Access Pipeline would be a safer method of domestic oil transportation than rail, the potential environmental hazards far outweigh the benefits of seeking energy independence from foreign oil, disturbing tribal lands and possibly infiltrating groundwater with pollutants.