Dakota Access Pipeline Essay

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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.
Firstly, the Dakota Access Pipeline transfers oil between North Dakota and Illinois. “The Route” explains that the Dakota Access Pipeline will transport 470,000 barrels of oil from the Bakken and Three Forks areas in North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois. On the other hand, this long pipeline will …show more content…

“No oil pipeline can 100% guarantee a leak- or spill free operation” says Matt Clarke. Granted that, no promise can be made that will assure the water will remain clean and not negatively affect the surrounding land and people consuming the water. Clarke also discusses that almost all pipelines are made out of cheap carbon steel and sealed with protectants. They rely on the protectants rather than using a more structurally sound stainless steel, thus proving that companies are more interested in saving money than they are making a safer pipeline. Next, in the article “On Pipelines, Oil, and Risk”, Matt Clarke also states that most pipeline companies depend on their crew to clean up the mess. Yet the spill in Kalamazoo River from 2010 is still being cleaned to this day. The companies are assuring a cleanup plan for a “just in-case”, but they aren’t concluding that it could take several of years, and it’s possible that their water will never be 100% …show more content…

An article titled “Native American Beliefs” on home.earthlink.net has concluded that Native American beliefs are rooted in their culture and strongly connected. “Everything is sacred from the largest mountain to the smallest plant and animal”. In the United States, people take pride in our constitution. We are known as being “free”. We have freedom of speech, freedom of press, and a more important one; freedom of religion. What if nature is your religion? Or the Earth is your higher power? Their religion is to have love, respect, and honor for Mother Earth and every little thing on it. Is destroying that person’s land with construction and unnatural transportation pipes a violation of the

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