Recently the controversial Dakota Access and the Keystone XL pipeline projects have been reintroduced into the news with now-president Trump signing into executive order the re-approval, revival and relaunch of the pipeline project, much to the anger and disappointment of thousands of eco-aware protesters, the scientific community, environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, WWF , NWF, and also the Native American (Standing Rock) Souix tribes who reside on their reservations where the proposed pipelines are to be routed through, if the plan stays where it currently is.
Here is some more additional about the two projects:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_Pipeline#Keystone_XL
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_Access_Pipeline
While there are many pre-existing pipelines running across the U.S. – there are concerns that these two pose a very real potential risk to the lands on which they course through…as the Dakota Access pipeline borders along and a good portion of the XL pipeline (phase 4) goes right through a large area of the Great Plains called the Ogallala Aquifier, a shallow tablewater aquifier that is one of the world’s largest natural aquifiers in the world, comprising an area of 174,000 sq miles, and ecompassing much of Nebraska, parts of South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. It provides millions of people in the Great Plains area with drinkable groundwater.
While TransCanada, a major energy corporation based in Alberta, Canada – the creators of this project, stated that with newer implemented detection technology and the use of larger and thicker steel piping would reduce the risk of oil leaks and spills, should a major environmental disaster were to occur (much like what happened with BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig oil spill) it would be detrimental to the Ogallala aquifier groundwater and surrounding sources of water such as the Missouri River.
Not only that, but the origin of the oil that is to be delivered across these pipelines by TransCanada are coming from the tar sands located in Northern Alberta, which has more content of petroleum bitumen. It is thicker and dirtier than regual conventionally-derived crude oil and the amount of energy it will take to process and refine the oil that comes from these tar sands can increase the rate of greenhouse (Co2) emissions into the atmosphere. In addition the potentiality of some bad oil spills affecting not only the environment, but the local economy. An example being that from the 2010 Enbridge Tar Oil Spill.
Ok, so we now know this controversial pipeline project is some bad news…so what can we do about it? – Here are two links that can help in what can be done to counteract against this threat. (I have already signed a few petitons myself regarding these environmental issues).
http://www.ecowatch.com/stop-dakota-access-pipeline-2216655918.html
https://secure.nrdconline.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2673