Remember the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) that Energy Transfer Partners has been building? It was protested by the Standing Rock natives and their supporters due to concerns about its environmental consequences including (but not limited to) drinking water contamination. The oil pipeline, which stretches through North and South Dakota has already started leaking, and construction isn’t even complete!
The oil spill took place on April 6, and has since been rectified.
‘They keep telling everybody that it is state of the art, that leaks won’t happen, that nothing can go wrong,’ said Jan Hasselman, a lawyer for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which has been fighting the project for years. ‘It’s always been false. They haven’t even turned the thing on and it’s shown to be false.’
‘Our lawsuit challenging this dangerous project is ongoing, and it’s more important than ever for the court to step in and halt additional accidents before they happen – not just for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and our resources but for the 17 million people whose drinking water is at risk’, said Dave Archambault II (Standing Rock Sioux chairman).
The environmental impact of oil pipelines has always been downplayed by their advocates, and they are routinely proven wrong by numerous oil spills, but most people don’t care enough about that. People forget about things very quickly, and this serves yet another reminder of the consequences of building more oil pipelines.
Did you notice how oil pipelines get the green light for construction, despite running through private property (without the owners’ permission), but alternative energy projects are met with greater opposition (even if they are out in the desert where no one lives)?
They even tried to use eminent domain to force the pipeline through. You can learn more about eminent domain, and how it constitutes a gross violation of human rights (ethically speaking) here.
In today’s world, reducing a powerful company’s profits is a greater offense than any other. Fortunately, it is now easier to ameliorate the oil problem, as electric vehicles have never been cheaper, nor have they ever had longer range. The Chevy Bolt is an electric economy car with a range of 238 miles per charge, and a price as low as $29,995 after the federal tax credit. It’s a small car, but it has 4 doors and 4 seats that make the process of carrying your children to and from school, or grocery shopping very easy.
