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Pros And Cons Of The Dakota Access Pipeline

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Dakota Access Pipeline “What is this you call property? It cannot be the earth, for the land is our mother… how can one man say it belongs only to him?” (Massasoit 1). Over the past few months, a land related disagreement has emerged between an American Indian tribe called the Standing Rock Sioux and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The dispute revolves around the creation of a 1,172-mile pipeline which will carry crude oil from Sioux territory in North Dakota to Illinois (Energy Transfer 1). Although the USACE claims this pipeline will be beneficial, it is clear that the pipeline will be detrimental to water supply, cause an increase in earthquake potential, and invade sacred Sioux lands. The Dakota Access Pipeline is one of thousands of pipelines which uses a drilling technology called hydraulic fracturing otherwise known as fracking (TuftsUniversity 1). This processes starts by drilling a hole approximately 6,000 feet below ground …show more content…

The President was reportedly shocked by the suffering, persistence and spirit of the Sioux members which led him to deliver a historic speech (Kristen 1). President Obama said, “I promised ... to be a president ... who honors our sacred trust, and who respects your sovereignty, and upholds treaty obligations” (Kristen 1). He continued to quote the renowned Sioux leader Sitting Bull, and said, “Let’s put our minds together, to see what we can build for our children” (Kristen 1). After this eye-opening visit, the Obama administration issued a long-awaited study of the debated oil and gas fracking technique. The results of this study confirmed that fracking "led to impacts on drinking water resources, including the contamination of drinking water wells" (Banerjee 1). Clearly, the process of hydraulic fracturing is detrimental to the water supply of not only the Sioux people, but of the residents of the

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