Environmental Justice Case study: Keystone XL Pipeline vs. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Introduction
Throughout this paper I will try to prove that the proposed establishment of the Keystone XL Pipeline is a direct infringement upon the human rights of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota. In order to make this claim I shall directly address three elements: First, the evidence of possible inequality of this situation, secondly the explanatory progress of how and why this situation has come to be as it is, and finally the justice of how things ought to be (Walker, 2012). Pipeline Injustice
The origination of this case study begins on one brisk morning back on the 19th of September in 2008 when TransCanada first submitted their application to the U.S. State Department to build the Keystone XL pipeline. The Canadian based energy infrastructure company proposed a 1,179-mile, 36-inch diameter pipeline that would transport crude oil from Canada, through Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Along with transporting oil from producers in Texas, Oklahoma, Montana and North Dakota (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Map of projected Keystone XL pipeline (TransCanada).
TransCanada primarily focused on the expansion of our economic reach in the world as well as the economic stimulus that would be generated and directly fed back to our own country. However, the company shied away from acknowledging the relationship that many theories have confirmed exists between economic growth
Native Americans tend to experience a majority of the corruption. More often than those of which are not considered a minority. For example, Native Americans should have an inherent right to protection within the country in which they live. Construction of the North Dakota Access Pipeline that started in September of 2016, has given supreme notice to the corruption that still surrounds Native Americans today. Natives of Dakota followed the European laws that were forced upon them and in turn were punished. The Army corps of engineers permitted the project, violating the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act along the way. These were created to stop Europeans from destroying Native American historical artifacts, culture and the livelihood of the innocent. Native Americans do not have citizen protection that was promised to them time and time again by the United Sates.
The Keystone XL is a controversial oil pipeline extension that would travel from Alberta, Canada, to the United States Gulf Coast. The Keystone XL should not be built because of the damage it would cause to the environment. The oil would be found within tar sands that contain bitumen. The process of extracting the crude oil uses a lot of energy and causes a large amount of greenhouse gases. Many citizens, in Canada and the United States, are outraged because it can be detrimental to the surrounding land and wildlife. TransCanada, the company building the oil pipeline, has to receive permission from the United States government to begin construction. If the United States does not have the pipeline built and chooses to not use Canada’s oil, then TransCanada will have the pipeline built elsewhere and exported to other countries. There has been a divide between those in favor of the Keystone XL and those who are not. The Keystone XL would be able to provide the United States with a reliable source of oil, but it would also take the risk of faults in the oil pipeline and ruining parts of America’s resourceful soil. The Keystone XL will cause a negative effect on the environment and damage resourceful land; therefore, the oil pipeline should not be constructed.
The Keystone XL Pipeline is a proposed oil system that expands from Hardisty, Alberta to Port Arthur, Texas. Stretching 1,661 miles long and 36 inches’ wide the TransCanada pipeline would carry tar sands oil, one of the world's dirtiest fuels. The Keystone XL Pipeline would nearly double the amount of the amount of
Almost 95 million barrels of oil and fuel are produced each day in order to provide energy and fuel to people the world over. A major component of the oil industry is the transportation of oil through various means including oil pipelines. These pipelines are capable of transporting thousands of barrels of oil thousands of miles per day. In the United States one possible pipeline has caused a lot of controversy and discussion on the impact it will have on the United States. The difficulty in deciding if the Keystone XL Pipeline should be built is in whether the possibility of economic growth outweighs the possibility of environmental destruction. In order to make a decision, one must first look into the history of oil pipelines. It is crucial
You wake up one day but everything seems odd. Its freezing cold in your house and you wonder what happened to the heat. You go to the kitchen and try to find something to eat and there is no food anywhere. Suddenly you hear scattering and banging in your parents bathroom.Your mom is looking for medicine because she is extremely sick but there is no medicine that she can find to help her. Do you know why, it’s because this is how our future will look like if we have nothing efficient enough to transport the oil that we use in almost everything to us.Therefore we believe the U.S should build the Keystone Pipeline XL because doing so will provide more jobs and increase tax revenue, oil is extremely essential for daily life and the keystone will help to transport our oil easier and safer.
One of the most notable points of concern regarding the Dakota pipeline occurred this past year on October 27th, when authorities forcibly and violently removed Standing Rock water protectors with the use of tasers, pepper spray, sound cannons, concussion grenades and rubber bullets. This is one of the most recent, horrifying incidents occurring to Native peoples, reminding them of the reality of white supremacy and the extent to which racism still exists in the United States. The lack of media coverage of this event goes even further to show the scale that which Native problems are not a concern to the press and American people.
The Keystone XL Pipeline Project has many pros and cons just as any project does, but this project has way bigger cons than most projects this country will face today. “The Keystone XL Pipeline is an environmental crime in progress.” “It’s also been called the most destructive project on the planet.” The major issues with the Keystone XL Pipeline are “the dirty tar sands oil, the water waste, indigenous populations, refining tar sands oil and don’t forget the inevitable; pipeline spills.” And these are just some of the environmental issues, not too mention how building this thing from Canada to Texas; 2,100 miles to be exact, is affecting the people and their land, as stated “this isn’t a little tiny pipeline,
In this article, the Terry Wade and Ernest Scheyder discuss the protesters citing a treaty in order to occupy the land. Protestors are advocating for the rerouting of the pipeline on the grounds that further construction carries potential spills into drinking water and damage historical tribal sacred lands. The article cites the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851, in which the protestors cited, and further discusses how treaty has not been taken seriously in the court of law. The article suggests that at one point the Energy Transfer Company planned to run the pipeline near Bismarck and far from the reservation, but instead decided to choose Standing Rock Sioux Land. This article is useful to point out a solution to the problem as well as the impact of protestors have on this
With an increasing global population and ever industrializing society 's, environmental concern is rarely given priority over economic incentive. But what people fail to realize is that our environmental failures, and relative apathy about it set up a plethora of problems for future generations to deal with. One of the most important decisions president Obama will face in the next year will be whether or not to approve the building of the Keystone XL pipeline, a massively sized, and massively controversial oil pipeline that would stretch all the way from Alberta Canada, to American oil refineries along the Gulf Of Mexico. Despite the economic incentive present, the building of the Keystone XL pipeline should not happen because of the
Since 2010, there have been “more than 3,000 incidents of leaks and ruptures at oil and gas pipelines” according to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (Worland). The Dakota Access Pipeline has sparked controversy between the U.S. Army of Engineers and Native Americans. With threats of damaging their water supply, cultural land, and impeding a treaty made in 1851, had Native Americans protesting by resisting removal. The threatening impact on Native Americans deemed unconsidered and unheard of by government when they originally planned to build the pipeline through the area. And despite a severe winter storm bringing freezing conditions, protesting Natives remained (Maher and Connors). But why did it have to come to desperate measures that endanger one’s personal safety, just to gain the attention of the government? Native American sovereignty has been repeatedly impeded on, forcing them to take matters into their own hands. Concerning the decision prior to construction, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe claims the federal agency did not appropriately consult them prior to construction (Merrit). Recently, Army Corps have halted the passage of the Dakota Access Pipeline due to their outcry. But if the government had just considered the vote of Native Americans in the first place, the decision could have satisfied everyone who at least got a say
Protests continue to grow as the weeks continue to get long for the decision whether or not the pipeline with be repositioned. One of the most talked about controversies talked about in the last 3 months sadly is not over yet, but is hoping to be done in future weeks to come. The Standing Rock Sioux Indian tribe and Energy transfer Partners are hoping the government will see it their way. Both sides have valid reason for why they want it to continue or not to continue ,but it is up to the government as they will have the final say in the finishing of the
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe currently fights to save its only water source from natural gas and oil contamination. This troubling current event has a somewhat forgotten historical analogue where very similar themes presented themselves. The Kinzua Dam Controversy, which took place in the 1950’s and early 1960’s, resulted in the displacement of over 600 Seneca Indian families and the acquisition of a large tract of traditional Seneca Land for dam building. Additionally, the acquisition of Seneca land represented a breach of “The Treaty with the Six Nations of 1794,” which explicated prevented such action by the US Government. The dam and its construction, which primarily benefitted Pittsburg, inspired a heated discourse concerning the ethics of native relocation.
Native Americans are being disrespected, harmed, and their homeland is being taken from them. Am I talking about events taken place centuries ago? No, because these unfortunate circumstances yet again are occurring right here, now, in the present. This horrid affair has a name: The Dakota Access Pipeline. This Pipeline is an oil transporting pipeline, which is funded by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, who have devised a plan for the pipeline to run through the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois. However, unfortunately, this pipeline will run straight through the reservation of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe, expressing their distress for the pipeline have said, that the pipeline will be “Destroying our burial sites, prayer sites, and culturally significant artifacts,” Arguments for the pipeline however have tried to counter this claim, trying to emphasize that “The pipeline wouldn 't just be an economic boon, it would also significantly decrease U.S. reliance on foreign oil”, and that the pipeline is estimated to produce “374.3 million gallons of gasoline per day.”, which could help the sinking oil economy. (Yan, 2016) However, despite the economical growth it could achieve, the Dakota Access Pipeline could have damaging environmental effects on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the areas surrounding.
This memorandum addresses how the State Department of the United States should handle the pending application of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Keystone XL Pipeline is a project under consideration that would provide a 1,664-mile extension to an existing pipeline system built by Canadian company TransCanada. The extension would transport 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day,1 which is about double the United State’s current imports of dirty tar sands.2 The extension would run from Alberta, Canada to Nebraska, where it would connect with an existing pipeline to transport the oil to refineries along the Gulf Coast of Texas. The project is expected to cost about $8 billion dollars.3
The Dakota Access Pipeline is a story that has been in the media for months, with a great deal of controversy surrounding it. Many have heard and seen the protests that are ongoing, in hopes to halt its construction. The most passionate opponents of this pipeline are the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, in North Dakota. While the pipeline does not cut through sacred land, it does pass under the Missouri River, a vital source of water for the tribe. This controversy is one with many sides and moreover, many misconceptions. The Dakota Access Pipeline is an ethically corrupt and potentially disastrous project that threatens the safety and wellbeing of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.