Keystone Pipeline Summary

Improved Essays
The Keystone XL Pipeline affects much more than just the oil industry. Many groups fear that the Pipeline would cause the United States to increase its dependence on foreign oil. In addition to the numerous environmental concerns, such as oil spills and water contamination, there is concern about the “current eminent domain laws and federal and state regulations will manage the pipeline’s construction.”
In January of 2014, the United States Department of the State issued an executive summary of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Within the summary, the State Department listed off various concerns that may arise with the construction of the pipeline. The environmental issue listed included “Climate change, including lifecycle GHG emissions associated with oil sands, potential for releases or spills of oil, wetlands, water resources, including effects on groundwater aquifers” to name a
…show more content…
President Obama’s stance on the pipeline has caused this issue to be at the top of the political agenda due to the array of national issues it affects as well as the lack of compromise between Congress and the President. This issue gained both media attention and a spot on the political agenda due to one main disagreement, the Ogallala Aquifer. The Ogallala Aquifer one of the largest aquifers in the world. The proposed Keystone XL Pipeline would run very near to this aquifer and, if damaged, could pollute the aquifer. What started as a small legal dispute in Nebraska has turned into a huge battleground on the national

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Dakota Access Pipeline Controversy Introduction The Dakota Access Pipeline, or DAPL, is a proposed pipeline that would run one-thousand two-hundred miles from North Dakota to Illinois and carry more than four-hundred and seventy thousand barrels of crude oil. Ninety-nine percent of the land the pipeline covers is private land and does not need federal approval for construction. The Army Corps of Engineers reviewed the remaining one percent and concluded construction would have no serious impact on the environment. They decided to build the pipeline slightly north of the Standing Rock Reservation, directly through the tribe’s burial grounds, without their approval. The tribe believes that the pipeline would ruin the environment and their drinking water, despite the Corps’ claims.…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Standing Rock protesters VS Army Corps of Engineers. A group of 200 Native Americans stood among the Standing Rock Indian Reservation on April 1st, 2016 to protest against the 3.7 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline. The Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) is a pipeline that transfers 470,000 barrels of unpurified oil from Bakken North Dakota to a terminus near Patoka, Illinois (Epstien, 2016). On July 26th, 2016, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved the final word for the land easement and water crossing to allow the pipeline to move forward.…

    • 988 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Dakota pipeline is a long pipe that will run crude oil from that will run from North Dakota all the way to south Illinois it will go through 4 states and it will be crossing Native American land that was given to them and now they want to take…

    • 613 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The media has capitalized on the attention that these protestors have gained by camping out and having religious ceremonies dedicated to preserving their water supply. While the pipeline may appear negatively throughout news sources and social media, the construction and management of DAPL has boosted the economy and provided thousands of jobs. Also, this project is continuing the United States initiative of becoming energy-independent. Reducing oil imports from foreign countries will boost national security…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Americans have come together in support of the Tribe asking for a fair, balanced and lawful pipeline process. The environmental impact statement was wrongfully terminated. This pipeline was unfairly rerouted across our treaty lands. The Trump administration — yet again — is poised to set a precedent that defies the law and the will of Americans and our allies around the…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Using Enbridge Northern gateway pipeline as a framework, explore how pipeline governance in Canada impacts the sovereignty of the Indigenous communities There is a growing concession of the need to consider the impact of large scale industrial development of resources extraction on indigenous communities in Canada, especially, projects which may have direct environmental impact on these communities, specifically, the tar sand industry. The aboriginal rights are protected by the Canadian constitution and the Canadian government is vested with the due responsibility of consulting the impacted aboriginal communities to amend and incorporate their interest where appropriate or as required, (D'Arcy, Black, Weis, & Russell, 2014). However, this…

    • 1246 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Think about the year, 2016. The current state of the country seems to be in upheaval in regards towards civil liberties of any form. I would like to speak on a particular civil issue that isn’t brought to the mainstream as much of the other also important issues of our day, the current state of the indigenous people of our country, the Native Americans. The people who once lived in North America for thousands of years has been systematically reduced to what appears to be mainstream culture of casinos, sport teams, and mascots. Throughout recent years, as the population of native Americans keeps declining, there have been activists who have been speaking up against the many issues that their community faces.…

    • 1416 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    South Dakotan Native Americans who own property on the Lakota reservation engaged in non-violent protest “to protect their sacred water and other natural resources” as one tribal elder remarked that “there is no way for Native people to say no – there never has been (Hotakainen).” Claims of eminent domain, which have historically been used to justify encroachment on tribal property and function centrally in the legal reasoning behind the Keystone XL proposal, almost always work in the interest of Whites and at the expense of Indian property rights, even though they claim to be race-blind. Property rights of Native Americans are under unique attack: It is inconceivable, for example, that the federal government would use eminent domain to justify the construction of an intrusive pipeline in Fairfax, Virginia. The very nature of eminent domain prevents non-political minorities from effectively representing their interests because they are forced to take the position of defending property rights against a formidable (if false) construction of the public’s best interest. As a result, proposals such as the Keystone XL pipeline turn public opinion against Native American groups and reduce the legitimacy of their claims to exclusive property on…

    • 1793 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Dakota Pipeline is in the process of being built to connect the oil rich areas of North Dakota to Illinois. The hope of completing the pipeline, would make moving crude oil to the refineries in the Gulf Coast or East Coast areas a lot easier. President Obama, in November of 2015, put a stop to the pipeline being built because of the controversy that it caused (Yan, Park, Ravits and Sidner, 2017). By putting an end to the controversy about the construction of the pipeline, it put a stop to the disagreements, and protesting over the project that went on throughout most of Obama’s presidency (Yan, Park, Ravits and Sidner, 2017). On the 24th of January 2017, President Trump signed an executive order to finish the Dakota Pipeline; however, the pipeline would need to be in agreement with the law before it can be completed (Yan, Park, Ravits and Sidner, 2017).…

    • 2091 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Perhaps one of the most widely debated topics, in recent years, is the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The completion of the project has been done in multiple phases and one of the last phases scheduled to be completed is the phase 4 extension. This extension would create a pipeline that would trek, around 2000 miles, from Alberta Canada to the gulf coast of Texas (Friends of the Earth). Since the pipeline would cross international borders, approval from congress would be necessary in order to begin construction (NPR). The two main issue points on the topic are the economic gains that could incur from the development of the pipeline and the overall impression on the environment that would ensue from extraction, transportation, and refining of the oil.…

    • 1549 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Keystone XL: A Pipeline Fueling Debate The Keystone Pipeline XL, a large pipeline that has been proposed to transport oil from the Canada to the United States, has led to controversy recently. Why is there so much debate, you may ask, when it has, “the support of an increasing number of Democrats, as well as the vast majority of Republicans in Congress” (Steinhauer, 2012)? There are many disputes between political parties and groups in the U.S., but what is special about the Keystone Pipeline is that the support is not one sided.…

    • 1623 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    President Obama’s Hypocrisy President Barack Hussein Obama is the forty fourth president of the United States elected in 2008 and he is the first president, under the constitution, of African descent. He worked his way up from the Illinois State Senate to the US Senate and was officially sworn in as president on January 20, 2009. Given his background in politics, logically, people assumed that he was a responsible, trustworthy candidate for president; however, his actions prove otherwise. His past work does not stand for his mental ability to run and decide for a country. Instead of his idea of “hope” and “change”, his presidency has brought the United States to the brink of ruin.…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The article declares that the initial route was dangerously close neighboring homes and in an effort to protect nearby wells that supply drinking water, the government changed the pipeline’s path. Furthermore, the article states that the new route was, for the most part, chosen for it’s already existing infrastructure. While the story highlights actual problems presented in the first routing draft and logical reasoning for the second, the real issue mentioned is the lack of consultation and consideration for the native community on the part of the government. The Sioux tribe did not receive the same caution and review for the effects of this pipeline as another group did. In “Standing Rock and the Erosion of Tribal Rights”, Penn-Roco writes, “Tribes are sovereign nations.…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Introduction The Keystone Pipeline was a proposed idea of a pipeline that would run from the oil sands of Canada to Steele City, Nebraska (“Keystone” 1). It would then connect with an existing pipeline that would administer it elsewhere. Since the proposal was for an oil pipeline that would cross international borders, it needed the President’s approval. The idea became such a controversial topic when President Obama stated that six days to decide the fate of this project was not a sufficient amount of time to make a decision.…

    • 1105 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Keystone Pipeline is a Legitimate Issue and Should Not Be Approved The controversy surrounding the Keystone XL Pipeline proposal steams from very legitimate concerns. While the issue has attracted support from some parties, it is apparent that many, including environmental activists, civilians and politician have strongly opposed the move, but the big question is, what are the specific reasons is in all this? According to Natural Resource Defense Council, NADR a New York based natural environment gives a comprehensive account why the move will be disastrous not only to natural environment but also to people (NADR). In addition, other non- partisan organizations like the Friends of Earth have also voiced their opposition to…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays