David White
ERH 102
One of the most charged subjects of the past year has been to debate on whether to build the Keystone and Dakota access pipelines. The main problems facing this argument is that neither side is willing to accept that the other side has valid points. Each side of the argument has firm beliefs and has shown an inability to compromise or see the positive points each side can offer. The executive orders passed should not change that fact that there are some major flaws in treatment and construction of these pipelines that should still be discussed by both sides of the argument. The supposed economic benefit is not enough to warrant the loss of trade with other countries and the threat of creating a costly environmental disaster.
At the moment, the United States brings in most of it oil from the Middle East and Mexico. Without this large source of income, both areas could become very unstable which causes two very different problems for the United States. In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is our largest supplier and supporter in the region. Without their help, the two wars, or three if Syria is counted, will become much harder and we might even be pulled into a forth. This is because Yemen, which shares a border with Saudi Arabia, is already deeply divided in civil war. We could lose a major ally in the area of the world we are most present. Mexico would also become unstable, leaving us with an even more volatile sate at our southern border, leading to more illegal immigration and loss of jobs. Mexico’s oil industry is already falling with the US importing 688,000, down from 1.6 million in 2004. (eia)
Construction around oil pipelines tend not to end well. In the area of the protests about the Dakota Access pipelines, there are already eight other pipelines which could malfunction, leading to another disaster like the BP oil spill. Many do not believe in the detriment to the environment this pipeline will cause, but hopefully everyone can agree that spending billions of dollars in cleanup is something no one wants. 500,000 barrels per day is a lot of oil to clean up and a huge danger not only to the environment but to the communities around the pipeline.
http://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/sau/
https://www.eia.gov/beta/international/analysis.cfm?iso=MEX
Works Cited
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