In April of 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other locals to Lake Oahe gained a heard-voice in their protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline, a 30-inch-diameter pipe carrying crude oil across 1,150 miles, located half of a mile upstream from the homes of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The protest was fueled by the concern for the potential damage to the environment and drinking water of the indigenous people, already afflicted by years of industrialization and theft of their homes and lands. The protestors, known as "Water Protectors," spoke of the damage to the land that was considered sacred to those who inhabited it, and to the revered wildlife in the area.
These worries of environmental impact are founded on legitimate concerns. Roughly 200 miles away from the Standing Rock encampment, a six inch pipeline managed by Belle Fourche was shutdown because of a leak that spilled oil into the Missouri River. This is not the first incident coming from Belle Fourche, who is reported to have 21 incidents that released 272,832 gallons of oil into waters.
Pipelines are known for leaks and the Missouri River, specifically Lake Oahe holds multiple endangered (or in "threat" of being endangered) species of fish that cannot afford the impact that could come from this reputation of irresponsibility. The Pallid Sturgeon and the Paddlefish are both in danger of losing a dangerous portion of their numbers if anything goes wrong, the Pallid Sturgeon's death being a federal offense, due to it's Endangered classification.
In response to the DAPL, four scientists wrote a letter, warning of the environmental dangers. Here is a portion:
"The DAPL project is just one of many haphazard approaches to continual natural resource extraction, which overlook the broader consequences of further oil development. We as scientist are concerned about the potential local and regional impacts from the DAPL, which is symptomatic of the United States' continued dependence on fossil fuels in the face of predicted broad-scale social and ecological impacts from global climate change."
There were 225 additional signatures of scientists across the country.
Essentially, these scientists cry out that resource extraction is not being done responsibly and is truly endangering not just those in the immediate area, but the entirety of the planet. These pockets of disregard for the local environment polka-dot the planet in a way that few seem to realize in the short-sighted view of the area of operation and the destructive consumerist ambitions. This adds up, like snowflakes to an avalanche, to an inevitable collapse. Resource extraction is acting as termites to the support beams of our planet.
The Army Corps of Engineers recognized this and delayed the giving of a permit for the pipeline in North Dakota. President Obama announced that there was a possibility of rerouting the DAPL. On November 9, the company overseeing the DAPL declared they would begin drilling below the Missouri River despite not being given the permit by the Army Corps of Engineers.
On December 5, the United States Army and President Obama declared a halt on DAPL construction. However, this is a 3.8 billion dollar project, and President-Elect Trump invested in this, so this halt has a questionable continuity.
Why does this matter to residents of Florida?
Florida, despite the high-water table, has many resources that are extracted. Mining is one of the most destructive operations happening in Florida. Phosphate, sand, and limerock are drawn from the environment and cause damage to anything from wetlands and swamps to our coastlines and aquifers. There is also a surprising amount of logging that takes place in Florida that revokes the habitats of much of our wildlife.
On September 16, of this year, construction began on the 3.2 billion dollar pipeline, known as the Sabal Trail Pipeline, began in North Florida. This pipeline is under the net of one Spectra Energy. Spectra Energy was responsible for a pipeline running under the Arkansas River, which exploded in May of 2015.
This trail will run through three South Eastern States and cross many rivers and lands. In fact, Sabal Trail seized 160 properties, claiming eminent domain federal lawsuits and plans on construction through those zones (though they offered reparation to home-owners and didn't evict many people from their homes).
Here is why this matters:
Florida is teeming with wildlife across multiple different genomes. We have oceans, swamps, forests, wetlands and prairies. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reporter in October that there are a total of 147 endangered or threatened species, 44 of which are reliant on our waters for their survival. If we look at the history of pipelines, the histories of Spectra Energy and Belle Fourche, the willing rejection of law at the DAPL, the words of scientist, we cannot stand for the dangers that Florida's wildlife and human homes face. The very future of Florida rests in our hands.
Geologist Dennis Price says; "The [Sabal Trail] pipeline is a problem because the geology underground is a delicate balance of sinkhole and limestone formation..."
If we do not act on the perpetual disregard for our land, our geology, we will literally tear the ground out from underneath our feet. We will irreparably damage our waterways and our aquifers, cutting off our own lifelines and the homes of many animals. People and wildlife will slowly be choked off by the irresponsible treatment of our state, for the sake of resources we will be too incapacitated in the future to use.
The Water Protectors fought and will continue to fight for what they believe is sacred. They see that the value of the dollar is not equivalent to that of their homes, of their wildlife, of our planet. They had a large victory, a battle was won, but they still fight the war.
This is testament to our ability to win against the very same forces that siege North Dakota. That is why NODAPL matters, they are our prototype to ecological victories. We just have to ask ourselves;
What matters more: resources, or the life of our planet and her inhabitants?
