c_hawkbob wrote:When you consider over the road and by rail as the alternatives there is no doubt that pipeline is the safest, most economical means of moving great amounts of oil/natural gas. My problem is with the planning. There is no way they would build a pipeline through Arlington National Cemetery, why should it be any more acceptable to build through ancient Indian burial grounds?
I'm not comfortable with fracking myself, I think much more investigation and longer term studies are in order before we jump in with both feet. I understand that there may be some misinformation involved and I'm not going to pretend to know everything about it (but being in the Power industry I do know more than many) but there seem to be enough red flags at this point to warrant a greater measure of caution.
Refining the oil up north and then transporting it OTR or by rail to export ports in the south creates no less need for a pipeline.
Overall I stand with the Standing Rock tribe at this point. More caution and better planning at the very least are in order.
Arlington National Cemetery is not a good analogy. ANC has been around for years and is a National Park that is federally protected. The land in this dispute is on private land and only recently was discovered to potentially contain some historical significance and has no legal protection whatsoever.
But it would seem to me that there should be a reasonable compromise that each party can live with. I don't see why the pipeline company can't make small detours in the line's route to avoid specific areas, use equipment or designs that create less damage than standard bulldozers, or relocate and preserve artifacts as so often times has happened when construction projects like this one butts up against previously undiscovered artifacts. But the protesters need to recognize the need for projects like this. I get irritated with these uncompromising "rebels without a cause" that protest anything and everything under the sun without even knowing exactly what it is they're protesting.
Fossil fuels are going to be around for quite some time to come, and as you stated, using a pipeline to transport them makes the most sense from an economical, environmental, and public safety aspect, so the question is not if we should build a pipeline but where should it go.