Dakota Access Pipeline Essay

The U.S needs the Dakota Access Pipeline
For months, people have been gathering in North Dakota to stand against the construction of an oil pipeline project. The Dakota Access Pipeline will run for 1,172 miles delivering as much as 570,00 barrels of crude oil a day from North Dakota to Iowa and connecting to other pipelines in Illinois. Currently, celebrities, environmentalists, and political activists are some who are standing with Native Americans to protest the pipeline because it will disturb sacred lands, is hazardous to the environment if it leaks, and it is too close to the water supply at Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. However, protesters are being reassured that the pipeline will rest 92 feet beneath the riverbed, will have thicker pipes, and with controlled valves will lower the chances of an incident. Protesters should allow the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline to proceed because it will boost the economy, help our

America is the third largest crude oil producer in the world, but it consumes more than it produces. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2015, the United States produced an average of about 9.4 million barrels of crude oil per day, consumed an average of about 19.4 million barrels per day, imported approximately 9.4 million barrels per day and exported about 4.7 million barrels per day, resulting net imports (imports minus exports) of about 4.7 million barrels per day. The Dakota Access Pipeline will help the U.S invest the crude oil directly to our country, allowing us to produce our own gasoline, jet fuel, residual fuel oil, kerosene, heating oil and diesel fuel. This will also allow the U.S to cut down on importing, making the U.S energy independent. The key to America’s national and energy security rests with our ability to provide for our own energy needs with our own natural resources, personnel and infrastructure (Blakeman,