Oil Drilling In North Dakota

Many would not believe that North Dakota has some serious environmental concerns, at least I did not. I always thought of North Dakota as a stable and somewhat of a quiet state. After doing some extensive research, I found that North Dakota has environmental concerns with terrestrial, atmospheric, and aquatic ecosystems. As for aquatic ecosystems, the main damage has been done through haphazard artificial drainage, excessive water diversions, and improper disposal of industrial waste. Impact to terrestrial ecosystems is caused by the constant industrial and residential work sectors as well as the mechanical destruction of plant communities. Lastly, atmospheric issues can be pointed to blowing soil and improper pesticide application. As we

Fracking in North Dakota alone went from 4,600 to 6,600 wells just from 2009-2012. Due to the increase in wells, natural gas extraction went from 7.5 million to 16.9 million barrels of oil (Loris 2). This increase in the oil and gas industry also provides jobs in several fields such as geology, engineering, rig working, truck driving, pipe welding, and many more, which means that the US unemployment will go down as long as this economic boom keeps up. However, fracking provides more than just jobs; it provides an economic boost to the communities where fracking occurs. States like Louisiana and Oklahoma practice fracking in more rural areas and it is seen as an economic boost more so in those places than in states like Colorado, where fracking

With recent event the Obama’s Administration has halted the further construction of the North Dakota Access pipeline. This event have sparked the nation into an uprise in protests and public speaking against North Dakota Access. Now thrusted out onto a global stage, the struggle on both sides intensifies either is not going to stand down. The people of Standing Rock Indian Reservation are protesting against North Dakota Access to continue construction of the “North Dakota Access Pipeline”. Additionally the Army Corps of Engineers has denied the permit that allows construction underneath the Mississippi and Missouri River. These events have now escalated to national attention. It is not in the public safety or well being to have further construction or completion of the North Dakota Access Pipeline should it have negative environmental impacts and be harmful to the American people. ("Federal Government Halts Construction Of Part Of North Dakota Pipeline.")

The protest of the South Dakota oil pipeline seems to be getting so bad that it is becoming dangerous for the protesters. The use of excessive force by the police towards the protesters is in some cases life threading the use of rubber bullets, tear gas and high powered water houses in the dead of winter where temperature are below freezing at night it’s sickening that they can use such extreme measures . The people of the standing rock reservation are only fighting for the safety of their water and ecosystem and they are being treated like criminals. I worry with the election of trump the chances are that there is nothing they can do to put a stop to the pipeline I find it extremely hard to believe he is going to side with the protesters. What if the pipeline is happening

Unfortunately the risk of Native American land being contaminated and their loss of control of their reservation has resumed. The Trump Administration and other executives have signed actions to resume the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Native americans have resumed the protesting of the pipeline and sadly there water sources are still at risk at being contaminated. Native american leaders are planning to resist these actions passed by the trump administration, specifically the one authorizing the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline. This project has been delayed since December and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers renounced the permit to lay the final piece of pipeline under Lake Oahe, which is the sacred water source to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The pipeline is very close to being completed and now the issue is that if the pipe is not fully finished it can break and really contaminate water sources. Kaufman and Miller state that, “The fossil fuel industry is a dead and dying economy. Green energy is the new great America. Trump and his Cabinet are trying to build an infrastructure for pipelines so our country will remain dependent on fossil fuels.” People are continuously attempting to prevent further environmental hazards from pipelines that leak into major rivers and endanger the drinking water of communities. Overall, the pipeline is going to be built and the fights against clean water, the fights against big oil and climate change, and the fight for land control in the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is still

What are these environmental issues exactly well it has to do with the water in the area nearby the site where they want to build their oil pipeline is the Missouri River and lake Oahe. The rivers and lakes are there main supply of water to the Native American reservation near by The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. This drive has been protesting since April about the dangers of the corruption their water supply. If this water becomes corrupt the water will be contaminated

The documentary Gasland, directed and narrated by Josh Fox, tells the frightening story of corporate greed and a lack of concern for the negative effects of natural gas drilling called fracking. The story begins with Josh receiving a letter from a natural gas company seeking permission to drill on his family’s Pennsylvania estate in exchange for $100,000. In an effort to decide whether to accept the deal, Josh drives from state to state interviewing scientists, politicians and mostly working class people being affected by this method of natural gas extraction. In areas where people welcomed the additional income and allowed fracking on their property thinking this process was safe, they were now experiencing unclean underground water that is igniting, animals that are losing their hair

Throughout countless presidential debates and national news stories, the topic of global warming and pollution is one that is constantly fought over. This month, thousands of Native Americans are demanding the federal government stop the construction of an oil pipeline near Indigenous land in North Dakota. The proposed pipeline is suppose to approach near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation. Additionally, the tribe is fighting against this pipeline because they say it would disrupt sacred landmarks, burial sites and could possibly contaminate drinking water for the tribe and for the people downstream to the Missouri River.

“Some of the pollutants released by drilling are benzene, toluene, xylene and ethyl benzene (BTEX), particulate matter and dust, ground level ozone, or smog, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and metals contained in diesel fuel combustion—with exposure to these pollutants known to cause short-term illness, cancer, organ damage, nervous system disorders and birth defects or even death.” There is a 2007 report prepared for the Western Governor's Association, that inventoried present and future nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions from oil and gas drilling in the west, projects Montana to experience a 310% increase in smog. On top of all this there ARE NO regulations on fracking because of the Halliburton

Almost 300 oil spill incidents have occured since January 2012 in North Dakota without being reported. On September 29th a farmer in North Dakota, named Steve Jensen, came across an oil spill while farming wheat. During an over-the phone interview farmer Jensen stated that he had been smelling the crude for days before stummbling upon it bubbling six inches above the ground. He says his tires were also coated in the oil. Over 20,000 barrels of oil had spewed over.

Through the use of advanced technologies, geologists have the capability to predict potential locations for oil. This is done by the examination of the structure of rock layers, which is then followed by a test-drill in the Earth’s surface. Not every location that gets examined contain commercially viable oil reserves as some locations will have no oil or gas, some will have tiny amounts, and others will have the oil present but it will still be trapped within the porous rock layers such as oil shale. The earth’s crust plates are constantly on the move, and the oil reserves migrate with them. The reason a lot of the oil drilling occurs at sea is particulurarly because the majority of the crust of the planet, under which the oil is located,

Another form of oil drilling is known as “fracking”; it is the process in which water is pressurized to make extracting gas easier, but at the same time it can also leave an impact on people's lives. A family interviewed from Pennsylvania stated “ I do have a rash right here. It’s not that bad now, but it breaks out, and anytime they dump it off where they blow the water back through the well and out through the tanks into a vapor, it really acts up.” (Fracking: Positive or Negative Impact?). This statement proves that companies, in fact, contaminate water when conducting such activities. When companies engage in fracking, they run the risk of letting the chemicals they used flow into other areas, and eventually, those same chemicals reach wells where people drink from. As stated from Vaidyanathan “ Fracking Contains 10% of methanol that is mixed with water which can lead to permanent nerve damage and blindness”. The EPA conducted tests in a “Pavillion aquifer” and found traces of methane that

As polar ice in the Arctic region melts, there are many implications associated with it. The melting ice opens up sea lanes, providing access to priceless natural resources, such as the estimated 90 billion barrels of the world’s undiscovered oil (Karaim 336). For the United States, this is a great opportunity. Access to these energy reserves would open up expansion of the oil industry, which advocates of oil drilling say will lead to extensive economic development (Karaim 335) in northern Alaska and the rest of the Arctic region. However, scientists caution that an increase in oil drilling will have destructive effects on the environment. Increased greenhouse gas pollution from oil drilling facilitate global warming, which will melt even more polar ice, absorbing more sunlight and harming vivid Arctic ecosystems. The higher risk for oil spills will harm marine wildlife, which translates to harming the indigenous Arctic peoples. Their diets will be altered, new diseases will be introduced, and the changing of the Arctic land will restrict their rich cultural traditions and lifestyles. Although oil drilling will facilitate economic development in the Arctic, it should not be continued because its implementation is not sustainable for the environment, nor does it improve the lifestyles of the indigenous Arctic peoples.

Doesn’t everyone love swimming in the ocean and seeing all the pretty sea life? Some people do, and when people are offshore drilling they can cause a lot of problems if something goes wrong. The biggest concern by environmentalist is not a spill, but the pollution of the air and water, damage to the ocean bottom and debris that washes ashore from day-to-day operations of oil and gas rigs. Oil Drilling can lead to jobs being endangered, animals dying, and damaging the eco system. So many animals are dying because of the oil in the water. Proofread to- Government wildlife experts have found just in Alaska that the BP oil spill has threatened more than 400 species including 34,000 birds, 656 sea turtles and 12 dolphins, and this count was

When the oil and gas companies drill for oil, they also get a byproduct of drilling is natural gas. This gas can be used to generate power and then those power can resell as electricity; but this conversion process requires a lot of investment such as pipelines, power plants, and infrastructure. However some oil Company just sell the oil and burn the gas because it’s cheap compare to extract it, which is called gas flaring. Flaring and venting of natural gas is a wasted resource from an economic viewpoint and also responsible for polluting the environment. Every year, roughly about 140-150 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas is flared into the atmosphere which account for 1% of global carbon emissions gas flaring. Gas flaring is most “commonly used during petroleum refining and chemical processing for safe disposal of waste gases during process upsets, plant start-up or shutdown and process emergencies.” (Ismail 290) Flaring started in order to ensure safe operations at production facilities as well as minimize undesirable venting.