Protestors standing up for their rights. Photo by: Kadena-Cho / Wikimedia Commons

The Most Signifigent Rerouting of a Pipeline in History

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has announced today on Twitter that the Dakota Access Pipeline will not run under Lake Oahe as proposed, and the Army Corp of Engineers will be looking for additional routes to run the pipeline.

For those unfamiliar with Lake Oahe, it is a large reservoir behind the Oahe Dam on the Missouri River. The Missouri River is the longest river in the Untied States. If the pipeline had gone under the lake, or if it gets close to a main river, it could still pollute drinking water. Not all pipelines malfunction, but enough of them do to create problems. Those problems cost money. My theory is that renewable energy will continue to overtake oil and gas as it becomes more affordable for major industrial countries, such as the United States and China.

Additionally, The Guardian recently reported that Paris, Madrid, Athens and Mexico City will ban the most polluting cars and vans by 2025. Developing countries are taking the proper steps, and if it were not for lobbying major corporations in our country, we would also be moving closer to a smaller carbon footprint at a faster rate.

Below is a timeline of events surrounding the reroute for the Dakota Access Pipeline.

  • The Army Corp of Engineers announced on November 1, that they would not look at options for a reroute.
  • On December 3 & 4 at least 2,000 veterans arrived to Standing Rock.
  • On December 4, 2016 the Army Corp of Engineers announced they would look at options for a reroute.

Thank god, thank god, thank god for the U.S. Military, Native Americans, and those that helped support the reroute.

They not only put their lives on the line for our country, but they also had the guts to stand up for the environment, and risk their careers for the drinking water of others.

This is one of the most powerful moments in United States history.

It shows that support from veterans has the power to influence major corporations such as Energy Transfer Partners, the company behind the pipeline.

The pipeline reroute is just the first step in the right direction. We need to start advocating for companies like Amazon, First Solar and SunPower that are pushing for additional renewable energy projects.

In the AP video below, they do an excellent job showing the scenes from Standing Rock, but their narrative lacks the urgency of the latest updates. The clips does show the overall support to end the pipeline.

The Native American speaking in the video talks about never seeing so many different tribal flags waving in one area. Once the veterans announced they would be traveling to Standing Rock, I personally have never seen Fox News report on an environmental story in that manner. We all have different points of views on different topics, but Standing Rock is a point in history when we truly came together. I just hope for more of these moments in the future.

Check out the tweet below, and the #StandingRock feed for more updated information on this subject.

Deadline Looms for Standing Rock Protesters