The Ogallala Aquifer lies under the Great Plains, a natural repository for clean water used by an estimated 3 million people in the U.S. as their primary water source. The Ogallala Aquifer also happens to be used to irrigate ⅓ of all farmland in the U.S.
The Missouri River is also a source of drinking water for millions. The Missouri feeds into the Tennessee, the Ohio, and the Mississippi Rivers creating the 4th largest river system on the planet.
The Bakken Pipeline also known as the Dakota Access Pipeline is scheduled to bisect the north end of the Missouri as well as the Ogallala Aquifer.
Since construction has begun there have been over 200 breaks and spills in the line in the state of North Dakota alone. A spill in the Ogallala Aquifer cannot be cleaned up. Overnight farmers in the Plains will have a choice between dead crops and crops contaminated by petroleum. 3 million people will lose their drinking water. Food prices across the US will skyrocket. Food will be contaminated.
A spill in the Missouri will not stay in the Missouri, it will spread across the Southern and Eastern US, contaminating the entire watershed. A watershed which incidentally reaches from Eastern Arkansas to the Atlantic ocean, from the Badlands in North Dakota to the Appalachian mountains.
It will be an economic as well as ecological crisis.
Yes, it will also destroy the lives of the 8,ooo Standing Rock Sioux but they are fighting not just for themselves but for the lives of millions across the U.S.
To date President Obama has “requested” the company building the pipeline Energy Transfer Partners pause their construction while archaeological and ecological impact studies are completed.
Energy Transfer Partners however has not stopped construction and issued a statement saying they are committed to finishing the pipeline before the end of the year. To that end they have purposefully bulldozed archaeological sites before they can be studied. They have used attack dogs and water cannons against unarmed protectors. Now they have security armed with shotguns.
The Water Protectors at the site are not just Standing Rock Sioux, they are the biggest gathering of tribes in more than 100 years. They are members of Black Lives Matter. They are individuals of all races who have come to protect their country against billionaires who have no thought to the future, only for short term profit.
For reasons I can only speculate on there has been close to a total news blackout on this looming catastrophe. Bernie Sanders took part in a protest on the steps of the White House but even that got little to no news coverage. The answer is for “We, the People” to become the media and share the news that our future is being co-opted so Kelcy Warren, president of Energy Transfer Partner, can pocket a profit. Tell everyone you know. Talk about it over breakfast. Call your conservative relatives. Above all call your representatives. Call the White House and let them know that the media blackout isn’t working, you know what’s happening and you want it to stop. Now.
Emergency! Our Planet Needs Your Help!
-Weyodi