If you've watched any form of the news, scrolled through Facebook or Twitter, or listened to the radio, you've probably heard something about the Dakota Access Pine line or the D.A.P. Maybe you've even heard about some of your favorite celebrities, like Shailene Woodly (star of the Divergent movies), at the protests, showing their support. A lot of people have no idea what the big deal is. Why is everyone talking about it? What is it exactly? What are all the protests about? I care very deeply about what is going on with the pipeline, but we'll come back to my opinion later.

What IS the D.A.P?

The Dakota Access Pipeline is a $3.8 BILLION dollar project. It's basically a giant pipeline, running from Bakken and Three Forks production in North Dakota to a crude oil market in Patoka, Illinois; roughly 1,100 miles. It will cross four states and cross under the Missouri river. Obviously, it will carry crude oil. It's being built to carry 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The project is about 60% done but has been postponed due to all the protests. If the pipeline isn't moving oil by January 1st, 2017 the developer's contracts with shippers will expire.

Why is everyone talking about it?

The project originally had the pipeline crossing through the Missouri river in Bismark, North Dakota but was moved because they were concerned that if a pipeline were to burst it would contaminate the state capital's drinking water. It was moved to run under the Missouri river at Lake Oahu, just a half mile upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux tribe's reservation. If the pipe were to burst where they are now planning to build it, it would cause an economic catastrophe. They would have no clean drinking water, not to mention all the damage it would do the ecosystems around it and the animals that live around the water.

What are all the protests about?

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe has claimed that they were never adequately consulted on the construction of the pipeline, even though it crosses so close to their Reservation. As you can imagine, much of the protest is based around the water issue. However, that is not the only thing being protested. The plans for the pipeline show it going straight through the tribe's sacred grounds, as well as burial sites. In fact damage has already been done to some of these sites and obviously, it has put the Native American community (and many others) in an uproar.

As of October 25th, 2016, the tribe has asked the US Department of Justice to intervene to stop the D.A.P. in the interest of public safety. They've declared eminent domain taking of the tribe's ancestral lands, declared under the Treaty of 1851.

Is there another way to transport crude oil?

There is, in fact, another way to transport crude oil. A lot of crude oil is transported by train. A friend pointed out to me that while, yes, there weren't any pipes that could burst, but trains can become derailed and then we have a problem there too. So I did some research. According to the Association of American Railroads, railroad safety is at an all-time high. Out of all the cars carrying oil, 99.99% of them make it to their destination safely. Hazmat accidents on railways are down 62% from 2000. Train derailment, in general, has decreased 6% from 2014 and 58% from 2000.

My thoughts...

I truly believe that the Dakota Access Pipeline should not be built. They have already damaged sacred burial grounds that never should've been disturbed. And if a pipeline isn't safe enough to run in a city, why do we think it's safe to run it anywhere? Even if it wasn't close to the reservation, should we really be standing behind the building of it? Is it worth taking a risk destroying homes of animals and delicate ecosystems? I believe that not only is it important to stop the pipeline from potentially destroying the drinking water for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, but for everyone and everything who uses the Missouri river as a source of water. And I believe that no one's ancestors should be dug up for new, unnecessary development.