Recently, the protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline and the pipeline leak in Alabama have brought forward the continuous debate of why we continue to use and give it precedence over almost everything else that could prevent the extraction or transportation of oil when it can be so damaging to everyone. The protests in Dakota are creating a divide among many people, while the pipeline spill damaged the surrounding environment and heightened the gas prices in many south-eastern states. As a result, the lack of serious change towards a cleaner, less divisive form of energy is foolish since it seems like one of the only options to solve these issues.

In North Dakota Energy Transfer Partners are trying to create a pipeline from North Dakota to Illinois so that crude oil from North Dakota can be easily turned into usable oil. However, attempts to create a route for the new domestic oil has come under fire and there have been protests regarding the placement of pipeline. The reason for this is that the Standing Rock Sioux Native Americans oppose the placement of the pipeline, since it is placed close to their reservation, as a result they see it as a potential threat to their health, water quality, while they also contend that they weren't properly informed of the pipeline's placement before the building began. Over the last few months over 1000 people have joined the protest directly while many other have contributed to the protest in other ways. However, many others have also expressed their opposition to the protests. This divide, caused directly by the use of oil, could easily be avoided if an alternate source of energy was used.

Similarly the pipeline leak in Alabama exemplifies the concerns of many of the protesters of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The Colonial Pipeline Company is responsible for providing oil to over 50 million people, but just last week their pipeline leaked and spilled over 250 thousand gallons of oil into the rural environmentally, and more importantly a river, which transported the gasoline further away, which only affects other environments. Furthermore, the lack of oil for many states, results in increased gas prices, which would adversely affect many people in the eastern United States. This kind of environmental damage is just another reason that oil should no longer be the relied on energy source.

The manner in which things are shaping in regards to oil only shows that now is the time to change the energy that is widely used. If not completely change the energy, we should at least slightly move towards a cleaner source of energy or find a better way to transport the oil.