By Gonzalo Enriquez
Regardless of months of protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline, with some even remaining in below zero temperatures, the Standing Rock Sioux will need to remain even longer in protestation. On Jan. 24, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to move forward with the construction of the pipeline that would run under Lake Oahe, half a mile up from the Sioux tribe’s reservation.
There are many issues that we should be aware and concerned about in the world today. As the next generation, it’s even more important for us to be heard and make smart choices that will affect us in the future. With that said, I stand in solidarity with Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
If you’re not aware of what Standing Rock is, it is a protest movement that is happening in North Dakota. People calling themselves ‘water protectors’ have delayed the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which is a pipeline that will transport crude oil from North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa into Illinois. The pipeline runs 1,172 miles through 50 counties and four states and would transport 470,000 barrels of crude oil each day, according to CNN. Construction of the pipeline will cost about $3.8 billion.
But the proposed route of the pipeline violates treaty land that specifies the land is for the Native Americans. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe are the main people protesting the pipeline because if constructed, the pipeline would endanger the tribe’s drinking water supply. They also argue the pipeline threatens the well-being of the environment and would damage and destroy sites of great historic, religious, and cultural significance to the tribe.
This is very true. We need to start conserving our natural resources, and water is an important resource. Nearly 97 percent of the world’s water is undrinkable, 2 percent is locked in ice caps and glaciers leaving only 1 percent for all of humanity’s needs, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Water is an essential need and it is used every day in our lives. American households use about 50 gallons a day for each person, according to the EPA. We couldn’t live without it: 75 percent of our brain is water. We use water to drink, to clean and to bathe ourselves. I couldn’t imagine a life without water.
We should start protecting and valuing our resources such as water because it is 2017 and the time to start making smart choices is now, not another decade from now nor another year before we have used almost every resource this world has provided us with. That is why the pipeline should be rerouted through a different path so we can protect the natural resource that is water.