Ed Fallon’s walk to oppose the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline through Iowa lends itself to another question; will he plan to walk the over 40,000 miles of pipeline already operating in our state?
According to the Iowa Department of Transportation, 41,140 miles of hazardous liquid and natural gas pipeline passes through Iowa, transporting vital energy resources and other materials daily and doing so with minimal imposition on the landscape and our lives.
Rail transport of crude oil, on the other hand, has a much more visible footprint and is much more prone to accidents like the fiery derailment that happened this month outside Galena, Ill.
Pipelines are already a part of our everyday lives, and most safely operate without any direct impact on the citizens of this state, or the residents of this county. They are a safe, reliable, and an efficient means of transporting America’s domestically produced oil and natural gas. For every pipeline we build, that’s millions of barrels of oil or natural gas that we don’t have to buy from a foreign country. This lessens our dependence on unstable regions, and keeps our foreign policy focused on the promotion of liberty and democracy rather than oil politics.
The Dakota Access Pipeline is just another piece of the puzzle. A safe, reliable, energy-independent, puzzle.