With the Boom in Oil and Gas, Pipelines Proliferate in the U.S.

Before reading this article, I was aware of the oil boom due to the increasing use of hydraulic fracturing, and how the increased oil production was causing pipelines to begin being built. I did not know the extent of the boom, however. The oil production between 2008 and 2013 increased by 50% due to fracking technological advancements. I also did not know that there were around 1.5 million miles of oil pipelines in the US. I was not aware that 374 people had been killed due to pipeline-related causes since 1994. Additionally, I learned that pipelines account for 10% of the oil industry's fugitive methane (20 times more potent than CO2).

This is relevant to class as we just discussed peak oil and its effect on the environment and on society. The US is experiencing a recent boom, yet how far can fracking take us until we reach out peak? We have also compared Oil to other energy sources, and how oil is not necessarily a sustainable source. When we build pipeline infrastructure, we are basically committing to using oil, when switching to cleaner and better energy sources may be the superior option moving forward.

In my opinion, to set up years-worth of oil-based infrastructure is to set ourselves up for failure. Oil is already being exposed as a dirty, harmful, and antiquated energy source, so to double down on its use for years to come is ignorant and myopic. Pipelines ruin usable land for both people and other forms of industry or energy production, and the use of fracking is only making that worse.