A Few Things To Consider With Pipelines
There has been a lot of controversy over pipelines lately, and both sides of the issue have been very passionate. Everyone has a right to have an opinion and voice that opinion. Pipelines have been used to transport oil and natural gas for over one hundred years. In fact, pipelines were used to transport oil as far back as 1905. Take a moment to look around and think how oil or gas has influenced everything around you. If you are on a computer, the materials that are used to make your computer were mined. The trucks and equipment used for mining require a lot of oil to run. Almost everything around you will have been touched by oil or gas in some way. So it is important to have oil and gas. However, the transportation of this oil and gas is what is concerning to some people. Whether you are for or against pipelines, there are a few things that you may want to consider.
Is There A Better Way To Transport Oil And Gas?
If you are opposed to oil and gas being moved through a pipeline, you may want to ask yourself if there is a better way. Think of what could be a safer way to transport the oil and gas. Some of the options would be trucking it or putting it on a train. Trucking the oil and gas would be much more dangerous than a pipeline. There are approximately 500,000 trucking accidents that occur each year. Putting that oil and gas on the highway system and trucking it to the refineries would significantly increase the chances of oil spill. Trains would be safer than trucking it, but most trains are powered by coal or electricity, and most electricity is generated by coal. If the environment is an issue, then trains would be out of the question. Pipelines are so heavily regulated that they are extremely safe. Until a safer and more efficient method of transporting oil comes to fruition, pipelines may be the safest.
Land Reclamation
The companies that put the pipelines in are also required to perform land reclamation, so the area does not look as if a pipeline is going through the area. The government regulates the pipeline companies very heavily and ensures that any land that the pipeline disturbs is reclamated to at least as good as it was before the pipeline. Often, the area looks better after the pipeline goes through. To learn more, contact a company like Guildner Pipeline Maintainance.
