Using Uninformed Protesters

Anti-Energy Protesters Target North Dakota Pipeline

by Bob McDowell, Contributing Author : It continues to irritate and offend me to see plastered all over the national media stories about groups protesting this or that proposed major project that would find, produce, refine, or transport products needed for our energy.

The way that they seem to ‘suddenly’ show up, complete with fancy signs and expensive bull-horns, lends to the supposition that they are being quietly and heavily financed by one of the billionaires who have an axe to grind. This is very similar to the situation called "Black lives matter" working on a totally false proposition of an incident in a suburb of St. Louis, MO, last year.

At least two suspects for being instigators and financiers of these ‘protests’ come to mind rather quickly. One is, of course, the infamous George Soros, who has been listed as the money behind the ‘occupy Wall Street’ series of sit-in protests and the black lives matter successor in action. Mr. Soros has been widely listed as an avowed Socialist who detests the USA and also accused by President Putin of manipulating the Russian currency.

Another suspect would be Mr. Warren Buffett who is the head of Berkshire-Hathaway the Omaha NE based multi-billion investment firm with numerous subsidiaries including newspapers such as the Tulsa World, and railroads including the BNSF which hauls numerous ‘unit-train’ coal hopper cars and oil tank cars. Thus we might rightly assume that he would prefer that large crude and product pipelines not be built.

It is really too bad that these protest are induced / encouraged to rallies in opposition to such projects. The most recent to be covered extensively by media has been an American Indian opposition to a pipeline under construction from the North Dakota oil fields to the East.

The route requires the line to go under the Missouri River, which construction could be accomplished by either ditching from the river surface or boring under the river bed from the shores. Both are quite common methods in the pipeline construction business. Usually, the process involves installing a larger pipe called "casing" in the ditch or bore into which the actual flow line is inserted. Thus, if there ever is a leak, it would be contained in the casing and the fluid leaking would show up in vent pipes at each end of the casing so that flow could be quickly contained.

It appears that this pipeline has been under construction for some time, But now, TV news programs have substantial coverage of people from various tribes gathering to protest its construction.

 A recent Tulsa Daily newspaper story on the protests caught my attention. An 11-year old third grade student from Northeast of Arizona made the trip to the Black Rock Sioux Reservation in ND to join in the protest. I doubt that she would be in any way comprehend the truth out this pipeline project. Wonder where the money came from to get her from AZ to ND to protest?

Also, if all these protesters are truly sincere in their objection, they should be willing to FORGO the gasoline and other energy sources for themselves. However I wouldn’t hole my breath in hopes that will ever happening.
Editor’s Note: Since Mr. McDowell submitted his article, ARRA News Service Reported:From Bloomberg: The Obama administration said it would not allow work on federal land along the route of Energy Transfer Partners LP’s controversial crude oil pipeline, less than an hour after a judge ruled construction could proceed on the $3.8 billion project.

The Army Corps of Engineers has not yet authorized construction near Lake Oahe along the border of North and South Dakota, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement Friday. As a result, the department asked Energy Transfer to voluntarily pause building 20 miles east or west of the lake until the Corps makes a decision.

Earlier, a federal judge ruled construction could proceed on the Dakota Access Pipeline, a decision seen as a blow to critics who said the project would damage culturally significant sites and create an environmental hazard where it crosses the Missouri River.

The project likely complies with the National Historic Preservation Act, wrote U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, Friday in a memorandum accompanying his opinion. "The Tribe has not shown it will suffer injury that would be prevented by any injunction the Court could issue," he said.---------------
Robert "Bob" McDowell, Jr. is a retired Professional Engineer and Geologist with over 50 years experience in creating drilling prospects, supervising drilling, well completion, production operation, and pipeline design for oil and gas including repair of problem wells. McDowell is a conservative activist and member of the Oklahoma Republican Assembly. He Contributes opinion and commentary articles to the ARRA News Service.

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