Thousands of miles of pipelines run over the Ogallala aquifer, which cannot be replaced or cleaned-up.
Our ability to grow more food than any nation on Earth depends on the Ogallala.
In the United States, the biggest source of potable water is the Ogallala Aquifer.
Oil is also produced on top of the Ogallala Aquifer in other states.
And I am sure there are folks whose concerns are narrowly about the Ogallala or other enivornmental and NIMBY concerns along the proposed route.
But the Ogallala is completely interconnected underground and significant pipeline spills and wellhead catastrophes could affect more cropland and human health than any other disaster, including climate-induced droughts.
Ostensibly, Obama made the decision to block the pipeline because of concern over contamination of the Ogallala Reservoir, a vast underground water source that makes much of Midwestern agriculture possible.
They fear a pipeline burst would allow oil to seep into the Ogallala Aquifer, a massive water table beneath the Great Plains and one of the largest in the world.
After a 3 year study, we get the shocking news that most of Nebraska sits on top of the Ogallala Aquifer and that the Sand Hills occupy 25% of the state.
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They also ignore the fact that 50, 000 miles of pipeline already crisscrosses the U.S., about half of which is in that contested Ogallala region, using technology that has proven to be safe.
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Of greatest concern initially, the Keystone XL pipeline was designed to run through Nebraska's Sandhills, which lie above the Ogallala Aquifer, the main source of drinking water and irrigation for millions of people.
Although the most prevalent environmental debate centered on potential pipeline leaks that might endanger the sensitive Ogallala aquifer area in Nebraska and other states along the route, it is clear that a primary opposition goal for many is not to simply to reroute the pipeline, but rather to discourage and handicap oil use altogether.
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