As my journey continues across Iowa and I witness the hodgepodge of the destruction of farmland, I can understand why they are working to push through in sections. If the pipeline never flows with oil, the farmland has suffered horrendous damage from the earthmoving equipment, compaction and the destruction of the subsoil, the uprooting of the grasslands and trees along the rivers and creeks, the gravel and rock left behind not to mention a large pipe that is now buried in the earth. Sometimes I have no words for what I see. My heart aches for the farmers who try to battle this project while simultaneously forced to watch their farms destroyed. The relentless pursuit of money by those in power, especially political power, is nearly impossible to comprehend. Jobs? Let Robert Kennedy, Jr. expose that lie. Energy dependence for the US? Again, a lie. The oil is going to China. These workers follow the pipeline work and, yes, it's good pay. But do they understand the damage they leave behind? Or the suffering to the farmers and to all of us when something goes wrong and it will go wrong. It has and does almost on a daily basis. This land and the watersheds that nurture it now, will all suffer along with the flora and fauna that depend on it and we'll look back and say, "Well why didn't someone try to stop it?"
We did. And money 'trumped' wisdom.
Why is Iowa so vital to this conversation? Eminent domain. Here are their stories.
(Interactive map used in this project courtesy of www.bakkenpipelinemap.com)
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