On the 16 th of November in 2017, the Keystone Pipeline spilled what was initially reported to be 210,000 gallons of crude oil onto the farmlands of Aberdeen, South Dakota. Nearly doubling the initial amount, it actually dumped 407,000 gallons as of April 7, 2018, costing TransCanada (the owners) $9.57 million. The Keystone is a pipeline that carries crude oil more than 2,500 miles from Alberta, Canada to Illinois and Texas. In the past eight years, this has been the seventh largest onshore spill of an oil or petroleum product. Try this on for size- 407,000 gallons of crude oil spilled across the farmlands of Aberdeen, SD. (borrowed from globalnews.ca) Early on November 16 th , a TransCanada employee detected a pressure drop, and no more than three minuets later they began to shut down the line. The leak is thought to have occurred due to mechanical damage regarding the weights that are installed on the pipeline to prevent the line from floating in areas that a...
Since 1965, a Forrest Code has protected the Amazon Rainforest. Simply put, this law enforces landowners to keep 35-80% of their land covered in native species. In 2012 a revised Forest Code was passed, which reversed years of progress to protect and sustain the land, even though deforestation has lowered significantly since the implementation of the forest code. As of February 28, 2018, Brazilian lawmakers have decided to uphold changes made in 2012 that cut protection of the Amazon Rainforest. This graph shows the recent record of deforestation. It was at an all time low in 2011, just before the revised Forest Code was passed. (Taken from Mongabay.com) The revision of the Forest Code came about by those who push an agricultural agenda. Under this revision, there is lessened forest protection, more government and state control, farmers are allowed to cultivate land that is vulnerable to erosion, and will alleviate landholders from legal penalties who have pre...