Putting Pipeline Spills in Historical Perspective

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Just yesterday the TransCanada Keystone pipeline spilled 210,000 gallons of oil in South Dakota. This comes at a crucial time as the Public Service Commission of Nebraska is about to decide on a permit for the proposed expansion of this fossil fuel conduit: the Keystone XL pipeline. Oil pipelines, including Keystone XL itself, are a subject that has been frequently addressed here on The Otter – La Loutre in the last few years. To help put pipeline spills – and their inevitability – in perspective, here are some selected posts:

 

Sean Kheraj – Tracking Canada’s History of Oil Pipeline Spills (November 8, 2013)

Tracking Canada’s History of Oil Pipeline Spills

 

Sean Kheraj – Indigenous Voices and Resistance in Oil Pipeline History: The Dene Tha’ and the Norman Wells Pipeline (November 18, 2016)

Indigenous Voices and Resistance in Oil Pipeline History: The Dene Tha’ and the Norman Wells Pipeline

 

Phil Wight – Down the Line: Exploring the Environmental History of Pipelines (January 23, 2017)

Down the Line: Exploring the Environmental History of Pipelines

 

Jessica Helps – Embedded Wounds in the Histories of Pipelines and Petro-Chemicals (November 10, 2014)

Embedded Wounds in the Histories of Pipelines and Petro-chemicals

 

Daniel Macfarlane: Funneling Controversy: The Keystone XL Pipeline (November 28, 2011)

Funneling Controversy: The Keystone XL Pipeline

 

Daniel Macfarlane – Teaching Media Literacy Through Environmental Disaster: The Kalamazoo River Oil Spill (January 18, 2017)

Teaching Media Literacy Through Environmental Disaster: The Kalamazoo River Oil Spill

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Daniel Macfarlane

Daniel is an Associate Professor in the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at Western Michigan University. He is an editor for The Otter-La loutre and is part of the NiCHE executive board. A transnational environmental historian who focuses on Canadian-American border waters and energy issues, particularly in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence basin, Daniel is the author or co-editor of four books, including the recently-published "Fixing Niagara Falls: Environment, Energy, and Engineers at the World's Most Famous Waterfall." He is finishing a book on Canada-U.S. environmental/energy diplomacy and another book on the environmental history of Lake Ontario, and is starting a new research project on Canada's international climate change policies. Website: https://danielmacfarlane.wordpress.com Twitter: @Danny__Mac__

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