Alexandria Clark

Montana is no stranger to large oil spills. In July 2011, an oil pipeline burst and poured 63,000 gallons of crude oil into the Yellowstone River. The same thing happened in January when another pipeline burst beneath the Yellowstone River and 50,000 gallons of crude oil leaked into the river again.

The Impact on Glendive Residents

Oil shone on the top of the water for dozens of miles. The small town of Glendive smelled of strong diesel. The local government told residents to avoid drinking the tap water because high levels of benzene contaminated the water supply. The municipal water plant cited that benzene levels were two to three times higher than what the Center for Disease Control considers a safe level to consume. This incident hurt many of those living in Glendive.

Residents flocked to their local grocery store and seized all of the remaining bottled water. Officials warned the town that it could be weeks before the water supply was safe to consume. It took Bridger Pipeline, the owner of the pipeline that burst, almost a week to bring in extra water for the citizens of Glendive.

The recent pipeline spill damaged many businesses in and around Glendive. The town benefits from the fish and farmland surrounding the Yellowstone River. The pipeline bursts changed the land forever by adding thousands of gallons of chemicals that are difficult and costly to clean up.

The Impact on Public Opinion

Following these two spills, many residents were concerned with the government’s recent approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The pipeline would be an extension of the current Keystone Pipeline, which would run over the Yellowstone River. Despite the opposition, some argue that the extension presents benefits for the members of the surrounding communities.

“The State Department has affirmed the safety of the Keystone XL Pipeline. It’s important this job-creating project is approved,” said Montana Senator Steve Daines in an article from Al  Jazeera.

While the new pipeline would be safer, nothing is perfect, and many are concerned that it will present just as many risks as the old one. Using oil stop valves may also be an option to safely stop fluids like oil from spilling.

Building the Keystone XL Pipeline would undoubtedly produce jobs, but many residents in surrounding areas do not believe the jobs are worth the environmental risks and costs. The area of Eastern Montana has been a prime spot for many companies engaging in fracking. The practice reduced unemployment throughout Montana but has lead to significant environmental risks that some believe will contribute to climate change if the operation continues at its current rate.

President Obama has vowed to veto the extension of the Keystone XL Pipeline, but it is yet to be determined whether or not he will follow through with his promises. The town of Glendive will continue to struggle with these pipeline spills if more care is not taken to reduce them. The Keystone XL Pipeline will present a safer option, but it will not end the environmental and economic risks associated with oil pipelines.

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Thanks to his philanthropic Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates has helped to create a machine that has the potential to bring potable water to over 2 billion people globally.

The “Omniprocessor” is a machine that extracts water from sewage that’s piped into the treatment facility. The leftover dry sewage is then incinerated to generate steam, and this steam powers the entire machine.

To illustrate his faith in the project, Gates publicly drank a glass of water that, only minutes before, had been human feces.

As if turning waste into potable water wasn’t already a great idea, the energy produced by the extraction process is more than enough to power the machine, so the owner of these treatment facilities can actually turn a profit. Gates thinks the Omniprocessor would work particularly well in India and hopes that local governments and entrepreneurs will be interested enough to invest.

Gates has been on a mission to reinvent the toilet since 2012 when he offered a $400,000 prize to those who could pitch innovative ideas on how to solve the world’s sanitation crisis. Although he received many ideas from inventors, the Omniprocessor was unique in that it completely revolutionized the sewage treatment plant and, unlike many well-intentioned ideas, it actually delivers on its promise.

“The processor wouldn’t just keep human waste out of the drinking water; it would turn waste into a commodity with real value in the marketplace. It’s the ultimate example of that old expression: one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” Gates wrote in his blog The Gates Notes.

Featured image courtesy of: Orzzzz

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