Is the Trans Alaskan Pipeline good?

The trans alaskan pipeline, also known as the TAP, is a giant pipeline that runs from
Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, Alaska. This project was firstly introduced in the late 1960s,
when an oil prizes crisis hit the US, and there was a great need for other oil incomes.
Two oil companies, British Petroleum, and Humble Oil, discovered in 1968, the
largest oil strike in U.S. underneath Prudhoe Bay. This is when the project of building
a 1300 km long pipeline was first introduced to carry oil to the south of Alaska, which
would then be transported by ship to the US. Construction started in the middle of
the year 1969, when the weather was a s harsh as it would have been during winter.
For the construction around 70 000 workers from nearby towns were hired for the
project. This immediately meant than new town, such as the Alyeska, were created,
purely to house the thousands of workers and engineers that were involved in the
building. These new towns are called boomtowns, because they are born from a
boom in economy, which in this case was work for tens of thousands of people. As I
will talk about later, this is both a good and a bad thing for the economy. The giant
project was finally completed in the year 1977, with over twelve pumping stations to
pump the oil through the pipeline and millions of supports, keeping the giant about
the ground. When the TAP was completed, it passed above 34 major rivers and
another 800 smaller ones. This was one of the many risks and hazards this project
had. When the pipeline started to function, 21 000 people were hired to wear at work
at the same time each day, without counting security.
When the pipeline was designed, there was not put a lot of thought into the safety of
the environment and the damages this monster could cause. To start of after the
boomtown was formed during the opening of the pipeline, there was years later a
great fall as there were not enough houses to house the total number of workers,
which made home prices skyrocket. Furthermore these boomtowns were created so
quickly, that there werent enough services to support the amount of people living in
them, meaning that the quality of life was very poor. Consequently, thousands of
people were fired and became homeless in a country full of ice.
Another component of the pipeline that was not thought therally during the design
face was the maintenance. This pipeline traverses two mountain ranges, three types
of biomes and many of this spots are hidden away. When there is an accident, for
example a spill, workers need to travel along the pipeline using a dirt road to go and
fix the issue. Furthermore, if a spill happens, the pump for that section will close
down so no more oil is pumped into the broken sector. This slowdown results in
massive loss of money for the oil companies. If this wasn't enough, these repairs
might take one hour or an entire day, which means people need to work in the
freezing cold for so long, the situation gets dangerous.
As I explained before, the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline bridges across 34 major rivers,
which all dump their water into the coastal line, vital for fisherman to fish. If a leak
was to happen on one of those sections, there would be giant consequences for the
environment and natural life. Furthermore the pipeline traverses the smaller streams
underground, meaning that a leak would be harder to notice and the oil would be
absorbed by the soil, blocking transpiration and killing any wildlife in the surrounding.
If this wasnt already bad, crude oil takes and extremely long time to dissolve into the
deeper soil and rocks, meaning that this damage could last for month or even years;
any wildlife stepping in this black trap will be trapped forever, or suffocated to death.
Even after all of the horrible disasters the Trans-Alaskan pipeline can create, there
are still a few things that have become better since the construction of it (if there was
nothing good they would not have built it). The first thing that is very important to
highlight is the money this pipeline makes for the state. Before the Trans-Alaskan
Pipeline was built, the state gross product was only $8 billion. However after the
pipeline started to fully functional, the state gross skyrocketed up at to $39 billion.
This has boosted the economy in the state significantly. Even better the Alaskans
when from earning only $5 billion personal income to $25 billion personal income
which is a giant difference. This made Alaska move from being the most heavily
taxed state to being the most tax-free which resulted in even more income for the
people living there. This was extremely good since, as I mentioned before, the US
was in a great crisis.
The project of a pipeline, if it might not seem like it, was developed to pollute the
area as much as possible. There was no doubt that the oil at Prudhoe Bay had to be
drilled out as it would have made so much more money to everyone. The problem
was how to transport the crude oil to Valdez for later on shipment. If the transport
happened on wheel, road pollution would be much greater and plant near by would
be more susceptible to pest attacks. Trucks have also many more parts that need to
be changed and repaired, without taking in consideration the fact that they too use
gas to move and tire ust would infiltrate in the soil, polluting the surrounding areas.
Furthermore wild animal that passed near the road would be scared off from the very
loud noise of the trucks, possibly blocking migration and killing endangered species.
To add on, roads, as I mentioned before, are very hard and expensive to maintain in
such a cold and uninhabitable place, meaning that a lot more money would go
towards the repairs and maintenance of the road.
After having analyzed the various positive and negative aspects of the Trans-
Alaskan Pipeline, and having described in detail how each impacts the ways things
are right now, I can conclude if this pipeline is worth it. In the first few paragraphs, I
have stated how bad the TAP is for the environment and how risky it is if there are
any leaks or malfunctions in the pumps. As the pipeline travels 1300 km, there are a
lot of vulnerable places the pipeline could be damaged and cause major wildlife
destruction. The boom towns that were created at the construction of the TAP were
after a few years overpacked with people, and the quality of life was very bad. The
positive aspects, however, are also very persuasive and really make you think that it
was worth the construction. As I explained before the pipeline is very quiet, it is
extremely better than if it was a road full of trucks, it does not intoxicate the area and
is just a bit easier to maintain.
In conclusion I believe that the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline was a good idea to build and
put in use as it created some great advantages to the economy, plenty of work to
people and it is much safer than a dirty road full of noisy trucks. If the pipeline was
built, it was because even if taking into account all of the negative impacts it can
have, there were still many more that made up for the risky ones. Even if the TAP
might look very dangerous (which Im not saying it isnt), I can agree with no doubt
that a pipeline has better positive consequences than the road had.