Isaac Orr

The controversy over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) has brought the safety of transporting oil and natural gas to the forefront of the national debate over energy policy, a debate that was recently amplified when 176,000 gallons of crude oil spilled near Belfield, North Dakota. Pipeline opponents say the spill is proof pipelines cannot be operated safely, but the truth is pipelines are much safer than many other human activities, including “safe sex.”

President Barack Obama campaigned with the pledge he would fundamentally transform the energy sector of the United States when he took office, and to a large extent, he succeeded. Most of this legacy was strong-armed into law using executive orders and administrative overreach, and, as a result, the survival of his agenda depended upon a presidential administration succeeding him with similar goals and a desire to cement his executive orders into place for years to come.