The irony of the Dakota Pipeline Protest , is that it has created an environmental disaster in the process. The protesters have left behind enormous piles of garbage . When the original idea was to "save the environment," it seems that this mountain of trash is jeopardizing the environment instead. Fracking can become an environmental hazard when it allows "brine" to escape into waterways—but economic gains are often placed ahead of the environmental risks. Transporting oil by rail is dangerous, and pipelines have issues too. So while the battle goes on, the protesters have created an environmental disaster in the process. Looking in from the outside, it all seems so insane. There has to be a better way to handle these disputes.