In a time when the United States is supposedly concerned about the amount of foreign energy it is depending on, one might think that leaders would try to invest in clean energy sources that do not cause national security issues. Instead, the State Department is supporting the $13 billion Keystone XL Pipeline that will carry crude oil from Alberta, Canada to Texas. This is a big mistake, as it will only use more unnecessary resources and will be a serious detriment to the environment.
The pipeline is slated to run 1,661 miles in total, passing through Saskatchewan, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. This goes through many major American rivers and the Ogallala Aquifer, which is a rapidly diminishing clean water source that is distributed to over two million people. If there were to be an accident, which seems to be quite common with oil companies today, this could turn into a horrific natural and financial disaster for the Midwest. It will then go through Kansas and Oklahoma on its way to Texas, where it will be further refined, a process that will result in noxious emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide.
It will rely on the extraction of Canadian tar sands oil, which is far more dangerous than the current modes of extraction of regular oil. The levels of carbon dioxide from this form of extraction are three times higher than those of conventional oil. That is not what the atmosphere needs right now, especially as the current carbon dioxide levels are around 392 parts per million(ppm). Most scientists agree that the upper limit of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere should only be 350 ppm. This pipeline is only going to make matters worse by exacerbating the effects of global warming.
When tar sands are extracted from the ground, the usable product, bitumen, has to be separated from the sand and the clay. It takes three barrels of water to extract a single barrel of oil. This polluted water is put into tailing ponds, which can contaminate water systems. While this is extremely detrimental to wildlife and the environment itself, it can also seriously affect indigenous populations in the Alberta area.
Many people may claim to not care at all about the environment, or even the animals themselves, but how can they say that they are not concerned with the people who are forced to live near the tailing ponds. Due to those pools of toxic waste, people living in nearby areas tend to have drastically higher rates of cancer and other harmful diseases. One also needs to think about what will happen to the Texans who will have to deal with even more pollution in an already polluted area.
The State Department itself is supposed to evaluate the plan, since it involves international borders. This should have been an advantage, as Congress does not have to become involved. Instead, it was recently revealed that the State Department has been sending encouraging e-mails back in forth to lobbyists in support of the project. In their final report, the State Department claimed that the pipeline would have "no significant impact" on the environment, when this is obviously just a lie to keep the Department in good graces with oil execs.
One would hope that this administration would be able to put aside their greed and work toward actually trying to mitigate global climate change. This plan only prolongs the need to search for clean energy options. Obama and the State Department need to say no to this pipeline. This would send the message that they care about something other than pleasing large oil corporations.
