Below is a list of 10 reasons why the pipeline is a terrible idea—a project which will only bring more damage to our country and people, and a plan which will never live up to the good touted by the government. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. If there’s one thing that’s bad … The greater sage-grouse has already lost some of its habitat. Amid Facebook posts claiming that Biden’s executive order is “destroying 11,000 jobs,” Keystone XL President Richard Prior told the Associated Press said that the order would put more than 1,000 people out of work. Regulatory Uncertainty Will Discourage Future Business Investment. Why the Keystone pipeline is bad. Firstly, tar sands oil, the kind of oil that the Keystone XL pipeline would transport, is thicker, more acidic, and more corrosive than regular crude … Excessive construction and noise pollution could impact the breeding success of the bird. The Sioux claim that if the U.S. government permits the pipeline they will block all access and the tribes will consider this action to be an ‘act of war against their people.’”, Back in 2013, it was found that an environmental impact statement thought to be authored by the State Department for the Keystone XL pipeline, was written instead by a private company bribed to write a rose-colored report. According to an analysis of the public documents, “the Environmental Resources Management was paid an undisclosed amount under contract to TransCanada to write the statement.” Within the “official government” document, the analysis estimates, then dismisses, the pipeline’s gigantic carbon footprint and other environmental impacts due to the fact that “the mining and burning of tar sands is unstoppable.”. Many climate activists have opposed the pipelines due to their suspicion that renewable technologies will once again be placed on the back burner. Last month, the TransCanada Co. got the nod of approval from the Nebraska Public Service Commission to build the controversial $8 billion, 875-mile Keystone XL pipeline, which when completed, will carry up to 830,000 barrels of crude oil to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast. Building the sustainable economy, not the Keystone pipeline, will create far more jobs: Our nation is … Within hours of taking office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order rescinding the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. But while the defeat of Keystone XL is historically momentous, it raises questions about other routes for Canadian tar sands. This was also the case in 2015 when the Gulf Coast exported about 3 million barrels of crude oil and refined products—and U.S. exports have only increased up to 5 million barrels since then. These facts are incontrovertible and dealt with in the SEIS reports. The president justified revoking the pipeline’s permit on the grounds that the status quo undermined U.S. climate leadership. Building the sustainable economy, not the Keystone pipeline, will create far more jobs. Conversely, the Department of Energy reports that in the last year the economy has created 230,000 new clean energy and efficiency jobs, accounting for 10% of the nation’s job growth. Phase II, completed in February 2011, runs from the Steele City junction to storage and distribution facilities at Cushing, Okla. On January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden issued numerous executive orders, including one that aimed to protect public health and the environment by restoring science to tackle the climate crisis. Oil spills from pipelines like Keystone XL eject about three times as much oil as spills from rail and truck accidents, but they are substantially less likely to happen, research indicates. The changes will lead to: Warmer winter temperature. Longer period of frost season. It will raise gas prices in the Midwest. The oil industry routinely claims that pipelines are the safest, cleanest way to transport oil and gas from one place to the next. The pipeline passes over areas which provide habitats for 10% of the waterfowl population in the Continental United States. There’s also the risk of more oil spills, after thousands of barrels of oil leaked in South Dakota in 2017 and North Dakota the following year. But these economic realities are just some of the reasons why ending the Keystone XL pipeline is a bad policy for America. (A pipeline is a far better … After sitting on the drawing board for years, Canada’s oil industry has already turned to alternative pipelines, such as Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement through Minnesota and, even more importantly, the Trans Mountain Expansion from … It pits the environment against the economy. Some critics also cite the danger of spills from the pipeline. With a precedence for exportation, it is difficult to believe that the transported Canadian tar sands will ultimately be provided to U.S. resident when statistics predict it will be sent abroad. We need the pipeline, so the U.S. should be good friends and approve it. According to a February 2011 report published by a coalition of four environmental groups, there are numerous environmental and public health risks associated with … While the pipeline was shut off within 15 minutes of the leak, which reportedly took place away from surface water, Ruth Hopkins, a Lakota writer and activist noted the location was dangerously close to an aquifer on which the Lake Traverse Reservation depends. The Fight . As a result, consumers in the Midwest could be paying 10 to 20 cents more per gallon for gasoline and diesel fuel. Legislation based on bad numbers, bad science and bad politics is not how we do them Keystone, climate change and the US economy: the truth behind the myths Mitch McConnell will force a Keystone vote. But in March 2017, President Trump signed a permit allowing TransCanada to begin the pipeline construction. Yet in addition to the cancellation’s adverse economic consequences, it also negatively affects health and human safety. A spill is classified as significant if more than 50 barrels of oil escape. Industry predictions in 2010 claimed that the project would be of utmost positivity to the economy, by “putting 20,000 US workers to work and spending $7 billion, thus stimulating the US economy.” However, the TransCanada company told the U.S. State Department the pipeline would only create 50 permanent jobs after it is built. © Copyright 2021 Market Realist. Phase I, completed in June 2010, pumps oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to the junction at Steele City, Neb., and then to Wood River Refinery in Roxana, Ill., and Patoka Oil Terminal Hub in Pakota, Ill., according to Harvard’s Environmental & Energy Law Project. Keystone XL Would Have Increased Domestic Oil Prices. IRS Gets Funding to Hunt for Unreported Income, Might Audit Venmo, Trevor Lawrence's Gatorade Contract Is Just One of His Endorsements, Spotify Versus Apple: Antitrust in the EU, Explained, Did You Get a Department of Treasury Letter? “Leaving the Keystone XL pipeline permit in place would not be consistent with my Administration’s economic and climate imperatives.”, The project has also been met with opposition from Indigenous populations in the U.S. and Canada, including the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (Sicangu Lakota Oyate) of South Dakota. Building the sustainable economy, not the Keystone pipeline, will create far more jobs: Our nation is … People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. The “proposed pipeline would undermine U.S. climate leadership by undercutting the credibility and influence of the United States in urging other countries to take ambitious climate action,” Biden wrote in the order. Environmental critics of the pipeline argue that it will increase America’s reliance on fossil fuels and exacerbate the climate crisis. Environment Canada found industry chemicals seeping into groundwater and the Athabasca River in Alberta, as BBC News reports. Even the bitumen flowing through the Justin Trudeau pipeline will most likely end up on the U.S. west coast. They point to the number of jobs that the pipeline would create. Gas prices will rise. According to the National Wildlife Federation, the whooping crane is at risk of flying into new power lines constructed to keep oil pumping through the Keystone XL pipeline. The company did say in October 2020 that the Keystone XL project would employ more than 11,000 Americans in 2021, but PolitiFact points out that most of those jobs would be temporary. Oil-by-rail is less safe and has higher GHG emissions than a pipeline. In mid-November, TransCanada admitted that 5,000 barrels of oil, or 210,000 gallons, had leaked. However, other people argue that the pipeline is vital for the economy in both the U.S. and Canada. Specifically, his plan would impose a corporate tax hike to … Julia Crawford, a Texan landowner, says: “As a landowner, property rights are key to my livelihood and family legacy. According to an analysis by the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor … So far, three phases of the Keystone pipeline are complete. Short time of cool season. How is this “benefitting the general public?”, According to an analysis by the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations, “Keystone XL will divert Tar Sands oil now supplying Midwest refineries, so it can be sold at higher prices to the Gulf Coast and export markets. But these economic realities are just some of the reasons why ending the Keystone XL pipeline is a bad policy for America. © 2018 Buzzworthy, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Keystone Pipeline system has been the subject of controversy for years as environmentalists and others have fought to prevent construction and expansion of this oil-delivery network. Don't drink the water... From the ground to the pipe to the refineries, Keystone's tar sands oil, with its … Thus, even in the absence of the proposed Project, crude oil that would have been transported on Keystone XL is still being and will be produced and transported to market by rail. Mindless adoption of “Green” policies will necessarily bring brownouts, energy shortages, and higher … Don't Worry Too Much. Similar to the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Keystone XL’s blueprints have it running through the great Sioux Nation Lands, which are protected under the Treaties of Fort Laramie 1851 & 1868. Biden addressed the environmental concerns in his executive order. This is bad news for the Biden administration, as his two-part infrastructure plan includes trillions of dollars in new tax hikes. I look forward to the Supreme Court hearing our case and our plea to protect the fundamental rights of property owners.”, Take a step back and let’s look at the grand picture: a foreign company with no ties to the U.S. is demanding land from U.S. landowners to carry oil that will, most likely, end up exported worldwide. Environmental critics of the pipeline argue that it will increase America’s reliance on fossil fuels and exacerbate the climate crisis. The United States against Canada. In many cases, it will run within a mile of more than 3,000 wells that provide drinking and irrigation water in those states. Back in 2015, President Obama rejected the pipeline’s permit after finding the project’s significant risks outweighed its very limited benefits. Environmentalists are staunchly against this project, for a multitude of reasons. They claim that leaks and spills are “uncommon.” The problem is, their own pipelines have resulted in widespread harm to people and the surrounding environment. According to Cornell's analysis, construction of the pipeline … Another branch of the pipeline forks off toward Houston. Up until now, Obama's State Department has said the pipeline won't be that bad.It's true that the oil the pipeline is set to carry is dirtier than most crude refined in the United States. The Keystone XL pipeline is supported by refineries in the Gulf Coast that export the majority of their product internationally. Why is the Keystone Pipeline bad for the environment? Currently, Canadian oil reserves stored in … In fact, there already has been a spill. The real jobs in jeopardy here are those on the ranches and farms —110,000 of them —which produce $41.6 billion worth of food in 2012 in the breadbasket of America (Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska). Once operational, the 875-mile Keystone Pipeline expected to carry 830,000 barrels of crude oil every day from Canada’s Alberta Tar Sand reserves to refineries near Houston, will impact the environment badly. In the states of Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska alone, the pipeline would cross 1,073 rivers, lakes and streams, not to mention tens of thousands of acres of wetlands. While the building of the pipeline itself would generate more jobs (almost 2,000 jobs over two years), these are temporary and still quite small-scale for a national jobs count. Anthony Swift, staff attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said that the U.S. will have to choose to either support the development of “one of the most carbon-intensive sources of energy in the world” or move toward seriously cutting greenhouse gases. Other animals in critical danger are the swift fox and the American burying beetle. 10 Reasons Why the Keystone XL Pipeline is a Terrible Idea. If more pipelines continue to be built, oil extraction will occur at a faster rate, resulting in a quicker release of greenhouse gases. Greed against caring. Initially proposed almost 15 years ago, the 1,200-mile pipeline would transport up to 830,000 barrels of crude oil daily from Canada to Nebraska, where it would be transferred to other pipelines for shipment to refineries and export … Building the sustainable economy, not the Keystone pipeline, will create far more jobs: Our nation is … Unfortunately, more oil doesn’t necessary translate to lower gas prices. Phase III, known as the Gulf Coast Extension and completed in January 2014, pumps oil from Cushing, Okla, to refineries at Port Arthur, Tex. “The Rosebud Sioux Tribe will take any and all necessary steps, up to and including litigation, to protect our people, our land and water, and our cultural and historic resources.”. Offers may be subject to change without notice. It won't create jobs and will jeopardize our drinking water. It is difficult to determine the actual and/or likely impact of the XL The Keystone XL pipeline may be the most carefully examined pipeline in U.S. history. The Keystone XL pipeline is becoming a Presidential Sophie’s Choice. According to State Department forecasts cited by Politifact, a completed Keystone XL pipeline would require no more than 50 employees — 35 full-time workers and 15 contract workers — to maintain the line. More Projects in the Pipeline. “The United States must be in a position to exercise vigorous climate leadership in order to achieve a significant increase in global climate action and put the world on a sustainable climate pathway,” the order states. The Keystone XL pipeline extension, proposed by energy infrastructure company TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) in 2008, was designed to transport the planet’s dirtiest fossil fuel to market—fast. Article continues below advertisement The State Department said in a 2014 assessment that the Keystone XL pipeline would have no additional impact on greenhouse gas emissions because the oil would be extracted from tar sands in Canada at the same rate, regardless of whether or not the pipeline was built. The EPA challenged the State’s assessment, stating that extracting oil from the tar sands generates more greenhouse gases than extracting oil through more conventional methods. “We will not dishonor our relatives and unnecessarily endanger our health, safety, and wellbeing,” former tribe president William Kindle said in November 2017. Here are five reasons why Biden’s decision to kill the Keystone XL pipeline is a terrible move. John Stansbury, PhD, PE, professor of environmental and water resources engineering at the University of Nebraska, has estimated that Keystone XL would result in 91 major spills over the 50-year life of the pipeline. , consumers in the pipeline passes over areas which provide habitats for 10 % the. Will therefore cost jobs. ” to their suspicion that renewable technologies will once again be placed the... 10 reasons Why Biden ’ s decision to kill the Keystone pipeline, will create far more jobs for multitude! 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