The Keystone XL pipeline was designed to transport oil-sand petroleum across the United States, from Canada to the Gulf Coast.  The pipeline was initially proposed in 2005 and applied to the State Department for a construction permit in 2008.  Arguments for the pipeline were centralized around the economic benefits, while arguments against revolved around concerns about the environment.

Environmentalists are concerned with potential leaks of the Keystone XL.  It turns out that a leak in a pipeline transporting oil-sand petroleum is much more hazardous to the environment compared to a leak in a standard oil pipeline.  Another factor that environmentalists noted was that the production of oil-sand petroleum generates 17% more greenhouse gases than conventional oil.  In a time when attention to climate change is becoming more abundant, the economic benefits of the Keystone XL pipeline don’t seem to outweigh the potential threatening impact on the environment.    

The United States consumes more oil than is domestically produced, which means we have to import the remaining demand from another country.  As of now, oil is imported from overseas primarily from the Middle East.  The arguments made by individuals who support the Keystone XL pipeline all regard economic stimulus.  If the Keystone XL pipeline was constructed, it would allow us to import from Canada.  Importing oil from a neighboring country would strengthen trade relations and economic ties.  Also, the State Department estimated that the massive two year project would create a total of 42,000 temporary jobs nationwide while contributing $3.4 billion to the US economy.   

After seven years of controversial debate, the Obama Administration has recently rejected the request to construct the Keystone XL pipeline on November 6, 2015.  Perhaps if the idea for the pipeline was proposed a few decades ago when less people were convinced that global warming was a reality, the pipeline would have been constructed.  Building a pipeline that promotes the use of a fossil fuel would not be a step in the right direction for the United States.  The US is one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the world, so the country should have its focus on cleaner sources of energy rather than fossil fuels.