The Keystone XL Pipeline is a plan introduced by Canada to construct an oil pipeline system that would extend between Alberta, Canada, the through the midwest of the United States down to the Gulf of Mexico in Texas. To begin, the U.S. government and the Obama administration must first approve the plan. There are many opposed to the pipeline because of environmental reason and in favor of the pipeline for foreign policy reasons. The pipeline would run through several U.S. states shown in the diagram below. These would include Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Here are the pros and cons of such a project:
PROS
1. According to Harvard Magazine: “[The Pipeline] could transport 830,000 barrels of oil daily—but not all from the Alberta tar sands: the pipeline would also carry at least some oil from the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota.”
“Oil production from the Alberta tar sands totaled 1.9 million barrels per day in 2012 and is projected to double by 2022.”
2. The pipeline will increase the access to Canadian oil and will also create job opportunities within the United States while not drilling in our own country. According to keystone-xl.com the project will bring in $5 billion to the private sector and can create possibly 9,000 jobs for the construction industry.
3. Supporters argue that the pipeline will help make the United States more energy independent and they will no longer have to rely on less stable nations for an oil supply.
CONS
1. The Keystone XL pipeline will accessing Alberta Tar sands which is among the most environmentally dangerous oils in the world. Burning the recoverable tar sands oil will increase the earth’s temperature by a minimum of 2 degree Celsius, according to labor4sustainability.org.
2. According to the same Harvard Magazine referenced earlier, “From 1990 to 2011, Canada’s annual emissions of greenhouse gases increased from 591 million to 702 million tons; exploitation of the Alberta tar sands accounted for 7.8 percent of total national emissions in 2011”. Also, pipelines runs the risk of leaking or combusting, which could devastate the area.
3. Many Americans, especially in the states that the pipeline will pas do not approve of the pipeline passing through their land, especially privately owned land. The idea of the pipeline passing through their backyard isn’t a good one to them. Plus only 56% of Americans approve the decision, a large part of those supporters are Republicans.
Sources:
http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/11/the-keystone-xl-pipeline
http://keystone-xl.com/five-reasons-why-keystone-xl-benefits-the-u-s/