The Keystone XL Pipelines are 2000 miles of pipes running from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf coast of Texas. These pipes are being put in by a company called TransCanada and they intend to transport 830,00 barrels of tar sand oil daily. Tar sand oil produces three to four times more CO2 than conventional oil due to the extensive energy used to extract tar sand oil and refine it. This process will no only ruin ecosystems but also water supplies. It takes three water barrels to extract one of oil. And out of those three barrels at the end of the process 95% of the water, 24 million barrels per day, will be so polluted that they have to be stored. This waste will be stored in human made pools called tailing ponds. The main problem is that over time the pollution starts to seep into the ground creating ammonia that will find its way into public water systems making the water undrinkable. All of this oil will never actually be used in the US it will only be refine in texas then shipped off to Asia. ‘There’s not a drop of oil that’s going to be brought to America unless it spills from the pipeline’- Becky Bond. So Whats so good about the Keystone Pipeline? Money,
and lots of it. The whole operation will create more jobs and national security as well. Pipes over tankers was the choice and pipes seem to be the more eco-friendly idea, surprisingly.
Citation:
“Friends of the Earth.” Friends of the Earth. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.
Abrahams, Tom. “Experts Discuss Details of Keystone XL Pipeline Project, Its Pros and Cons.” Abclocal.go.com. American Broadcasting Corporation, 18 Nov. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.
“Keystone Pipeline.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.