The State Department Is Expected To Approve The Keystone XL Pipeline
The State Department Is Expected To Approve The Keystone XL Pipeline
The State Department's 60 days to approve the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline ends on Monday. An announcement on their decision is likely to come soon. Do you approve of the pipeline?
The State Department's 60 days to approve the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline ends on Monday. An announcement on their decision is likely to come soon. Do you approve of the pipeline?
In 2015, President Obama blocked the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would transport oil over 1700 miles from the Canadian tar sands region into Nebraska, delivering over 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Canada's tar sands are considered to be "one of the dirtiest sources of fuel in the world" and would contribute tremendously to carbon dioxide emissions.
Now, however, the Trump administration has repealed Obama's executive order and given the State Department a sixty-day period in which to approve the pipeline's construction. That sixty-day period will end on Monday, and their decision to approve is expected very soon. According to the conservative Heritage Foundation's energy expert Nick Loris, the pipeline's construction will not actually be significantly damaging to the environment and will create jobs and lower fuel prices.
This is a shovel-ready infrastructure project that will create thousands of construction jobs and safely deliver more oil to American refineries, lowering prices at the pump for families. The phrase ‘better late than never’ certainly applies here.
Nick Loris
Huffington Post, March 23, 2017
However, most environmental groups continue to oppose the pipeline's construction. According to the League of Conservation Voters:
This pipeline is all risk and no reward, and we will continue to fight it every step of the way.
League of Conservation Voters
Huffington Post, March 23, 2017
Additionally, The Sierra Club's Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign director Lena Moffitt weighed in on the subject, predicting further protest, saying:
There’s a new reality when it comes to pipelines. These massive fossil fuel infrastructure projects don’t make sense.
Lena Moffitt
Huffington Post, March 23, 2017
But now, what we would like to know is...
Do you think the State Department should approve the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline?
Do you think the State Department should approve the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline?