Keystone Pipeline Controversy

The Keystone XL is a controversial oil pipeline extension that would travel from Alberta, Canada, to the United States Gulf Coast. The Keystone XL should not be built because of the damage it would cause to the environment. The oil would be found within tar sands that contain bitumen. The process of extracting the crude oil uses a lot of energy and causes a large amount of greenhouse gases. Many citizens, in Canada and the United States, are outraged because it can be detrimental to the surrounding land and wildlife. TransCanada, the company building the oil pipeline, has to receive permission from the United States government to begin construction. If the United States does not have the pipeline built and chooses to not use Canada’s oil, then TransCanada will have the pipeline built elsewhere and exported to other countries. There has been a divide between those in favor of the Keystone XL and those who are not. The Keystone XL would be able to provide the United States with a reliable source of oil, but it would also take the risk of faults in the oil pipeline and ruining parts of America’s resourceful soil. The Keystone XL will cause a negative effect on the environment and damage resourceful land; therefore, the oil pipeline should not be constructed.

One of the most controversial issues faced nowadays is the way we deal with the transport of oil. One of the proposed methods is The Keystone XL Pipeline. Although there are some pros associated with building the pipeline, the risk outweighs the benefits by far. Building the Keystone XL pipeline would negatively affect the environment, jeopardize the public health and is to no benefit to the American people.

Almost 95 million barrels of oil and fuel are produced each day in order to provide energy and fuel to people the world over. A major component of the oil industry is the transportation of oil through various means including oil pipelines. These pipelines are capable of transporting thousands of barrels of oil thousands of miles per day. In the United States one possible pipeline has caused a lot of controversy and discussion on the impact it will have on the United States. The difficulty in deciding if the Keystone XL Pipeline should be built is in whether the possibility of economic growth outweighs the possibility of environmental destruction. In order to make a decision, one must first look into the history of oil pipelines. It is crucial

“In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources, and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy, and peace (Nobel Peace Prize Medalist Maathai 2004).” A Canadian oil company that goes by TransCanada hopes to build an oil pipeline that would extend an enormous 1,200 miles onto an already gargantuan 2,600 mile long pipeline. Keystone XL represents just under a third of the entire Keystone project, and every other piece of pipe has been built and laid out. In fact, TransCanada 's pipeline system is already shipping hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil from the Canadian oil sands across the U.S. border -- and into Illinois (Diamond). The current proposal would take the pipeline on a journey all the way through to Texas. Extracting crude oil from oil sands would be enormously problematic for the environment as it causes the pumping of about 17% more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than standard crude oil extraction. Tar sand oil has levels of carbon dioxide emissions that are three to four times higher than those of conventional oil, due to more energy-intensive removal and refining processes (Friends of the Earth). The construction of the Keystone XL pipeline would stimulate employment, the effects would be temporary and the whole scheme would produce a negative long term outcome. The construction of the Keystone XL pipeline has caused

TransCanada, when asked about possible benefits of construction, stated on their website that, “Keystone XL is the definition of shovel-ready infrastructure project”. TransCanada went on to say that over 9000 hard-working Americans could be put directly to work with good-paying jobs because of the construction of the KeyStone XL Pipeline. Furthermore, while the pipeline is being created, it was estimated by TransCanada that “Over Seven million hours of labor and more than 13,000 new jobs for American workers will be created”. TransCanada goes on further, stating that “Pipelines are safe and environmentally favorable” and that they are committed to minimizing its environmental impact along the proposed route. But, TransCanada is only making these tantalizing promises in order to keep currently neutral noses out of the matter in an effort to reduce the number of naysayers of the project. In truth, the creation of the XL Pipeline is terrible damaging the environment while also hurting the proposed workers of the project.

The Keystone XL Pipeline Project has many pros and cons just as any project does, but this project has way bigger cons than most projects this country will face today. “The Keystone XL Pipeline is an environmental crime in progress.” “It’s also been called the most destructive project on the planet.” The major issues with the Keystone XL Pipeline are “the dirty tar sands oil, the water waste, indigenous populations, refining tar sands oil and don’t forget the inevitable; pipeline spills.” And these are just some of the environmental issues, not too mention how building this thing from Canada to Texas; 2,100 miles to be exact, is affecting the people and their land, as stated “this isn’t a little tiny pipeline,

The Dakota Access Pipeline is an oil pipeline that will run just half a mile outside of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe reservation. The U.S Army Corps of Engineers have approved the project, despite concerns from the tribe and others

With an increasing global population and ever industrializing society 's, environmental concern is rarely given priority over economic incentive. But what people fail to realize is that our environmental failures, and relative apathy about it set up a plethora of problems for future generations to deal with. One of the most important decisions president Obama will face in the next year will be whether or not to approve the building of the Keystone XL pipeline, a massively sized, and massively controversial oil pipeline that would stretch all the way from Alberta Canada, to American oil refineries along the Gulf Of Mexico. Despite the economic incentive present, the building of the Keystone XL pipeline should not happen because of the

The U.S government's relationship with Native Americans has been nothing but hate and disrespect for centuries long and Donald Trump certainly doesn't understand that to many Native Americans, the issue with the Dakota Access Pipeline being built isn't just enviromental, it's also about the religious background the reservation serves. Land is an extremely important part of Native Americans religion, as most tribes have bonds with their sacred lands. My family is apart of the Naskapi-Innu tribe, so when the Standing Rock Reservation said “Americans know this pipeline was unfairly rerouted towards our nation and without our consent,” (BBC.com 3), I could fully relate. Instead of President Trump stressing about how many jobs the pipeline may bring,

What is the keystone pipeline and what does it do? The keystone pipeline is an oil pipeline that was commissioned in 2010. It runs from Alberta, Canada and then into refineries in Illinois and Texas and also to an oil pipeline center in Oklahoma. This pipeline is a critical project for the United States. The Pipeline consists of four phases. The first three phases have already been completed. The fourth phase failed to receive permits from the United States government in 2015. The project proposal for Phase IV from 2012 will be new 36-inch pipeline from Alberta and into Montana and then South Dakota to Nebraska. It will transport 830,000 barrels per day of crude oil to refineries in the Gulf Coast and other areas.

This controversy is between the Standing Rock Sioux Indian tribe and Energy Transfer Partners. Energy Transfer Partners has been building a pipeline that will transfer oil from North Dakota Bakken region through South Dakota and Iowa into Illinois. This oil pipeline will be part of the 2.5 million oil and gas pipelines the run all over the United States. This pipeline is 1,134 miles long and costing around 3.8 billion, while traveling underground through 50 counties in 4 states. The working progress has stopped due to the Sioux Indian tribe protesting against the the finishing of this pipeline.

“For years, the Keystone pipeline has occupied what I frankly consider an over-inflated role in our political discourse,” said Obama (Article 2, Pg. 2). The Keystone and the Dakota pipeline one of two rejected by government administration. Protest still till this day are being held by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, other Native American tribes, and other supporters, to put a stop to the building of the pipeline which carries crude oil through: North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois.

The Keystone XL Pipeline addition to the Keystone Pipeline was set to begin with Phase Three which would cover around 485 miles between Cushing, Oklahoma to marketplaces in Texas. This part of the Keystone XL project would include the addition of oil produced by American companies which has aided in its support from the both public and American oil producers. Phase Four, the counterpart to Phase Three in the Keystone XL Proposal, has received

In addition to its detrimental environmental effects and commitment to furthering the use of unclean energy sources, the Keystone XL Pipeline does not offer significant benefits to the American economy or oil industry. When the Keystone XL pipeline was first proposed in 2008, there was a much higher need for more crude oil. America had just gone into a recession, gas prices were high, and many people thought that the pipeline was the answer to making this country money. However, as of January 2015 oil prices have dropped 50%, therefore resulting in cheaper gas prices (Cappiello 2). The President of the United States, Barack Obama, stated that “…the oil is going to be piped down to the Gulf Coast to be sold on the world oil markets, so it does

This memorandum addresses how the State Department of the United States should handle the pending application of the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Keystone XL Pipeline is a project under consideration that would provide a 1,664-mile extension to an existing pipeline system built by Canadian company TransCanada. The extension would transport 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day,1 which is about double the United State’s current imports of dirty tar sands.2 The extension would run from Alberta, Canada to Nebraska, where it would connect with an existing pipeline to transport the oil to refineries along the Gulf Coast of Texas. The project is expected to cost about $8 billion dollars.3