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The Keystone Xl Pipeline Extension Project

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The Keystone XL Pipeline Extension Project Introduction The Keystone Pipeline is a crude oil pipeline that runs from Canada to the United States. The original pipeline goes through most of Canada before crossing over the border into the United States, running its way down into Illinois. The proposed Keystone XL pipeline extension provides a blueprint for the extension to go from the origin point in Alberta through the American prairie states into Nebraska connecting into the original pipeline and adding a new line going from the original pipeline in southern Nebraska into Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. Although the Keystone Pipeline provides a great service for the United States and Canada for the transportation of oil, there are some …show more content…

Economic Theory The economic impact, including the costs and benefits of extending the pipeline into America. A lot of environmentalists believe the pipeline extension hinders the ecosystem by changing the landscape to build the pipeline. The actual cost associated with the Keystone XL pipeline extension is $3.4 billion dollars and creates thousands of construction jobs. This provides our country with a great solution to our slumping economy, by decreasing our unemployment rate and stimulating the economy with more money. The cost of the pipeline benefits the job outlook. The only problem with that is the cost to construct the pipeline can only go so far for the short run. After the project is finished, those construction jobs would disappear. With almost 4,000 jobs created from a project like this, only 35 jobs would be permanent when the pipeline is complete, meaning over 3,900 people would have to find work afterwards. In the long run, the United States would have to pay $60 million dollars every year to maintain the pipeline on top of an estimated $2 billion dollars in environmental costs. The economic benefits would only get us so far before the start to decline leaving rising environmental costs. Assuming the pipeline would not be policed, species of animals will start to make the pipeline their new home since theirs was taken away. This can wear down the pipeline, comprising its structure.

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