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- The tar sands in northern Alberta, Canada is the third-largest proven reserve of crude oil in the world—and one of the dirtiest and most CO2-intensive concentrations of fossil fuel on the planet. Any substantial tapping of the Alberta tar sands means it’s “essentially game over for the climate.” – NASA scientist James Hansen.
- TransCanada Keystone Pipeline is proposing to build the 1,700 mile Keystone XL pipeline, and pump over one million barrels of "tar sands" oil from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico every day.
- President Obama alone—without input from Congress—has the power to approve or reject this pipeline. He has to sign—or not sign—a “certificate of national interest” before the pipeline can cross the Canadian/American border.
- Tar sand is an asphalt-like mixture of sand, clay, minerals, water, and viscous oil that requires extraction, refining, and transport—all of which have tremendous environmental consequences. Once again tax payers are subsidizing the oil industry, while at the same time the oil industry is externalizing the true cost on to the environment.
- Wetlands and forests are destroyed to expose the tar sands. Massive quantities of clean water are polluted and discarded. Huge amounts of CO2 are spewed into the atmosphere to heat and separate the oil. Pipelines carry a high risk of land and water contamination from spills and leaks.
- Tar sands are the dirtiest and most globally damaging source of oil. If we agree to the construction of this pipeline, we will be locked into using this toxic mess for decades to come. This pipeline is NOT in our national interest.
- Web: www.whitehouse.gov/contact
- Tel: 202 456-1111 (9:00 am to 5:00 pm)
- Fax: 202 456-2461
- Mail:
- President Barack Obama
- The White House
- 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
- Washington, DC 20500
- Urge him to demonstrate real environmental and economic leadership by rejecting the application for a Presidential Permit for the Keystone XL pipeline to cross the border between Canada and the US. Tell him that the Keystone pipeline is not in our national interest as it represents a catastrophic threat to our environment, our climate, and our planet. Ask him to develop America’s own safe, clean, renewable energy.
- See below for additional background. The U.S. State Department will hold public meetings in September on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Visit http://www.keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov for details.
- Photo credit: Green Tomatoes, 2008, Lois Barber.
Background on the Keystone XL Pipeline
- One year ago, 2020 Action focused on this same issue. Since then, opposition to Keystone has grown. Please take this action. We need to stop this pipeline!
- In an editorial on July 20, 2011, the New York Times voiced its opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline for both environmental and economic reasons. Click here to read this very good piece. The editorial states, “The risks are real. An earlier pipeline — carrying tar sands oil to the Midwest and built by TransCanada, the company planning to build Keystone XL — has had several spills, including recent ones in North Dakota and Kansas.”
- From the U.S. Department of State: "TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. (Keystone) proposes to construct and operate a crude oil pipeline and related facilities to transport Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) crude oil from an oil supply hub near Hardisty, Alberta, Canada to destinations in the south central United States, including a new tank farm in Cushing, Oklahoma and delivery points in Nederland (near Port Arthur) and Moore Junction (in Harris County), Texas. In total, the proposed Keystone XL Project would consist of approximately 1,711 miles of new, 36-inch-diameter pipeline, with approximately 327 miles of pipeline in Canada and approximately 1,384 miles in the United States. The proposed Project would cross the international border between Saskatchewan, Canada, and the United States near Morgan, Montana. The proposed Project initially would have a nominal transport capacity of 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil. Because this proposed Project will cross into the United States from Canada, a Presidential Permit issued by the U.S. Department of State is required for the project to proceed. This subjects the Keystone XL Project to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires disclosure of potential environmental impacts (beneficial and adverse) and the consideration of possible alternatives."
- The State Department released a media note on July 22, 2011 announcing additional public meetings about the Keystone XL pipeline in September 2011. By late August, they will be posting details about the dates and locations of these meetings on their website. Click here for the media note and upcoming details.
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