The US senate recently approved the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
It was good news for big oil companies and TransCanada, who will manage the pipeline’s
construction but the controversial decision has sparked mass
demonstrations urging President Obama to veto the project.
So what is the Keystone XL pipeline?
The construction of the the pipeline will complete the final phase of a 3,800-mile network
known as the keystone pipeline system.
An existing pipeline, which was completed in June 2010, has the capacity of carrying
590,000 barrels of oil per day from the Canadian tar sands to US refineries in Illinois and
Texas.
The new larger, Keystone XL pipeline, will replace the section which runs from Alberta,
Canada to a pipeline junction center in Nebraska.
Once completed, Keystone XL would be capable of carrying 830,000 barrels of oil per day.
Advocates of the project say that the increased production will inject 2 billion dollars worth
of economic benefits into the US.2 But activists argue it will only worsen the social and environmental
impacts that the existing pipeline has created.
So what’s behind these arguments?
For one, the tar sands are not a conventional source of petroleum.
Tar sands are actually a composition of sand, clay, water and bitumen.
Because of it’s impurity, bitumen within the tar sands has to go through an energy-intensive,
chemical process of extraction and refinement.
Which would pollute waterways, and create toxic waste.
There is also a problem with where the tar sands are located.
Around one third of the world’s tar sand deposits lie beneath the boreal forests of
Alberta, one of the world’s largest intact forest ecosystems.
However, this wilderness faces an uncertain future.
According to an activist group, oil companies have already leased more than half of the
land.
Aside from the environmental problems, the Keystone XL is also under fire for it’s
impact on society.
The pipeline will run through the sovereign lands of several indigenous tribes and according
to human rights groups, thousands of people have already been displaced.
But, proponents of the pipeline argue that the US should be looking at the bigger picture.
According to a 2011 TransCanada assessment, the Keystone XL’s construction and eventual
operation will help create 140,000 jobs.
However, the US State Department has since suggested that this figure would be more like
42,000.
In addition to job creation, supporters also say that the pipeline would give the US greater
oil independence and boost the economy.
So if the senate has already approved the Keystone XL why is there still so much controversy?
Well, TransCanada can’t actually begin construction until they receive a presidential permit and
that’s because the pipeline crosses an international border.
Ultimately, the decision comes down to President Obama.
To learn more about why the Keystone pipeline is so controversial, check out this animation
from our friends over at AJ+.
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