JESSICA DESVARIEUX: This was the scene on Sunday, March 2, in front of the White House.
Two hundred and fifty people handcuffed themselves to the gate and were later arrested while
protesting the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Protesters say that they were there to send President Obama a message.
JAMIE DEMARCO: President Obama, the Keystone Pipeline is not in our national interest.
We have to move forward to clean energy, not tie ourselves to ancient fossil fuels.
There's a better way, and there's a better way for the United States.
DESVARIEUX: The protest started here on Georgetown's campus.
It's where just a year ago President Obama laid his plan on how he would evaluate the
Keystone Pipeline.
Since pipeline crosses an international border, President Obama will have the final say.
BARACK OBAMA: Allowing the Keystone pipeline to be built requires a finding that doing
so would be in our nation's interest.
And our national interest will be served only if this project does not significantly exacerbate
the problem of carbon pollution.
DESVARIEUX: Exacerbating the problem of carbon pollution is exactly what these protestors
argue will happen if the entire Keystone Pipeline project is approved.
A report released by Oil Change International found that the 830,000 barrels of crude oil
produced daily from the Keystone XL Pipeline will have a significant impact on the environment.
We spoke with the executive director of Oil Change International, Stephen Kretzmann, to
find out how they reached their conclusion.
STEPHEN KRETZMANN: We got all these figures for how to convert that into carbon equivalent,
and we multiplied it by the 830,000 barrels, and we came out with that equals 181 million
metric tons annually of carbon dioxide.
And that equates to 51 coal plants or 37 million cars, which is a not-small number of cars.
Right?
That's more cars than are currently registered in California and New York and Florida combined.
DESVARIEUX: But according to the State Department's recently released environmental assessment
of the pipeline, the construction of the pipeline would be the equivalent of anywhere between
half a coal-fired power plant to half a dozen--a drast difference from OSI's reported 51 coal
plants.
But the State Department's analysis of the project is not without controversy, with critics
questioning the report's credibility, since it was conducted by Environmental Resource
Management, a consultant recommended by the company behind the pipeline, TransCanada.
DAPHNE WYSHAM: The fact that they were called in and asked to provide the environmental
impact assessment for the State Department suggests that the conflict of interest guidelines
were not--they claim they were met and that the State Department actually did carry out
a review.
But it's clear that there is evidence that ERM is essentially beholden to Keystone XL.
And so there's no question that the analysis is biased in favor of their client.
DESVARIEUX: On February 26, the State Department's inspector general said that its own review
found no conflict of interest.
The Real News reached out to TransCanada to get their comment on the controversy over
the State Department's assessment.
They sent us this statement.
Quote:
"This is the second time groups opposed to the project have gone to the well with conflict
of interest allegations and, once again, they have proven to be false.
TransCanada remains focused on the National Interest Determination process for Keystone
XL and the facts about our project speak for themselves."
But the facts are what Democratic representative Raul Grijalva want to be investigated.
Last week, he asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate the State Department's
environmental review process of Keystone XL.
Other members of Congress are also making sure the review process of Keystone is as
thorough as possible.
Democratic senators Barbara Boxer and Sheldon Whitehouse sent a letter to the State Department
asking them to analyze the public health risks of the pipeline.
This is in light of a new study by the Alberta Cancer Board, which revealed that the cancer
rate is 30 percent higher in in Fort Chipewyan, which is located downstream from a major tar
sands extraction site in Alberta, Canada.
The doctor serving the First Nations community was present at the Capitol Hill press conference.
JOHN O'CONNOR: --a sizeable number of carcinogens that get into the food chain, into the water,
into the air.
These toxins have been linked with cancers and the types of cancer that occur in Fort
Chip.
This represents a public health crisis in this community.
DESVARIEUX: But despite these calls for investigations and attempts to stall the pipeline, like in
this video, where you can see people chaining themselves to machinery, the Keystone XL Pipeline's
basic function, which is to transport tar sands from Canada to the Gulf Coast, is already
in full swing.
The southern half of Keystone XL was completed early this year.
That's because in March 2012, President Obama signed an executive order to fast-track the
building of the southern leg, and now it will be able to transport up to 700,000 barrels
of crude a day.
STEVE HORN: Right now it's open for business, and TransCanada's very excited about it.
And, unfortunately, I think the environmental community doesn't understand that one half
of the pipeline already exists and it's already very crucial and it's going to have a huge
climate-change impact, ecological impact, etc.
DESVARIEUX: Steve Horn is an independent journalist who has been following Keystone's development
and says it's important to follow what oil industry investors are saying about the Keystone
northern half to understand the industry's position.
HORN: There's been two important reports written about the Keystone XL northern half by banks,
by big banks, by Canaccord Genuity in Canada and another one by National Bank in Canada.
Both of these reports, which came--one came out in fall last year, 2013; one of them just
came out this year--both reports conclude that the northern half of the Keystone XL
Pipeline is not quite as important for investors as it's kind of been played out in the public
theater, in the public sphere.
The northern half of the pipeline's key, but they do map out--there are many ways oil is
currently getting to Cushing and many more proposals to get it to Cushing down to the
Gulf Coast.
And so it's silly from an investor point of view to think that you have to put all your
eggs in that one basket.
And so I think these two reports are key for, you know, activists to read.
DESVARIEUX: We asked protestors at the rally their thoughts on the northern leg of the
pipeline now that Canadian tar sands can reach the Gulf Coast.
DESVARIEUX: Do you think it is as critical, the northern leg?
COLE NORGAARDEN: I do think--I think it's equally as critical.
I don't think we can let the fact that half of it has already been built stop us or make
us think for one moment that it's not--this fight is no longer worth it, because there
are people on the ground who are willing and are going to stop this pipeline.
DESVARIEUX: Some critics of the Keystone XL protest argue that stopping the northern leg
of the pipeline is a decoy and the real issue should be to focus on the entire
transport system of tar sands to the United States, whether that be by rail or through
existing pipelines.
But OSI executive director Steve Kretzmann says that a large part of the battle is about
slowing down the industry so policymakers can get on board with fighting climate change
not just with their rhetoric but with their policy.
KRETZMANN: These two things are fundamentally in conflict.
And I actually think an all-of-the-above energy strategy is essentially climate denial by
another name.
But it's going to take a little while for our movement to make that point.
Power comes from two places, money and people.
We are not going to end up with more money than the fossil fuel industry, but we clearly
have more people.
DESVARIEUX: There are certainly more people in the streets against Keystone.
But the question remains if President Obama will listen and take the first step towards
a more comprehensive approach to fighting climate change.
For The Real News Network, Jessica Desvarieux, Washington.