The Keystone Pipeline & Tar Sands Extraction Projects, A Closer Look

Anybody that has read my posts will know that I think renewable green energy is the best way to meet our growing energy needs. Today we take a look at two of the largest “dirty” energy projects in the western world. The tar sands oil excavation project in northern Canada offers the promise of more oil than Saudi Arabia produces. The Keystone pipeline project at nearly 2,000 miles will bring that oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Both promise jobs (estimates range from 6,000 to 250,000)  and at the same time pose a serious threat to our environment.
There is no stopping the tar sands project but the pipeline needs a presidential permit. Over the weekend there was a huge demonstration against the project that encircled the White House. On Monday some members of Congress issued a call for an investigation into the State Department for the process it used to approve the pipeline. So today we offer a roundup of information on this issue.

Keystone XL Pipeline

From Friends Of The Earth

“The Canadian oil and gas company TransCanada hopes to begin building a new oil pipeline that would trek close to 2,000 miles from Alberta, Canada to Texas. If constructed, the pipeline, known as the Keystone XL, will carry one of the world’s dirtiest fuels: tar sands oil. Along its route from Alberta to Texas, this pipeline could devastate ecosystems and pollute water sources, and would jeopardize public health.”
To read the entire post click here.

Thousands Circle White House to Protest Keystone XL: Will They Abandon Obama if Pipeline is Approved?

From ThinkProgress via AlterNet, By Stephen Lacey and Jessica Goad
“Hey, Obama, we don’t want no climate drama.”
That was one of the rallying cries from the estimated 12,000-person crowd protesting outside the White House against the Keystone XL pipeline yesterday afternoon. After a series of high-energy speeches from James Hansen, Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben, Mark Ruffalo and many others, demonstrators poured onto Pennsylvania Avenue and created a human chain around the White House, chanting, “two, four, six, eight, stop XL, it’s not too late.”
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After yesterday’s strong turnout, the President certainly has a lot more pressure in his decision. But the bigger question becomes: If Obama decides to approve the pipeline, will his core group of supporters within the environmental community come back to him in 2012?”
To read this entire post click here.

Inspector General Launches Investigation Into Keystone XL Approval Process

From ThinkProgress

“In response to a congressional request, the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General has launched a review of the Keystone XL pipeline approval process. The State Department is tasked with conducting the environmental review of TransCanada’s proposed tar sands pipeline from Canada to Texas for a Presidential Permit decision. Beginning with the Bush administration, the process has been largely outsourced to a contractor chosen and paid for by TransCanada, with only a single staffer overseeing the work. Meanwhile, lobbyists with close ties to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have aggressively pushed for approval on behalf of the foreign oil company. The request for an investigation was made by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and eleven Democratic members of the House of Representatives.”
To read this entire post click here.

TransCanada lobbying: Company ramps up pressure on lawmakers

From IWatchNews, By Corbin Hiar
“The company has greatly increased its Washington lobbying. Led by Paul Elliott, former deputy director of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s failed 2008 presidential campaign, the company’s spending went from $190,000 in 2008 to $720,000 in 2010, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Its 2011 total for the first three quarters has already surpassed last year, at $1.3 million.
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The proposed $7 billion, 1,702-mile long international pipeline extension would connect the massive tar sands deposits of central Alberta with oil refineries on the Texas coast. But the pipeline has to cut across the center of the U.S. and through more than 100 miles of Nebraska’s Ogallala aquifer. The massive underground formation provides drinking water for some 2.9 million Americans and sustains more than a quarter of the nation’s agricultural production.”
To read this entire post click here.

In our videos we take a look at the tar sands project, and we take a closer look at Sundays huge White House protest rally.