Saturday, December 6, 2014

The Effects of the Keystone Pipeline Will Destroy Our Environment

A major decision has been pressed upon the House of Representatives for the past three years, the construction of the Keystone Pipeline. Funded by oil company TransCanada, the Keystone Pipeline is intended to journey 2,000 miles from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast of Texas. If and when construction is completed, the pipeline will cut through the middle of the United States, pump thousands of gallons of tar sands oil down to refineries in the coast everyday, and lay waste to the natural habitats and ecosystems along the way. The oil being transported is known as tar sands oil, which is a combination of natural minerals and oil rich elements. Tar sands oils not only have the potential to cause permanent damage to water supplies in the case of a spill; but also, tar sands oil release higher emissions of toxic sulfur and nitrous oxide. In other words, refineries in Texas will be pumping out more chemicals that can cause acid rain, contribute to smog, and increase asthma. The Keystone Pipeline also has the potential to clear away vast forests. The majority of tar sands oil are set deep under an untouched and preserved forest and lake in Alberta, home to many endangered species of caribou. The sudden drilling could poison water in the area and displace various species of wildlife.

The Keystone Pipeline XL has been approved by congress. Construction has already begun. The pipeline will provide thousands of temporary jobs and make the cost of gasoline go down. But the environment of North America will pay the ultimate price.

Keystone XL pipeline. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2014, from Friends of the      Earth website: http://www.foe.org/projects/climate-and-energy/tar-sands/      keystone-xl-pipeline 

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