Oil is selling for less than $50 a barrel today. For example, in 2020, Teck Resources withdrew its ten-year application to build the largest tar sands mine in history—citing growing concern surrounding climate change in global markets. Our beloved wildlife ambassador has been creating lifelong connections with nature for generations. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Lauren Jorgensen. Upon entering office, President Trump—with his pro-polluter cabinet of fossil fuel advocates, billionaires, and bankers—quickly demonstrated that his priorities differed. Oil prices have tumbled sharply since the pipeline was proposed. Tar sands development leaves an enormous scar on the boreal forest at this site near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada (Photo: SkyTruth). When you sign up you'll become a member of NRDC's Activist Network. Meanwhile, Nebraskans of all stripes, including ranchers, farmers, Tribes and elected representatives from both sides of the aisle (including Republicans like Senator Mike Johanns and Governor Dave Heineman), have expressed their united opposition to the pipeline route. The market case, even before the COVID-19 pandemic sent oil prices plummeting, has also deteriorated. (For evidence, recall the 2010 tar sands oil spill in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a disaster that cost Enbridge more than a billion dollars in cleanup fees and took six years to settle in court.) Its mines are a blight on Canada’s boreal, where operations dig up and flatten forests to access the oil below, destroying wildlife habitat and one of the world’s largest carbon sinks. Featured Story Why the Keystone XL Crude Oil Pipeline Deal Is Far from Done. One of the major concerns was the way in which the original route crossed the Sandhills, the large wetland ecosystem in Nebraska, and the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest reserves of fresh water in the world. Yes, Trump has green-lighted the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. Around half of the pipeline has already been completed, but its construction has always been opposed by various environmentalist groups. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use, Email President Obama and tell him to stop the proposed Keystone XL pipeline >>, Cornell University Global Labor Institute, Campus Race to Zero Waste 2021 Final Results: Colleges and…, Special Sauce: The Detroit Sugarbush Project, 11 Years After the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and a…, PFAS and the Great Lakes: The Need for Binational Action, What President Biden’s New Climate Goals Mean for Wildlife &…, Learn About (Not So) Scary Backyard Wildlife, 7 Reasons to Support the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, Quiz: Can We Guess What Animal You’d Be Based on…, Opossums: Unsung Heroes in the Fight Against Ticks and Lyme…, 5 Facts About Bumble Bees—and How To Help Them. The pipeline has faced years of sustained protests from environmental activists and organizations; Indigenous communities; religious leaders; and the farmers, ranchers, and business owners along its proposed route. The Keystone XL oil pipeline runs between Canada and the United States, and the Dakota Access pipeline would bring oil from fracking to market but … (Indeed, Keystone XL was viewed as a necessary ingredient in the oil industry’s plans to triple tar sands production by 2030. Currently, a surplus of gas in the region means that our prices stay stable. Keystone XL Pipeline Facts and Figures . Beneath the wilds of northern Alberta’s boreal forest is a sludgy, sticky deposit called tar sands. Keystone XL Pipeline: Facts & Figures 74T% of Americans Support Building the Keystone XL Pipeline why? Facts about the XL Pipeline. Dirty energy lobbyists claimed developing tar sands would protect our national energy security and bring U.S. fuel prices down. State Disclosures. The Keystone XL pipeline is an international project years in the making. FACT: LB 629, the “Oil Pipeline Reclamation Act,” is a much weaker bill than Nebraskans need to protect their property and natural resources. Court Pulls Key Permit for Massive (and Dirty) Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Hey, Army Corps of Engineers—Show Us Your Work in Your DAPL Report, Week 88: Trump’s Runaway Train of Deregulation. FACT:  Because raw tar sands bitumen is more corrosive and abrasive than normal crude oil, the risk of a spill is greater. On his fourth day in office, Trump signed an executive order to allow Keystone XL to move forward. It would ensure we maintain our oil addiction and delay making the tough decisions regarding energy production, management and conservation that we need to start making today.” And as Anderson makes clear, “Canadian oil won’t replace imports from hostile countries because Texas refiners are serving global demand rather than domestic need.”, MYTH #3: “Keystone XL is safe–newer technology, concrete barriers and thicker pipe.”. Without support from the U.S. government, it’s effectively halted. You'll receive your first NRDC action alert and update email soon. “And, frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership.” The Obama-era decision echoed a seven-year State Department review process with EPA input that concluded the pipeline would fail to serve national interests. “It’s nasty stuff.”, A fully realized Keystone XL would lead to more mining of that “nasty stuff” by accelerating the pace at which it’s produced and transported. Keystone XL will not lessen U.S. dependence on foreign oil, but transport Canadian oil to American refineries for export to overseas markets. Opposition to Keystone XL centers on the devastating environmental consequences of the project. The tar sands industry is just as hard on the cradle of its business. (NRDC and other groups have already won two lawsuits against the Trump administration over these approvals and reviews and recently sued for a third time.). And the risk that Keystone XL will spill has only been heightened: A study published in early 2020, co-authored by TC Energy’s own scientists, found that the anti-corrosion coating on pipes for the project is defective from being stored outside and exposed to the elements for the last decade. The Keystone XL pipeline is an international project years in the making. DAPL may be underway, but the water protectors at Standing Rock taught us a lot about going up against the fossil fuel industry. Not to mention the thousands of American landowners who have testified against the pipeline at local hearings around the country. its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. FACT: TransCanada has put almost all of its eggs in the KXL basket for one simple reason—that’s the only realistic way to sell its product overseas. The Keystone XL Pipeline consists of two parts. More than 90 leading scientists and economists have opposed the project, in addition to unions and world leaders such as the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and former president Jimmy Carter (together, these and other Nobel laureates have written letters against the project). Following a rigorous, robust analysis with substantial public engagement, the U.S. State Department, under President Barack Obama, declined to grant the northern leg of the Keystone XL project the permit required to construct, maintain, and operate the pipeline across the U.S.–Canada border. MYTH: Pipeline Would Not Increase Carbon Emissions. MYTH #3: Keystone XL will improve America’s energy security FACT: The Keystone XL pipeline is designed for one thing—to send oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf coast, and from there to overseas markets. So we thought it was a good time to sift through the disinformation and lay out some basic facts. When TC Energy said the pipeline would create nearly 119,000 jobs, a State Department report instead concluded the project would require fewer than 2,000 two-year construction jobs and that the number of jobs would hover around 35 after construction. It’s no small feat extracting oil from tar sands, and doing so comes with steep environmental and economic costs. Without Keystone XL, the tar sands industry has canceled projects rather than shift to rail, subsequently leaving more of the earth’s dirtiest fuel in the ground where it belongs. Keystone XL Pipeline Environmental Impact, President Trump and the Keystone XL Pipeline, President Biden and the Keystone XL Pipeline, tar sands oil spill in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Its mines are a blight on Canada’s boreal, Farmers, ranchers, tribes, and conservation groups, COVID-19 pandemic sent oil prices plummeting, Bureau of Land Management’s right-of-way permit, Battered by Floods, Nebraskans Worry About Pipeline Spills, 2018 Wasn’t a Completely Horrible Year for the Environment, A Rubber Stamp on Keystone XL? The people and the planet can claim more than a few victories—and 2019 is looking better already. How a single pipeline project became the epicenter of an enormous environmental, public health, and civil rights battle. This has proved to be untrue. When industry-friendly politicians took charge of both congressional houses in January 2015, their first order of business was to pass a bill to speed up approval of Keystone XL. MYTH #8: “There already is a TransCanada pipeline going over the Ogallala Aquifer, the Keystone Pipeline [that] has been operational for years in Eastern Nebraska, without a spill.”. MYTH #2: Keystone XL will improve America’s energy security. But immediately after taking office, President Trump reversed course and signed an executive order to advance Keystone XL (as well as the Dakota Access Pipeline). “It sets the stage for a more prosperous future powered by clean energy.”. As President-elect Joe Biden prepares to enter the White House, he has signaled that cancelling Keystone XL’s permit will be a top priority. Tar sands oil is thicker, more acidic, and more corrosive than lighter conventional crude, and this ups the likelihood that a pipeline carrying it will leak. The pipeline is named XL for “export limited.” First proposed in July 2008, it is the fourth phase of TC Energy’s existing Keystone Pipeline system. MYTH #6: Out-of-state “special interests” and “environmental extremists” are spearheading opposition to the pipeline in Nebraska. A spill would be devastating to the farms, ranches, and communities that depend on these crucial ecosystems. Finally, the pipeline would undermine efforts to minimize global warming and prioritize clean energy like wind and solar. Low oil prices and increasing public concern over the climate have led Shell, Exxon, Statoil, and Total to either sell their tar sands assets or write them down. You can’t see it from this angle, but his pants are, in fact, on fire. Their activities have been tainted by a conflict of interest in favor of the project and they have failed to assess pipeline safety issues with any rigor, inadequately consulted numerous Tribal nations, and neglected to protect Americans from eminent domain threats made by TransCanada. 3. a proposed plan to construct a 1,179 mile-long crude oil pipeline across the US-Canada international border. The Keystone XL pipeline extension, proposed by energy infrastructure company TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) in 2008, was designed to transport the planet’s dirtiest fossil fuel to market—fast. Keystone XL would cross agriculturally important and environmentally sensitive areas, including hundreds of rivers, streams, aquifers, and water bodies. Oil trains won’t get better brakes, air conditioners won’t get safer chemicals, and children lose their EPA advocate. Opponents of this project—now called the Gulf Coast Pipeline—say that TC Energy took advantage of legal loopholes to push the pipeline through, securing a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit and dodging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) more rigorous vetting process, which requires public input. In short, tar sands oil represents no small threat to our environment, and our best stance against it, as the rallying cry goes, is to “keep it in the ground.”. That's less than half the price when the Keystone XL pipeline was proposed in 2008. President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration plans to rescind the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office, two sources familiar with the decision tell CNN… This includes preferential treatment for TransCanada’s chief lobbyist (a former aide to State Department Secretary Clinton), as well as outsourcing much of the review process to a company who counts TransCanada as a major client. If ever there was an environmental battle exemplifying a game of ping pong, it would be the stop-start story of the Keystone XL pipeline, also known as KXL. MYTH #5: Keystone XL will reduce our energy prices. People and wildlife coming into contact with tar sands oil are exposed to toxic chemicals, and rivers and wetland environments are at particular risk from a spill. MYTH #10: Keystone XL will generate “$585 million in new tax revenue–this means better schools and infrastructure.”. By now, you’ve probably heard about the Keystone XL pipeline–what many people are terming the biggest environmental issue of the year. Thanks for signing up. National Wildlife Federation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization “This isn’t your grandfather’s typical oil,” says Anthony Swift, director of NRDC’s Canada project. The Canadian energy company TransCanada has asked for permission to build a 1,661-mile pipeline that would travel from Hardisty, Alberta, down to oil refineries in Houston and Port Arthur, Texas. Meet some of the people who are striving to stop TransCanada’s dirty tar sands oil pipeline once and for all. FACT: The original Keystone pipeline has been plagued by problems since its opening in 2009 – at least 12 reported spills, including one of 21,000 gallons this spring. FACT: TransCanada’s job claims are complete fabrications. (Photo: flickr/Onion), MYTH #1: “Keystone XL project will create 20,000 jobs–7,500 of which will be in Nebraska”. Keystone XL is a 1,947 km long pipeline project that would carry crude oil from Alberta to Nebraska. From the time it was proposed in 2008, through more than 10 years of dogged citizen protest and various conflicting legislative and executive orders by the federal government, the path for this controversial oil pipeline has never been smooth. The Keystone XL pipeline extension, proposed by energy infrastructure company TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) in 2008, was designed to transport the planet’s dirtiest fossil fuel to market—fast. At every turn, the Tar Sands Invasion would put people and the environment in harm's way. Since it first went into operation in 2010, TC Energy’s original Keystone Pipeline System has leaked more than a dozen times; one incident in North Dakota sent a 60-foot, 21,000-gallon geyser of tar sands oil spewing into the air. We will keep you informed with the latest alerts and progress reports. FACT: The US State Department (the agency responsible for vetting the project) has conducted a sham review. For companies considering whether to invest in a long-lived tar sands project (which could last for 50 years), access to cheap pipeline capacity will play a major role in the decision to move forward or not. The Keystone XL extension actually comprises two segments. Owned by North American company TC Energy, the Keystone XL Pipeline “is the fourth phase of the Keystone Pipeline System,” an existing 2,687-mile pipeline whose Canadian … Pipeline under construction in Alberta, Canada. Whether you transport crude oil by truck, boat, … One such protest, a historic act of civil disobedience outside the White House in August 2011, resulted in the arrest of more than 1,200 demonstrators. Indeed, one study found that between 2007 and 2010, pipelines moving tar sands oil in Midwestern states spilled three times more per mile than the U.S. national average for pipelines carrying conventional crude. Other methods of transport aren't necessarily better. The Keystone XL Pipeline is not a crude oil export pipeline — period. When that failed—thanks to a lawsuit brought by NRDC and other groups—President Trump reissued the cross-border permit himself. TransCanada executive. The oil industry has lobbied hard to get KXL built by using false claims, political arm-twisting, and big bucks. Some 3 million miles of oil and gas pipelines already run through our country. “President Biden's decision to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline on his first day turns the page on a twelve-year fight over the energy future of our country,” said Swift just before Biden’s inauguration. An expansion of the company’s existing Keystone Pipeline System, which has been operating since 2010 (and is already sending Canadian tar sands crude from Alberta to various processing hubs in the middle of the United States), it would dramatically increase capacity to process the 168 billion barrels of crude oil locked up under Canada’s boreal forest. That’s one reason geophysicist and former Editor-In-Chief of Science Marcia McNutt reversed her position on the pipeline to support its completion in 2014. It is a supply line to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries — which have signed up to 20-year binding commercial … According to the Cornell University Global Labor Institute, “The company’s claim that KXL will create 20,000 direct construction and manufacturing jobs in the U.S. is not substantiated” and “KXL will not be a major source of US jobs, nor will it play any substantial role at all in putting Americans back to work.” In fact, the State Department’s own study suggests that far fewer jobs will be created and most of them will be non-local and temporary. MYTH #4: The government review process for Keystone XL has been fair and thorough. 1. Nevertheless, in the mid-2000s, with gas prices on the rise, oil companies ramped up production and sought additional ways to move their product from Canada’s remote tar sands fields to midwestern and Gulf Coast refineries. So what do you need to know about the biggest threat to our energy future? Though President Trump subsequently granted this permit and removed this particular barrier to Keystone XL’s construction, significant legal, regulatory, and economic barriers remain for the pipeline to become operational. XL keystone pipeline facts. A Washington Post editorial argued that … Farmers, ranchers, tribes, and conservation groups have helped keep the project stalled for the past four years, ensuring it made the long list of President Trump’s failed campaign promises. But Nebraska’s got a slew of public hearings on the calendar, and legal challenges loom large. These sands contain bitumen, a gooey type of petroleum that can be converted into fuel. One of the central arguments by pipeline pushers is that tar sands expansion will move forward with or without Keystone XL. The … As President Obama decides whether to approve the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, here are the key facts he must consider: Energy Security: Tar Sand will not Reduce Dependence on Foreign Oil. 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