The TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, an oil pipeline system, has been a major topic of debate since 2011
According to an article on www.Vox.com, “since Keystone XL crosses the US-Canada border, the State Department has to approve it first. That review process includes both an environmental impact assessment and a national interest assessment. TransCanada applied for a permit in 2008, not expecting much trouble. But a few years later… things got messy.”
In 2010, a pipeline leaked 19,500 barrels of crude in Michigan. In 2011, a pipeline leaked 1,500 barrels of crude oil into the Yellowstone River. In 2012, a pipeline ruptured into a neighborhood in Mayflower, Ark., spilling around 6,000 barrels and forcing residents to evacuate. These, and other disasters, have caused many people to become leery of the Keystone XL Pipeline and really have one of the primary arguments against the project.
In an interview on PBS, Anthony Swift, a member of the Natural Resources Defense Council talked about the pipeline: “You take a look at Pegasus and Keystone XL. Pegasus is a pipeline with a 10th of the capacity of Keystone XL. You build Keystone XL, you have a … 10 times more significant risk if there is a spill. And the question is, what is the benefit to the U.S. Public?”
Many point fingers at the companies in these events. However, any disaster goes both ways, according to senior Heath Church.
“I don’t think companies would do something if they thought it was a huge risk to themselves and other people,” Church. “A pipeline exploding would be detrimental to the company’s stock price, and public image overall. It wouldn’t help them or anyone else.”
Despite the risks, there are many benefits from the system that are argued, the biggest of which are energy security and job creation. According to a www.Vox.com article, the “State Department review estimated it would support 42,000 jobs over its two-year construction period — that includes 35 permanent jobs, 3,900 temporary construction jobs, and the rest support jobs or indirect jobs resulting from employee spending.”
Still, others are concerned about the increased emissions that come from processing the tar-sands crude oil.
“We already have environmental disasters that cause great devastation to the economy, and kill many people,” Julie Harvey, senior music major from Leonard Texas, said. “I am afraid of how many lives would be lost just for the pursuit of oil. We could spend that money trying to save lives by funding alternatives to fossil fuels.”
While many congress members continue to push for the bill to pass to allow the Keystone XL pipeline to be constructed, President Obama has made it rather clear that he will veto anything about the pipeline.
