The Keystone Pipeline is a Legitimate Issue and Should Not Be Approved
The controversy surrounding the Keystone XL Pipeline proposal steams from very legitimate concerns. While the issue has attracted support from some parties, it is apparent that many, including environmental activists, civilians and politician have strongly opposed the move, but the big question is, what are the specific reasons is in all this? According to Natural Resource Defense Council, NADR a New York based natural environment gives a comprehensive account why the move will be disastrous not only to natural environment but also to people (NADR). In addition, other non- partisan organizations like the Friends of Earth have also voiced their opposition to the construction of Keystone XL pipeline. It is perhaps on the basis of these weighty legitimate concerns that the issue has attracted a lot of political controversy. Those against the issue cite its massive potential to cause environmental and climatic disaster while those supporting cites job creation and eventual economic benefits. In my opinion, the Keystone XL Pipeline should not be constructed. It is apparent that the shortcoming pf the project far much outweigh its benefits. In forming my view, I sought to get a deeper understanding of tar sand at its impacts. It is a fact that it is non- conventional source of petroleum. Extraction and transportation have been never safe. In the article of NADR, NADR notes that the pipeline will cross 1073 sources of water including rivers, lakes and streams within the United States. In addition, it further reveals that it will run less than 1 mile from over 3000 clean water wells (NADR). This should worry us given the fact that tar sand is corrosive and so accident due to pipe damage may be inevitable. To illustrate the magnitude of the impending disaster, take a look at the West Michigan tar sand disaster in 2010. Almost five years later and over a billion dollars spend on cleaning, but the contamination still hounds the nearby communities; therefore, over looking at this issue amounts to setting a death trap for …show more content…
To begin with, the miners leave behind a very ugly legacy. A lot of water and chemicals is used to extract oil from the dirt. In the article of Friends of the Earth note that it takes three barrels of water to extra a single barrel of oil. The water from the extraction contains very toxic components. It cannot be released into the streams. It is left with gaping holes. But the reality is that these toxic eventually find their way to clean water streams used for domestic purposes. This is evident from the plight of communities living around the Northern Alberta are in Canada. At Fort Chipewyan, small towns of less than 1500 people, hundreds of people have died of cancer ranging from skin cancers to those affecting the internal organs (Friends of Earth). This is just the beginning; the construction of Keystone XL will see this multiply and spread. This is the reality, not mention the massive destruction of forest harboring the world rarest species of animals, some of which are on the brink of extinction. In the long run, and as is the case now, the project will create billions to the company and Canadian government while the vulnerable civilians lead a miserable life as their environment is destroyed and dirtied with toxic
The controversy surrounding the Keystone XL Pipeline proposal steams from very legitimate concerns. While the issue has attracted support from some parties, it is apparent that many, including environmental activists, civilians and politician have strongly opposed the move, but the big question is, what are the specific reasons is in all this? According to Natural Resource Defense Council, NADR a New York based natural environment gives a comprehensive account why the move will be disastrous not only to natural environment but also to people (NADR). In addition, other non- partisan organizations like the Friends of Earth have also voiced their opposition to the construction of Keystone XL pipeline. It is perhaps on the basis of these weighty legitimate concerns that the issue has attracted a lot of political controversy. Those against the issue cite its massive potential to cause environmental and climatic disaster while those supporting cites job creation and eventual economic benefits. In my opinion, the Keystone XL Pipeline should not be constructed. It is apparent that the shortcoming pf the project far much outweigh its benefits. In forming my view, I sought to get a deeper understanding of tar sand at its impacts. It is a fact that it is non- conventional source of petroleum. Extraction and transportation have been never safe. In the article of NADR, NADR notes that the pipeline will cross 1073 sources of water including rivers, lakes and streams within the United States. In addition, it further reveals that it will run less than 1 mile from over 3000 clean water wells (NADR). This should worry us given the fact that tar sand is corrosive and so accident due to pipe damage may be inevitable. To illustrate the magnitude of the impending disaster, take a look at the West Michigan tar sand disaster in 2010. Almost five years later and over a billion dollars spend on cleaning, but the contamination still hounds the nearby communities; therefore, over looking at this issue amounts to setting a death trap for …show more content…
To begin with, the miners leave behind a very ugly legacy. A lot of water and chemicals is used to extract oil from the dirt. In the article of Friends of the Earth note that it takes three barrels of water to extra a single barrel of oil. The water from the extraction contains very toxic components. It cannot be released into the streams. It is left with gaping holes. But the reality is that these toxic eventually find their way to clean water streams used for domestic purposes. This is evident from the plight of communities living around the Northern Alberta are in Canada. At Fort Chipewyan, small towns of less than 1500 people, hundreds of people have died of cancer ranging from skin cancers to those affecting the internal organs (Friends of Earth). This is just the beginning; the construction of Keystone XL will see this multiply and spread. This is the reality, not mention the massive destruction of forest harboring the world rarest species of animals, some of which are on the brink of extinction. In the long run, and as is the case now, the project will create billions to the company and Canadian government while the vulnerable civilians lead a miserable life as their environment is destroyed and dirtied with toxic