A group of climate scientists have sent a letter to Barack Obama advising that building the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada’s oil sands would be against the public interest, largely because of how it would contribute to climate change:
The tar sands are a huge pool of carbon, but one that does not make sense to exploit. It takes a lot of energy to extract and refine this resource into useable fuel, and the mining is environmentally destructive. Adding this on top of conventional fossil fuels will leave our children and grandchildren a climate system with consequences that are out of their control. It makes no sense to build a pipeline system that would practically guarantee extensive exploitation of this resource.
The letter is part of a general campaign of opposition to the pipeline, culminating in a sit-in protest in Washington D.C. later this summer.
Baird, Clinton expect pipeline decision by year’s end
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said he is concerned about how long it’s taking to reach a pipeline deal with the U.S., but one day after meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton he has hope that the process is on track.
Baird met with Clinton in Washington on Thursday and discussed a range of topics, from political problems in the Middle East, to drought in Africa, shared-border issues and the Keystone XL pipeline proposal.
The pipeline would carry oil from Alberta all the way to refineries in Texas. But the approval process has been a long road.
“If you build it, they will come” Yes , if the pipeline is built, the development of the tar sands will be further expedited. No rush. I think it makes sense for their to be lengthy consideration which weighs short -term interest and long-term costs.
All the best to those who will attend the sit-ins to shed light on this issue.