You may have seen news reports that thousands of people recently gathered at Lafayette Square across from the White House to protest the Keystone XL pipeline project, a pipeline that would bring oil from Canada’s tar sands to the U.S. The 36-inch diameter pipeline is a $7 billion project that would run 1,700 miles from the town of Hardisty in Alberta, Canada, through Saskatchewan, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma to terminals at Nederland, Texas on the Gulf of Mexico.
Opponents have a lot of reasons for disliking the pipeline. Those reasons include a potential threat to water supplies (if there’s a spill), higher pollution and an increase in greenhouse gases from tar sands, one of the dirtiest of fossil fuels, the potential harm to wildlife, and more.
It is true that Keystone will cross the large Sandhills wetland ecosystem in Nebraska, and the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest reserves of fresh water in the world. The Ogallala is a big source of water for people living in western states. Portions of the pipeline will also cross an active earthquake zone that had a 4.3 magnitude earthquake as recently as 2002.
What’s With the Thinner Steel?
And project developer TransCanada has applied for special permits to build its Keystone XL pipeline with thinner-than-normal steel, possibly saving the company more than a billion dollars. The company may get the waiver by beefing up in other areas. For example, it could inspect 100% of girth welds, for instance, instead of the 10% mandated by federal law.
For its part, TransCanada has said in press reports that it has been pumping oil through thinner pipes across Canada since 1973. The steel used on the new pipeline will be tested to withstand 125% of allowable pressure.
I’ve seen other pipelines have zero impact on the local wildlife. I don’t think that’s a big deal. The only wildlife it might really impact is wildlife you won’t miss (because it’s insects and vermin).
Leaks are a real concern. Critics note that despite the best efforts of pipeline operators, leaks are nearly inevitable. They don’t have to be big leaks. Last year, a Chevron pipeline spilled 33,000 gallons of oil from a “quarter-size” hole into a Salt Lake City creek.
However, TransCanada has a financial incentive to keep the pipeline safe, as the Nebraska Legislature passed LB 629, which holds TransCanada as solely financially responsible for any problems that may arise.
Also, the Ogallala is not a lake or a river or even a creek – it’s a aquifer. An aquifer is porous rock, sand, and sediment that holds water underground. Damage from an oil spill could happen, but it’s not like the pipeline is running through an open reservoir.
Also, it is true that tar sand oil carries traces of deadly chemicals, including nickel, vanadium, lead, chromium, mercury, arsenic, selenium, and benzene. But you know what? Coal also carries those deadly chemicals. There is no such thing as clean fuel except maybe solar, wind and hydro,and those have their own drawbacks.
I think the pipeline is worth supporting for jobs. True, the pipeline company is probably over-optimistic with its estimate of 20,000 high-paying jobs. The US State Department is probably closer to the mark, with its estimate of approximately 5,000 to 6,000 workers over the 3-year construction period.
And that brings me to my main reason for supporting the Keystone XL pipeline …
Are We Serious About American Energy Independence?
The initial capacity of Keystone Pipeline is 435,000 barrels per day, which will be increased up to 590,000 barrels per day. Upon completion, the Keystone Pipeline System would provide 5% of the current U.S. petroleum consumption needs and represent 9% of U.S. petroleum imports.
That’s not chicken-feed. If you think so, just try cutting U.S. oil imports by 9% and see what happens to prices.
Personally, I’d rather buy more oil from our Canadian friends than from a bunch of foreign despots who hate us and our way of life. More than half of America’s oil comes from countries deemed as hostile. Oh, it’s easy to give lip service to American energy independence. Here’s a chance – right here in the Keystone XL pipeline – to actually do something about it.
And if we don’t build the pipeline and buy that oil, do you think it’s just going to sit there? Fat chance. Instead, Canada will send that oil to China, where oil demand is booming.
So all those pollutants and chemicals that protesters are worried about? They’ll still go into the air even if we don’t build the pipeline.
If the protesters want to make a real effort to cut down on our production of Greenhouse gases, I recommend they give up their cars for bikes just one day a week. That would be HUGE. Since we use 19.6 million barrels of oil per day, and 40% of that is turned into gasoline, if we stopped using cars one day a week, that would amount to a savings of 407.6 million barrels of oil per year. Since mining and upgrading one barrel’s worth of oil from tar sands emits about 176 pounds of greenhouse gases, giving up cars for bicycles one day a week would save 71.75 million pounds of greenhouse gases a year.
Hey, people’s concerns are real. And if you want to make TransCanada use thicker steel and beef up safety along the pipeline, I’m all for it. But don’t stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Not if you’re serious about America becoming more, not less, energy independent.