Government Must Account for Global Warming Pollution Threat
Newswise — National Wildlife Federation and 25 groups issued a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today calling for suspension of the permitting process for a proposed tar sands pipeline known as Keystone XL. The groups say the full scope of its environmental and social impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions have not been considered.
Tar sands are among the dirtiest of fossil fuels. The extraction and refining process also causes far more environmental destruction than comparable forms of fuel like oil and natural gas.
The proposed pipeline Keystone XL would take up to 900,000 barrels per day of tar sands oil from operations in Alberta, Canada, through six states to refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast. That amount, plus operation at capacity of two other recently constructed tar sands pipelines, would more than triple U.S. consumption of tar sands oil.
TransCanada needs a presidential permit from the State Department for the pipeline's U.S.-Canada border crossing. Prior to issuing the permit, an environmental impact statement for the pipeline and a formal determination of “national interest” must be made.
Larry Schweiger, president and CEO of National Wildlife Federation said:
“Tar sands and other dirty fuels undermine our national interests by making it harder to solve the global warming crisis while subverting the clean energy revolution that can lead the U.S. to energy independence. This pipeline needs to be sent to the scrap heap.
“The Keystone XL dirty fuels pipeline is wrong for America and wrong for the environment and must be stopped. The right energy policies for America reduce dependence on fossil fuels while strengthening national security and creating jobs here in the U.S. The answer is wind, solar, sustainable biofuels, geothermal and other clean energy sources made here at home.”
The National Wildlife Federation is America's largest conservation organization inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future.
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