The Keystone XL Pipeline: Environmental Impact
The Keystone XL Pipeline: Environmental Impact
Abstract. The topic of global oil production is becoming a well-recognized political issue, as it should, but the environmental impacts need to be addressed as well. The recent development project of the Canadian oil sands has been put into the spotlight after the TransCanada Company applied for a permit allowing their Keystone XL pipeline.
Introduction. The Keystone XL pipeline is a project of oil companies invested in tar sands oil, which will cause serious harm to humans, wildlife, and the environment. The proposed pipeline would carry 800,000 barrels a day of toxic tar sands bitumen more than 2,000 miles across six different states. The tar sands fields located in Alberta, Canada consist of about 2 trillion barrels of heavy crude oil covered by the vast Boreal forest. The extraction process would destroy an area larger than the state of Florida and at the same time use vast amounts of natural gas and water recourses. Tar sands oil produces three times the greenhouse gas emissions of conventionally produced oil because of the energy required to extract and process the tar sands oil. The pipeline poses the immediate threat of spills and leaks but additionally increase carbon emissions that will cause long-term damage to the climate. Expanding the industry would harm the global market’s goal of a reliable, clean energy plan and instead force dependency on fossil fuels.
Tar Sands 101. Tar sands are a mixture of clay, sand, water and bitumen- a thick, heavy, black hydrocarbon with the consistency of tar. The largest of these deposits of tar sands are in Canada. They are found in the Athabasca, Cold Lake, and Peace River regions of northern Alberta across 55,000 square miles within traditional First Nations’ territories. For decades these deposits have been ignored by the oil industry because the dirty tar sands oil is so much more expensive and difficult to produce than conventional oil. The continuing
Abstract. The topic of global oil production is becoming a well-recognized political issue, as it should, but the environmental impacts need to be addressed as well. The recent development project of the Canadian oil sands has been put into the spotlight after the TransCanada Company applied for a permit allowing their Keystone XL pipeline.
Introduction. The Keystone XL pipeline is a project of oil companies invested in tar sands oil, which will cause serious harm to humans, wildlife, and the environment. The proposed pipeline would carry 800,000 barrels a day of toxic tar sands bitumen more than 2,000 miles across six different states. The tar sands fields located in Alberta, Canada consist of about 2 trillion barrels of heavy crude oil covered by the vast Boreal forest. The extraction process would destroy an area larger than the state of Florida and at the same time use vast amounts of natural gas and water recourses. Tar sands oil produces three times the greenhouse gas emissions of conventionally produced oil because of the energy required to extract and process the tar sands oil. The pipeline poses the immediate threat of spills and leaks but additionally increase carbon emissions that will cause long-term damage to the climate. Expanding the industry would harm the global market’s goal of a reliable, clean energy plan and instead force dependency on fossil fuels.
Tar Sands 101. Tar sands are a mixture of clay, sand, water and bitumen- a thick, heavy, black hydrocarbon with the consistency of tar. The largest of these deposits of tar sands are in Canada. They are found in the Athabasca, Cold Lake, and Peace River regions of northern Alberta across 55,000 square miles within traditional First Nations’ territories. For decades these deposits have been ignored by the oil industry because the dirty tar sands oil is so much more expensive and difficult to produce than conventional oil. The continuing