Pros And Cons Of The Keystone XL Pipeline

The Keystone XL Pipeline is a proposed pipeline project, by TransCanada Pipelines Limited, involving the transportation of up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico area in Texas. “The U.S. portion of the pipeline would begin near Morgan, Montana, at the international border of the United States and extend to delivery points in Nederland and Moore Junction, Texas. There would also be a delivery point at Cushing, Oklahoma” (Environmental 5). The delivery points would grant access to multiple other pipelines and refineries located all around the United States. “The Keystone XL pipeline would consist of approximately 1,711 miles of new 36-inch-diameter pipeline, with approximately 327 miles of pipeline in

“Primarily, environmental groups and affected communities along the route object to the project” (Keystone 292). The biggest concern with the Keystone XL Pipeline would be a spill in an environmentally sensitive area, such as the sand hills in Nebraska. Other examples of sensitive areas would be wetlands, flowing streams and rivers, and areas near water intake for aquifers. The proposed pipeline is believed to be a safer way to transport oil in contrast to truck or train, but a break in the pipeline can lead to water contamination in the Ogallala aquifer. The Ogallala aquifer encompasses nearly all of the state of Nebraska. With the construction of this pipeline going right over the Ogallala aquifer, this puts Nebraska landowners at risk of not only contaminating their drinking water, but their irrigation water for their crops, too. The Ogallala aquifer is “one of the world’s largest known aquifers and the primary source of groundwater for approximately 20 percent of U.S. agricultural production” (Keystone 295). This puts Nebraska land owners at risk of not only contaminating their drinking water, but also “jeopardizing its use for farming” (Keystone

It uses flowing water to generate electricity. It does this by using dams and reservoirs for storage. This method gives us the most electricity rather than any other renewable energy source. Not only do the dams and reservoirs create electricity, they also control flooding (Sambu). Hydropower is the least expensive procedure to generate electricity. This is true because “once a dam has been built and the equipment installed, the energy source—flowing water—is free. It's a clean fuel source that is renewable yearly by snow and rainfall. Hydropower is also readily available; engineers can control the flow of water through the turbines to produce electricity on demand”