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The Pros And Cons Of The Keystone Pipeline

1185 Words5 Pages

Everyone has at least seen or heard of an argument or dispute involving the environment. Whether it was from your teacher, the news or something on the internet that you glanced at then moved on to watch more cat videos, you still noticed it. In today’s time, these feuds are highly controversial. One of the more recent conflicts is the Keystone XL Pipeline. The pipeline is essentially the fourth step of the Keystone Pipeline System. It’s going to be used to transport oil to the United States from Canada. This topic is highly controversial because of the negative impacts it causes on the environment, the political issues, and economic benefits.
According to “The Keystone XL Pipeline: Improper Reliance on Weak Conservation Measures for Endangered …show more content…

According to “The Keystone XL Pipeline: Improper Reliance on Weak Conservation Measures for Endangered Species Protection,” “KXL’s impacts on listed species include increased human interaction; habitat fragmentation, alteration, and loss; reduced breeding success due to noise and vibration; and the creation of barriers to movement” (Burd 281). The areas that the pipeline effects are massive. “In total, KXL will disturb roughly 16,300 acres” (Burd 281). During the construction process of the pipeline, there’s going to be a lot of ground disturbance. It’s noted that this disturbance is going to affect the endangered American burying beetle. In addition to the ground disturbance, the electrical lines used to power the pumping stations will also affect species around it. According to “The Keystone XL Pipeline: Improper Reliance on Weak Conservation Measures for Endangered Species Protection,” “The 378 miles of new power lines KXL would require are particularly deleterious to the listed and candidate avian species—the interior least tern, piping plover, whooping crane, Sprague’s pipit, and greater sage-grouse” (Burd 282). The power lines possess a collision risk to these avian species. Lastly, the Keystone XL Pipeline has a significant impact if there’s an oil spill or leak. Tar sands oil is more acidic which can cause the deterioration of the …show more content…

Because of the United States dependency on oil, having the pipeline would help fulfill its oil-hungry needs. In addition, it comes from an ally and neighbor, Canada, rather than more turbulent places like the Middle East. This will cause an increase in national security because we won’t be as dependent on OPEC if we have another way to get oil. One of the arguments that the people who want the pipeline is that it will decrease gasoline prices. However, that isn’t true. Although, the thousands of jobs created for the construction and management of the pipeline is true. The increase in tax revenue to the local governments around the Keystone XL Pipeline is also a

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