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For Immediate Release
April, 13 2010, 01:03pm EDT
Contact:
Kelly Trout, 202-222-0722, ktrout@foe.org
Alex Moore, 202-222-0733, amoore@foe.org
State Department Ignores Global Warming in Draft Assessment of Keystone XL Pipeline's Environmental Impacts
Friends of the Earth urges Secretary of State Clinton to account for climate disruption that imported tar sands oil would cause
WASHINGTON
The Department of State released on Friday a draft analysis of
environmental impacts that could be caused by a proposed pipeline to
transfer dirty tar sands oil from Canada to refineries in Texas.
The pipeline, the Keystone XL, would be constructed by Canadian oil
and gas giant TransCanada. If approved, it would bring high-carbon,
dirty tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada through the plains states of
the U.S. to Gulf Coast refineries near Houston at a rate of 900,000
barrels per day.
Friends of the Earth criticized the State Department for completely
ignoring new greenhouse gas emissions that would be caused by the
pipeline, estimated to be 38 million tons per year. That is equivalent
to adding more than six million cars to the road.
Friends of the Earth's dirty fuels campaigner, Alex Moore, had the following statement:
"This pipeline is dirty on all accounts. It would bring air
pollution to refinery communities in the U.S. and harm indigenous
communities near the sites of tar sands extraction in Canada. On top of
that, this pipeline will make global warming worse by increasing our
nation's reliance on the dirtiest source of oil on Earth, a factor that
the Obama administration has so far ignored. The administration should
focus on developing clean energy and reject new pipelines for the
world's dirtiest oil."
The next step in the permitting process for the Keystone XL is a 45
day public comment period. Friends of the Earth will ask its members
and supporters to submit comments to the State Department urging that
the permit for this destructive project be rejected.
The State Department will have to take these public comments
into account before releasing its final Environmental Impact Statement.
Then the Obama administration will have to decide whether to allow this
pipeline to be built. The State Department is in charge of overseeing
the permit process because the pipeline crosses a national border.
The draft Environmental Impact Statement is available on the State Department's website at: https://www.keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov/clientsite/keystonexl.nsf?Open
(Note: Once you navigate to this page, click on the "State Dept.
Documents" link on the left-hand side and scroll to the bottom of the
page for the draft EIS.)
Friends of the Earth fights for a more healthy and just world. Together we speak truth to power and expose those who endanger the health of people and the planet for corporate profit. We organize to build long-term political power and campaign to change the rules of our economic and political systems that create injustice and destroy nature.
(202) 783-7400LATEST NEWS
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