Here’s a list of bullet points that you can use as a resource when you go Regulations.gov and make a public comment about the Keystone XL pipeline.
• Careful scrutiny of the claims made by advocates of the Keystone XL pipeline is revealing. For example, saying that “the project would decrease American reliance on Middle-Eastern oil” doesn’t make it so — according to a recent study from Oil Change International, the tar sands oil is destined almost entirely for overseas markets.
• Without stringent enforcement mechanisms, the pipeline builders’ claims to “57 provisions beyond federal environmental law that will enhance environmental protections” is a meaningless cosmetic gesture.
• The oil industry’s history is chock-full of legal malfeasance, bad intentions and simple incompetence — why would any sane person trust their bland assertions that the pipeline will be completely safe?
• Despite the fact that the dilbit from the Tar Sands is destined for the overseas market, we are steadily told that “America needs the oil.” Yeah, we need that oil — just like an addictive smoker needs that cigarette. But what America (and the rest of the world) really needs is to kick the habit entirely.