http:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/newswire\/2014\/01\/31-3<\/p>\n
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
\nJanuary 31, 2014
\n5:21 PM<\/p>\n
CONTACT: Bill Snape, (202) 536-9351<\/p>\n
In a Shift, New State Department Review No Longer Attempts to Say Keystone Impacts Would be ‘Negligible’<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON – January 31 – The controversial Keystone XL pipeline \u2014 a project that will worsen the climate crisis and threaten wildlife and waterways along its route \u2014 moved a step closer to approval today with the State Department\u2019s release of a final environmental review.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeystone XL is a turning point for President Obama in deciding whether he\u2019s embracing the climate-killing fossil fuels of the past or sane energy sources for the future,\u201d said Bill Snape, senior counsel with the Center for Biological Diversity. \u201cOil companies may love this pipeline, but it\u2019s a disaster in the making for our climate and for the wildlife in its path.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unlike prior reviews of the pipeline, the new State Department review does not attempt to claim that the environmental impacts would be minimal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new review represents an important shift from prior analyses because it no longer tries to claim that Keystone\u2019s impacts will be negligible,\u201d Snape said. \u201cBut even so, the environmental consequences are clear as day: oil spills, polluted rivers, and wildlife directly in harm\u2019s way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last June President Obama warned of the dangers of climate change and said Keystone would only be in the national interest if it \u201cdoes not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.\u201d The State Department and independent experts have already determined that Keystone XL will vastly increase tar sands development in Alberta, Canada. Acclaimed climate scientist Dr. James Hansen has said Keystone would be \u201cgame over\u201d for avoiding catastrophic climate change.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeystone XL will transport nearly a million barrels of highly toxic tar sands oil through America\u2019s heartland each and every day for 50 years or more \u2014 only to have much of it refined and exported,\u201d said Snape. \u201cAlong the way it will crush some of the last habitat for endangered species like the swift fox and whooping crane. It\u2019ll pollute water used by millions of people and emit as many greenhouse gases as 51 coal-fired power plants.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year the Center released a report on the risks posed to endangered species by Keystone XL. The Center also released a video highlighting the dangers of oil pipelines \u2014 a key point given the State Department\u2019s estimate that the 1,700 Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline will spill at least 100 times during its lifetime.
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\nAt the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature – to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law, and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters, and climate that species need to survive. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
http:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/newswire\/2014\/01\/31-3 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 31, 2014 5:21 PM CONTACT: Bill Snape, (202) 536-9351 In a Shift, New State Department Review No Longer Attempts to Say Keystone Impacts Would be ‘Negligible’ WASHINGTON – January 31 – The controversial Keystone XL pipeline \u2014 a project that will worsen the climate crisis and threaten wildlife and waterways … Continue reading Common Dreams & Center for Biologic Diversity: Obama Administration Pushes Disastrous Keystone XL Closer to Approval<\/span>