http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ddroitsch/final_environmental_review_for.html

NRDC: Danielle Droitsch’s Blog

Final environmental review for Keystone XL tar sands pipeline acknowledges significant climate impact and sets stage for rejection
Posted January 31, 2014

The State Department has released its final environmental review acknowledging for the first time Keystone XL could accelerate climate change, adding the equivalent of 5.7 million new cars to the road. There is already compelling evidence that approval of Keystone XL would expand the tar sands industry and cause unacceptable climate impacts. This is a significant change to previous State Department analyses which have failed to acknowledge the role of the pipeline to facilitate tar sands expansion. When considering these climate impacts with the overwhelming evidence that the pipeline would create few jobs, bring tar sands to the Gulf for refining and export, and put communities and fresh water at risk, there is no other choice than to reject the pipeline. This dirty energy project fails the national interest test. In his recent State of the Union address this week, President Obama noted the enormous opportunity the country has to develop clean energy. Serving our national interest means embracing clean and renewable energy, reducing oil demand, and facilitating cleaner transportation. This means rejecting Keystone XL.

The pipeline will have a significant climate impact

In this final environmental review, the State Department concedes the pipeline will enable the expansion of tar sands production in a scenario assuming lower oil prices and little or no growth in pipelines. In this scenario, the State Department has now conceded that the possible climate impact of the pipeline could be upwards of 27.4 MMTCO2e annually which is equivalent to the tailpipe emissions from 5.7 million passenger vehicles. While the State Department downplays the likelihood of this scenario, they clearly acknowledge the project could pose a significant climate impact. The International Energy Agency (IEA), futures markets, and the World Bank are all projecting lower global oil prices over the coming years. According to the environmental review, “the total direct and indirect emissions associated with the proposed Project would contribute to cumulative global GHG emissions.”

Already, there is plenty of recent evidence from the investors, the Canadian government, and the tar sands industry acknowledging that the pipeline is critical to expansion. The International Energy Agency has confirmed the close connection between large pipelines including Keystone XL, and the tar sands industry’s expansion plans. Investment banks like the Royal Bank of Canada and Goldman Sachs have acknowledged the role of Keystone XL in driving tar sands expansion. In fact, we know that rail is not a feasible alternative to replace the capacity of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. In short, Goldman Sachs finds that without Keystone XL, lower tar sands prices and higher transport costs will result in the cancelation or deferment of tar sands expansion projects. We know that rail won’t be a replacement for moving tar sands oil.

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http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2014/03/cowboys_and_indians_protesting.php

Cowboys and Indians Protesting the Keystone Pipeline Together

By Dianna Wray
Wed., Mar. 19 2014 at 7:00 AM

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Photo courtesy of Bold Nebraska

Cowboys and Indians are usually on opposing sides in stories of the Old West, but the modern variations have found something to unite them: opposing the Keystone XL Pipeline.

The Keystone XL Pipeline is a 1,700-mile pipeline that will tote sticky black bitumen from the Canadian Tar Sands to the Texas Gulf Coast refineries when -- and if -- the project is ever completed. The southern leg of the line is up and running, but the northern section -- the one that would cross the border into Canada -- has been in regulatory limbo for years now. Despite those delays, President Obama recently announced his decision on the Keystone would (Maybe. Probably. Possibly.) be announced some time this year.

The Cowboy Indian Alliance, aka the farmers, ranchers, and tribal communities along the northern edge of the Keystone route have banded together to try and prevent the pipeline from being approved. The Cowboy Indian Alliance has scheduled a protest.

On April 22, members of the group will ride into Washington D.C. and set up camp near the White House to urge the president not to approve the pipeline. The bigger part of the protest -- the one where they are expecting a ton of people to show up -- is scheduled for April 27.

"The name, I think, rocked people a little bit," Jane Kleeb, director of Bold Nebraska, one of the groups involved in the alliance, said. "The name comes from an alliance in the 80s and 90s between ranchers and tribes. It's a little politically incorrect now, but when we brought everyone together on this we decided to revive it."

While most people would assume that landowners --- cowboys, ranchers and the like -- would be on opposite sides with the tribes, Kleeb says people overlook that they all have the land in common. "The tribes and the farmers and ranchers all share this very spiritual connection to the land we live on," Kleeb said.

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http://rejectandprotect.org

[center]April 22 – 27, Washington DC

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On April 22nd, a group of ranchers, farmers and tribal communities from along the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline route, called the Cowboy Indian Alliance, will ride into Washington DC and set up camp near the White House to tell President Obama to reject the pipeline.

On April 27th, thousands of people will join them to stand together for a final message that the Keystone XL pipeline and the tar sands must be rejected — to protect this, and future generations.[/center]

Bernie Sanders ?@SenSanders 2h
The president must reject the #KeystoneXL pipeline. #NoKXL http://pic.twitter.com/7DeXe31yGk

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