An Environmental Mistake

It's good to finally see someone in the mainstream media finally taking a sensible position on the building of the Keystone XL Pipeline. That pipeline is an environmental boondoggle that should never be finished. It will transport some of the dirtiest oil in the world through the heart of this country, creating an unnecessary risk to the environment of several states. In addition, eminent domain is being used by the government to take the land from private citizens and give it to a private corporation (for the benefit of that corporation, not the public).

The right-wing Republicans would like Americans to think the pipeline is a big job creator and will help to reduce this country's reliance on imported oil. Neither of those are true. Less than 200 permanent jobs will be created by the pipeline. And that dirty oil (tar sands oil) is coming from another country, to be refined in this country, and then shipped abroad. It will do absolutely nothing to reduce America's reliance on foreign oil.

This is just another example of a huge corporation using the power of our government to fatten their own bank account. And right now, it looks like they may get away with it. We need to urge the president to stop the building of the pipeline.