Say No to Keystone XL

There have been some key new developments in the case of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.  According to a New York Times article this week, a round of emails is revealing a "warm and collaborative relationship" between lobbyists for TransCanada (the company building the pipeline) and the U.S. State Department.  Back in August, the State Department issued its final environmental report on the proposed pipeline, which could carry 700,000 barrels of oil from Canada to Texas.  The report found the pipeline would have "no significant impact" on the environment.  The Obama administration now appears poised to approve the project by the end of the year.

But critics are hoping the new evidence stops the U.S. government from giving the green light. An editorial published in the New York Times cites concerns which The Overbrook Foundation also shares: "the stripping of the Canadian boreal forest, the further carbon-loading of the atmosphere, and the threat to the Midwest's water supplies."  And the oil wouldn't necessarily be destined for domestic markets.  According to the editorial, six companies "have already contracted for three-quarters of the oil.  Five are foreign, and the business model of the one American company... is geared toward export."

It's for all the reasons that The Overbrook Foundation is supporting 350.org's campaign "Tar Sands Action," to stop the U.S. government's approval of the pipeline.  We're hoping we can continue to get the word out -- say no to the Keystone XL pipeline.