The Keystone XL Pipeline Project
The Keystone XL (KXL) Project is a planned crude oil pipeline with a diameter of 36 inches. The pipeline starts in Hardisty and runs south of Steele City in Nebraska. In terms of economic strength and energy stability, the project is important for the United States. The pipeline is 1897 kilometers long and will connect to an existing pipeline in Nebraska, carrying up to 830,000 barrels of oil a day. The Canadian National Energy Board approved the project in March 2010, but the then-President of the United States refused to grant the requisite presidential permit in the United States. He did not give the permit on grounds that the pipeline would not create long-term jobs, would not affect energy dependence and would not decrease petrol prices. However, within days in office as the U.S. President Donald Trump permitted the project stating that only steel from America be used.
Environmental Concerns and Opposition
President Trump's decision to permit the Keystone Pipeline sharply changed the federal government's approach to the environment. According to Environment Canada, it has realized industry chemicals seeping into ground water and the Athabasca River. The risk the pipeline poses to the local community is one of the reasons why most of them have opposed the project. Further, the First Nation groups in Northern Alberta have sued the federal and the provincial government for damages. They claim that the oil sand development which they were not consulted for has occurred for over 15 years now. However, by permitting the pipeline project, Trump has set in motion a wider plan to control regulations that hamper other building projects. Keystone Pipeline project had for long been blocked for years stirring a lot of debate.
Political Implications
President Trump's move to resurrect the project and further expedition of another, the Dakota pipeline is seen as a move to strip the legacy of his predecessor, Barack Obama. The former president strived for policy structure and the fight for climate change was one of his priority but this is what President Trump is making efforts to unravel. Around the same time, he permitted the pipeline project, Trump had given up a 12-nation trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership that had been negotiated by Obama.
Debate and Controversy
Trump's decision to grant permission for the project stirred a lot of debate among various parties. After making his decision, Trump was quickly denounced by environmental activists. One of the executives stated that Trump was only four days in office yet he had already proved that he is dangerous to their climate as they feared that he would be. Since Trump had called for modification and reversal of Obama's other policies too like abortion, health care and regulation, permitting the pipeline was seen as a matter of symbol rather than substance. His decision was largely influenced by his Environmental Protection Agency transition team that came up with a 50-page blueprint for how he could do away with Obama's climate change policies. Some Democrats stated that the pipeline would create employment opportunities and expend the energy resources. On the other hand, the environmentalists claimed that it would promote a method of oil extraction that gives out more gases that warm the planet, more than normal petroleum does.
Works Cited
Baker, Peter and Coral Davenport. Trump Revives Keystone Pipeline Rejected by Obama. 2017. 22 February 2017.
BBC. Keystone XL Pipeline: Why is it so Disputed? January 24, 2017. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30103078 (accessed February 22, 2017).
TransCanada. Keystone XL. 2017. http://www.keystone-xl.com/ (accessed February 22, 2017).
