(10 am – promoted by ek hornbeck)
There was a protest in front of the White House today that got minimal coverage from the traditional media and its’ going to continue for the next two weeks. If you only get your news from the usual suspects, you would have missed any mention of it if you blinked. So what was the cause that over 65 people were willing to get arrested over? It was this, Keystone Pipeline Project. So what’s the fuss? The oil that will be pumped through this pipeline is the dirtiest oil in the world:
Alberta’s oil sands are America’s number one source of foreign oil The oil sands produce the world’s most harmful type of oil for the atmosphere, emitting high volumes of greenhouse gases during development, which contribute to global warming.
Oil sands and greenhouse gas pollution
Oil Sands projects are the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas pollution in Canada.
Production of oil from tar sands bitumen produces between 3 and 5 times the greenhouse gas pollution of conventional oil production.
By 2015, the oil sands could emit more greenhouse gases than the nation of Denmark (pop. 5.4 million).Oil sands extraction pollutes water
Oil sands extraction uses significant amounts of water (2-4.5 barrels per barrel of oil produced), which ends up in toxic tailings lagoons that have never been successfully reclaimed. An analysis using industry data estimated that these lagoons already leak over a billion gallons of contaminated water into the environment each year.
Oil sands production uses huge amounts of energy
The term “oil sands” or “tar sands” oil refers to thick oil called bitumen that is mixed in with sand, clay, and water. Intensive energy is required to process the sands into crude oil.
Oil sands operations currently use about 0.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day. By 2012, that level could rise to 2 billion cubic feet a day – more than the nominal capacity of the
proposed Mackenzie Gas Project. At the NWT-Alberta border, the Mackenzie Gas Pipeline would connect to a TransCanada pipeline, which would carry the gas onward to feed oil extraction in Alberta’s oil sands. The Mackenzie Gas Pipeline will likely fuel accelerated oil sands development, not provide fuel to heat homes in Canada and the U.S.
Who profits? Who else, the Koch brothers and other oil barons and perhaps even China.
Environmentalist Bill McKibben, the organizer of the Tar Sands Action two week protest, was among those who was arrested today but this will not end, as over 1500 have signed up to keep this going for the next two weeks and as expected he was along with Lt. Dan Choi, Jane Hamsher and Scarecrow of FDL. Jane attempted to livestream the protest but was arrested early on and her camera equipment was confiscated. It was apparently ladies first, how considerate.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) supports the protest and offers his support:
We can support the protests by writing the White House and representatives and sign the petition to Stop the Pipeline
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