A special session of Nebraska's legislature will convene on Nov. 1, 2011 to discuss concerns over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline's route. Republican Gov. Dave Heineman's call for the session threatens to delay the 1,700-mile pipeline carrying oil from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas.
Heineman has urged President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to deny TransCanada's permit to build the pipeline unless the route is changed. The $7 billion pipeline would carry oil across the Nebraska Sandhills and the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the region's largest sources of water for irrigation.
TransCanada responded in an Oct. 24, 2011 statement: "The three-year final Environmental impact Statement concluded Keystone XL would have minimal impact on the environment. Fourteen routes were analyzed, eight that would impact Nebraska. The pipeline takes the safest route - physically and environmentally.” TransCanada also offered $100 million bond and oil spill protection measures in hopes of deflating opposition to the pipeline's route.
Supporters of the pipeline, including US Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century Energy and Gary Doer, Canadian Ambassador to the US, say that it will create jobs and reduce American dependence on Middle East oil. Fossil fuels, including petroleum, coal, and natural gas, accounted for 83.5% of US energy needs in 2008, the most recent figures available from the US Energy Information Agency (EIA). 43% of total US oil consumption is used in automobiles and piston engine aircraft.
Read the full article here.