Keystone XL gets official nod

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A new report from the U.S. Department of State offers no major environmental objections to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the southern United States.

The State Department’s analysis said that approval of the controversial pipeline project, which would be built by TransCanada Corp., “is unlikely to significantly impact the rate of extraction in the oil sands or the continued demand for heavy crude oil at refineries in the United States based on expected oil prices,” according to BBC News.

Environmentalists have long objected to the pipeline, citing increased carbon emissions and the resultant increased contribution to global warming, as well as risk of oil spills along its route, which includes the Ogalalla Aquifer, a major source of fresh water for the Great Plains region.

“Keystone XL would pipe some of the world’s dirtiest oil through the American breadbasket to be refined on the Gulf and shipped overseas,” said actor/environmentalist Robert Redford, in a Feb. 4 Reader Supported News piece he wrote.