According to US House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Henry Waxman, the Keystone XL pipeline is “a multi-billion dollar investment to expand our reliance on the dirtiest source of transportation fuel currently available”. The proposed project plans to transport up to 1.3M barrels of oil daily from Alberta’s Athabasca Oil Sands to Houston, Texas and many refineries in the southern US. Recently the project has encountered resistance in Nebraska: the proposed route passes through the Sand Hills wetlands, as well as the Ogallala Aquifier, one of the world’s largest sources of fresh water. Consequently, American president Barack Obama has postponed his decision on the pipeline until after the next election, pleasing environmentalists and infuriating oil companies. According to analysts the delay may cost TransCanada up to $1B.

While I would prefer that nobody exploit the tar sands, this pipeline will not be aborted. Hence, if activists can negotiate the rerouting of the conduit away from fragile ecosystems I would be fairly satisfied. On the other hand, I’m appalled that TransCanada would have planned to pass through these regions in the first place. Anything to save a few bucks, I suppose.

For more information, see Wikipedia and The Globe & Mail.