The Keystone XL pipeline has become a hot topic in the US and Canada over the past few months. The pipeline would carry oil from the oil sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Houston, Texas and Port Arthur, Texas. It is a 7 Billion dollar project that would not only create jobs in the US, but also increase trade between Canada and the US.
Just like anything ese that has to do with transporting or obtaining oil, this pipeline project has to deal with ethics. On the environmentalist side you have the always present potential for disaster that destroys the environment, the opinion that the money spent on the pipeline could be used to research and find new ways of obtaining environmentally friendly energy sources and the amount of energy that is used to extract the “dirty” oil from the oil sands. On the other side, this pipeline will create thousands of jobs in the US and Canada, increase trade between the two countries and will decrease the dependency that the US has on the Middle East. No matter what way the State Department votes, they will vote against people’s opinions of right and wrong.
Plans for the Keystone Pipeline
Pro Video on the Keystone XL Pipeline
Con Video on Keystone XL Pipeline