Congress is back in Washington, and they are getting right to work on what’s apparently a top priority: fast-tracking Keystone XL. On Friday, the House passed a bill to bypass the president and the State Department, and approve the permit to build the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline. The Senate has scheduled a vote for tomorrow.
More than 1 million people, including many IPL supporters, submitted public comments to the State Department to express their opposition to this dangerous project. For Congress to step in and try to preemptively approve the pipeline would be to disregard the citizens and undermine the president’s authority to determine whether projects are in the country’s national interest.
It’s time to stop taking reckless and irresponsible risks with Creation. This pipeline would jeopardize water, crops, animals, and residents along its 1,000-plus-mile- route. It would also be a disaster for the climate. And now that oil is trading at $75 a barrel, building a pipeline to bring tar sands oil to market at $100 or more does not even make economic sense. Urge your senators to vote no by clicking here.
Let’s get our heads out of the tar sands and start investing in efficiency and the clean energy technologies of the future.