Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), a senior member of Congress and chair of the powerful Congressional Committee on Energy and Commerce has penned a public letter to the Secretary of State, Hilary Rodham Clinton, in which he states strong opposition to a planned oil pipeline that would transport Canada's controversial tar sands oil to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
In the letter Waxman writes:
“The State Department's decision on whether to permit this pipeline represents a critical choice about America's energy future.
“This pipeline is a multi-billion dollar investment to expand our reliance on the dirtiest source of transportation fuel currently available. While I strongly support the President's efforts to move America to a clean energy economy, I am concerned that the Keystone XL pipeline would be a step in the wrong direction.”
You can download a full PDF copy of the letter from Waxman to Clinton here. Upon completion, the Keystone XL pipeline would run 2,151 miles from Canada into the United States and then another 1,661 miles to the Gulf Coast.
The Tyee published last month a news report about the Keystone XL pipeline and resistance to it.
The Canadian oil sands have come under increasing scrutiny as the public becomes more aware of the human health and environmental impacts.
“Chairman Waxman’s letter signals that the infrastructure linchpin for the dirtiest oil in the world will no longer progress quietly through the regulatory process. The Obama Administration cannot make this decision in the back rooms; instead it must decide very publicly whether to start breaking our oil addiction now, it put it off for another time," said Kenny Bruno from Corporate Ethics International in response to the letter issued by Rep. Waxman.
Kevin Grandia is managing editor of the Desmog Blog where a version of this report first appeared .
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snert
1 year ago
Coal fired power plants
[OFFENSIVE CHARACTERIZATION REMOVED. -MODERATOR.] wouldn't dare try to get them shut down.
CanadianLatitude
1 year ago
The Tar Sands will shut
The Tar Sands will shut down. The world loves oil and most people will not change their ways. Our greed and selfishness will be the cause of our demise. Too many people, not enough resources, wars will be fought for oil, water etc
Mankind is the greatest destructive plague to ever hit this planet.
fanshaw
1 year ago
I used to think like you, Mr
I used to think like you, Mr Latitude, but I'm afraid it's worse than that. Plagues don't think, they don't choose, they don't vote and they aren't susceptible to PR, BS, and advertising.
Ribs
1 year ago
the dirtiest oil in the world
If the Canadian and Albertan governments aren't interested in doing anything about the environmental disaster that is the Tar Sands, then perhaps we can rely on the social and environmental consciousness of other countries such as the United States to not buy Tar Sand oil or allow it to be shipped through their territory. If we remove the market for dirty oil, the problem may solve itself. Then those oil companies can start on the reclamation I hear so much about, but have yet to see.
http://westcoastclimateequity.org/
Sask Resident
1 year ago
All politics is local
Waxman is playing to his local constituencies and could care less about where the oil comes from. Waxman is the lead on the 'green house gas' legislation and needs a bad guy to build support in Congress and California, especially Hollywood, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills. Waxman wins big so has little worries in the mid-term elections in November.
G West
1 year ago
Dirty Oil & Gas Companies
And you don't have to pay any attention to Waxman to learn more about it either:
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/613/index.html