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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNebraska Ranchers Question Pipeline Route
http://www.dailyyonder.com/nebraska-ranchers-question-pipeline-route/2012/02/06/3746The Keystone XL oil pipeline may have stalled for now, but a group of Nebraskans is worried that the projectwhich will likely be resurrected in some formwould still pass through regions of the state that are vulnerable to oil spills.
Seven landowners met with Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman on Thursday to discuss their concerns. They brought along a slideshow of maps and photos and signed their presentation "by Stewards of the Land."
The pipeline was originally slated to pass through the Sandhills, a fragile ecosystem that overlies the Ogallala aquifer in north-central Nebraska. But last November, TransCanada, the Alberta-based company that is trying to build the project, bowed to pressure and agreed to reroute the pipeline away from the Sandhills.
The company had begun searching for a new route when the Obama administration rejected the pipeline permit on Jan. 18.
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)Its saving grace was being a poor region for farming, even with fairly abundant water (relative to the rest of the plains). Would be unthinkable to see it get wrecked and poisoned by a foreign company chasing profits. Let them tear up and poison their own land.
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)Isn't this what your state has wanted for years, with its steadfast backing of the Republican party? You had to suspect that your turn would come, sooner or later. You know what happens next? You should, you've seen it play out dozens of times over the years. You'll be called socialists or commies. You'll be accused of wanting to weaken America. You'll be against all those zillions of jobs the XL pipeline is going to create. You may even find out that it's not quite so much fun being on the receiving end of the demagoguery.
So . . . what are you going to do about it? You've gotten into this fix by electing and re-electing the most hidebound lizard brains that can be found.
DCKit
(18,541 posts)to be refined?
ProgressiveEconomist
(5,818 posts)North America need another Houston somewhere on the Pacific coast, to ship petroleum products to newer potential markets in Asia?
What are the monetary cost and environmental risks of building a pipeline to Texas compared to the costs and risks of building a new refining and shipping hub in, say, Washington State, Oregon, or California?
If nobody has answers to these questions, much more study definitely is needed before okaying a risky pipeline.
Joe Shlabotnik
(5,604 posts)A large segment believes that the tar sands are toxic and should be left as is. But another large segment is asking 1) why not refine it here and create needed longterm Canadian jobs, and 2) why ship out out the raw ingredient, just to re-import the finished product for the eastern half of the country. But as usual, multinational oil companies have no loyalty to any country, couldn't give a rats ass about jobs, environment, sustainability etc, and the Conservative government is deaf to it's constituents, and 100% in the pocket of the oil industry. Its a loose/loose for everyone except a privileged few.