Global Warming: 5 Arguments Against Building the Keystone XL Pipeline

The Keystone XL pipeline would complete a 3,800-mile system to deliver crude oil from Alberta, Canada through the U.S. to Oklahoma. The proposed 1,200 miles of pipeline has stirred up global warming and other concerns among environmental activists.

According to CNN, the pipeline already brings hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil from Canada to Illinois, but opponents have many objections, including these five arguments against building the extension:

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1. The pipeline would increase the burning of fossil fuels because of the oil sands, or tar sands, that come from Canada. Activists argue the oil and sand make it dirtier than regular oil and have research to back them up, according to Time.

The extracting of oil from the oil sands emits about 17 percent more greenhouse gases into he air than standard oil pumping, according to a U.S. State Department review, reports Time. The extraction process from the tar sands might cause further environmental damage of lands. Natural gases used to extract the oil combine with the oil's bitumen, a mixture of hydrocarbons, and could lead to deforestation and increased global warming, opponents say.

2. The projected number of jobs created by the proposed pipeline has been exaggerated or misleading, activists and reviewers note. TransCanada, which operates the pipeline, stated figures of about 140,000 new jobs in its 2011 projection. However, the State Department review estimated the creation of about 42,000 jobs, including those for establishments that might develop along the extension, according to CNN.

The estimated 3,900 construction jobs would end after completion in two years, leaving about 50 permanent construction jobs for maintenance. Some activists claim the job numbers would be even lower, according to CNN.

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3. Potential oil leaks threaten areas along the proposed pipeline. Oil spills have already occurred along the constructed pipeline. Some 21,000 gallons of leaked crude oil were emitted into the environment from a Keystone pumping station in North Dakota in May 2011, according to an article published on the Natural Resources Defense Council website.

4. The pipeline would have little or no effect on gas prices. The review by the State Department concluded the extension would have "little impact" on prices. Many economists agree that a price drop would be insignificant.

Blake Eskew, a senior vice president of an oil consulting firm, told The Washington Post in 2012 that Keystone had the "potential" to decrease gas prices but only by "a few cents" at the pump for motorists.

5. Pollution of the Ogallala Aquifer from the pipeline could have devastating effects on the water supply in the U.S. The aquifer, which stretches from South Dakota to Texas, supplies water deposits to some 2,500 wells within a mile of the proposed pipeline, according to CNN. Environmentalists are concerned the oil route could be dangerously close to fresh water.

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