Case Study: The Keystone Pipeline Debate

The Keystone Pipeline Debate Before one can form an opinion on whether the Keystone Pipeline should or should not be built, they should first know what it is, and hear both sides of the argument. The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned since 2010. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta to refineries in Illinois and Texas, and also to oil tank farms and oil pipeline distribution center in Cushing, Oklahoma. Three phases of the project are in operation, while a fourth phase is awaiting United States government approval.
The Keystone XL proposal faces criticism from environmentalists and a minority of the members of the United States Congress. In January 2012, President Barack Obama rejected the application amid protests about the pipeline 's impact on Nebraska 's environmentally sensitive Sand Hills region. TransCanada Corporation
In other words, those added carbon emissions would amount to less than 1 percent of United States greenhouse gas emissions and a very small portion of the global total. Now that we have looked at the global impact, and have also looked from a macroeconomic viewpoint, what about the microeconomic viewpoint? What will this do for U.S. gas prices, and for the American families that have to purchase gas? According to CBS News writer, Bruce Kennedy, “Some critics contend that the pipeline could cause gas prices to rise, especially in the Midwest. That 's because the oil that would be transported is not intended for American consumers. Rather, the Canadian oil currently sent to refineries in Illinois, Ohio and elsewhere in the Midwest would end up being diverted to Keystone, chiefly for export to markets