Statement on Failure of Keystone XL Pipeline Amendments to Pass U.S. Senate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 8, 2012 

CONTACT: Eric Young, 703-217-6814, press@climatereality.com 

Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate rejected amendments to cut short environmental review and mandate construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport carbon-polluting tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada to the United States and enable export of refined fuel to overseas markets.

Maggie L. Fox, President and CEO of The Climate Reality Project, issued the following statement:

"Climate change is a reality. And it's also a reality that tar sands oil is one of the dirtiest fuels on the planet, spewing carbon pollution into the atmosphere that will speed up the climate crisis. The EPA estimates that the annual well-to-gas tank carbon pollution from the Keystone XL pipeline could be as much as 82% higher than average crude refined in America. This amounts to an additional 27 million metric tons of carbon pollution, the equivalent of adding roughly 4.8 million cars to our roads. It is unacceptable to add this much carbon pollution to our atmosphere."

"Recently, 800,000 Americans told the Senate loud and clear that we must stand up to oil industry lobbyists and reject this pipeline once and for all. We thank and applaud the senators who rejected this attempt to deepen our reliance on fossil fuels."