i am appalled that the State Department has been rushing headlong toward approval of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which could devastate the environment in both Canada and the United States. Tar sands development has been called the "most destructive project on Earth" because it is laying waste to the great Boreal forest, obliterating migratory bird nesting grounds and spewing excessive global warming pollution. In addition, transporting the world's dirtiest oil to refineries in Texas will directly threaten some of the American heartland's most sensitive ecosystems and drinking water supplies while raising gas prices in the Midwest.
It is unconscionable that your agency has still not studied the far-reaching dangers of this Big Oil-sponsored pipeline -- or fully considered the clean energy alternatives. Your Administration's own EPA has called your latest review "environmentally objectionable." I call on you to deliver the kind of "robust review" that both you and President Obama promised the nation. An unvarnished report of this pipeline's true environmental and economic costs will make it crystal clear that it is NOT in our national interest and must be rejected.
The Keystone XL pipeline will enrich the oil giants while Americans pay for it with our environment, our climate and even our lives. As we move toward a clean energy future, there is no room for the most destructive oil on the planet. I urge you to prevent this disaster-in-the-making by rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline.
Sincerely,
