Keystone XL would be nine times larger than the Arkansas tar sands pipeline that spilled through backyards. Ten days left to submit your official comment. The ExxonMobil tar sands pipeline spill — photo courtesy of the Sierra Club‘s Glen Hooks, on the ground in Arkansas.

There are two things you need to know right now.

First — stopping Keystone XL is key to stopping the deadly tar sands, no matter what Big Oil and its allies say. Alternative tar sands pipelines are running into equally stiff opposition and have been delayed. TransCanada executives openly admit that without Keystone, production will be slowed. So if the tar sands don’t need Keystone, why is Big Oil spending millions on lobbyists to ram it through? ^[1]

Second — there are only ten days left to submit your official comment against Keystone XL. Take action today and push the total to one million comments!

The tar sands are a disaster, from start to finish. Not only are they absolutely toxic for the climate, the mining process destroys the pristine Boreal Forest and threatens Canadian First Nations.

Then, because the tar sands are so heavy and corrosive, the export pipelines are more likely to spill than conventional pipelines ^[2] — we saw this just days ago when rivers of oil poured through Arkansas backyards where children usually play. Two other spills happened that same week in Canada and Texas, and the first Keystone pipeline spilled 12 times in its first year alone. The 2010 Michigan tar sands spill, which sickened children and killed family pets, still hasn’t been fully cleaned up. ^[3]

Ask yourself: Do you want this in your home? Do you want it in your town? Do any Americans deserve to live in a community with these risky pipelines — or in a world with a threatened climate?

TransCanada executives get the profits, the rest of us get the risks. Submit your official comment to the State Department against this toxic export pipeline today!

Over the next ten days, the Sierra Club will be partnering with top environmental allies to highlight ten reasons to oppose Keystone XL. Keep an eye on our blogs and social media to learn more about the climate, the families already harmed by tar sands pipelines, alternative energy solutions, the threats tar sands pose to American Indians and First Nations, wildlife issues, and much more.

Today, we’re reminded that tar sands will not help our energy security. Keystone XL is almost assuredly an export pipeline that would send oil through America, not to America — its destination refineries export 60% of their products. Furthermore, top scientists say the tar sands are “game over” for the climate ^[4] — and the Pentagon has routinely identified climate change as a threat to our national security. ^[5]

There are countless reasons to oppose the tar sands, one of the most extreme fuels on earth. Stopping Keystone XL will be a huge step forward in that effort — submit your comment today!

Thanks for all you do,

Michael Marx
Sierra Club Beyond Oil Campaign Director

P.S. After you take action, be sure to forward this alert to your friends and colleagues — five comments will have even more impact than one!

References

[1] Israel, Josh. “Supporters Of Keystone XL Outspend Opponents 35 To 1.” Climate Progress. 20 February 2013.

[2] Swift, Anthony. “Tar sands pipeline risks – examining the facts.” NRDC Switchboard. 30 March 2013.

[3] Rowan, Anne. “EPA Orders Enbridge to Perform Additional Dredging to Remove Oil from Kalamazoo River.” EPA. 14 March 2013.

[4] Hansen, James. “Game Over for the Climate.” New York Times. 9 May 2012.

[5]  Fitzsimmons, Jill. “15 Military Leaders Who Say Climate Change Is A National Security Threat.” Media Matters. 30 May 2012.