Strong show of support: A large group of supporters from Iowa’s building trade unions and the Oil and Natural Gas Industry Labor-Management Committee showed up in April, 2013, at the Iowa Capital, in Des Moines, for a rally supporting Keystone XL Pipeline. Photo by Dan Gunderson, BW Communications, LLC.
A number of high-ranking and high-profile former advisors to the current U.S. federal government have come out in support of Keystone and the science that has determined this project is safe and environmentally responsible. Former Head of U.S. Geological Survey Marcia McNutt editorialized in the Journal Science:
I drive a hybrid car and set my thermostat at 80°F in the Washington, DC, summer. I use public transportation to commute to my office, located in a building given “platinum” design status by the U.S. Green Building Council. The electric meter on my house runs backward most months of the year, thanks to a large installation of solar panels. I am committed to doing my part to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and minimize global warming. At the same time, I believe it is time to move forward on the Keystone XL pipeline to transport crude oil from the tar sands deposits of Alberta, Canada, and from the Williston Basin in Montana and North Dakota to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar made similar statements at en Energy Conference in Houston and in an interview with the Associated Press.
Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in an interview Thursday that his endorsement of construction of the Keystone oil sands pipeline comes after learning new information, including that the pipeline would not greatly increase carbon emissions.
Salazar told The Associated Press that the pipeline could be a “win-win” project that benefits U.S. energy security while boosting conservation efforts in Montana, South Dakota and other affected states
He said he believed construction could “be done in a way that creates a win-win for energy and the environment.”
The Washington Post reported that former National Security Council director Tom Donilon told a crowd at an Aspen Institute conference that he would recommend building the Keystone XL Pipeline on national security grounds.
Watch the video from Aspen Institute, the Keystone XL and energy security comments begin at 1:20.00.
Former Energy Secretary Stephen Chu made interesting comments regarding the basis of the decision on Keystone XL.
“I don’t have a position on whether the Keystone pipeline should be built. That is for the secretary of State and the president. But I will say that the decision on whether the construction should happen was a political one and not a scientific one.”
The leaders of major trade unions descended upon Washington Tuesday to deliver messages in support of Keystone XL and to talk about what the project means to its members.
Terry O’Sullivan, President of LiUNA said a decision on Keystone is weighing heavily on his members minds. O’Sullivasn called Keystone XL a ‘lifeline’ for thousands of his members who are currently experiencing double digit unemployment numbers in the construction sector.
The Wall St. Journal reported, Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trades Unions, an alliance of 14 unions representing workers in the U.S. and Canada said,
“I urge the president of the United States to get on with it and approve that permit” to build the pipeline. “It is now time to build the Keystone energy pipeline,” said Mr. McGarvey. “I don’t want to say it’s a fight but it’s been a conversation for five years now.”
The Keystone XL Pipeline has been under the microscope for more than 2,000 days. The project has endured more scrutiny, more scientific examination than any cross-border pipeline in history and has passed each and every test placed before it. These statements from top former administration officials confirm that Keystone XL’s merits are backed by scientific facts and strong economics and that, after 2,000 days, this project remains in the national interest of the United States because it means investing in domestic infrastrucuture, it means jobs for hard-working Americans and, it means a secure supply of oil from an ally.