Pipeline Protest at White House
People here in east Texas will be interested to know that thousands of protesters gathered in Lafayette Square across from the White House Sunday, to oppose a plan for a transnational oil pipeline from Canada to Texas.
At one point, the crowd linked hands to surround the White House, keeping up pressure on President Barack Obama as his administration decides whether to approve the massive Keystone XL project. They are calling on Obama to block the $7 billion project, which is currently being reviewed by the State Department.
The proposed pipeline by developer TransCanada would carry oil from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Houston and Port Arthur, Texas.
In Texas, the pipeline would cut across the western edge of Angelina County.
Opponents say it would bring "dirty oil" that requires huge amounts of energy to extract and could cause an ecological disaster in case of a spill that could pollute underground water supplies.
A TransCanada spokesman says the pipeline would reduce American dependence on oil from the Middle East and Venezuela -- while creating thousands of new construction and manufacturing jobs.
Texans and environmentalists on the same page and working together against something? Watch the skies for flying pigs and check the temperature in Hell to see if it's freezing down there.
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