“All Risk, No Reward Coalition” Launches TV Ad in Nebraska Ahead of State Department Hearing
- The “All Risk, No Reward” Coalition is launching a new television ad saturating the airwaves in the Lincoln, Nebraska media this week as decision-makers travel to the area for the State Department hearing in Grand Island, Nebraska on Thursday. The ad highlights TransCanada’s poor safety record following the recent tar sands spill in Arkansas. The coalition has also bought out the ad space on Politico’s homepage today as part of an effort to communicate with the American people and to tell the State Department and White House that the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is all risk and no reward.
The tar sands spill in Arkansas has raised new concerns about pipeline safety and the specific risks associated with transporting corrosive tar sands—especially near and through important bodies of water. The Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would be nearly twice as wide as the one that ruptured in Arkansas, and would carry almost nine times as much tar sands oil every day.
“America can’t afford another tar sands spill, and we certainly can’t afford Keystone XL,” said Coalition Chair Randy Thompson. “TransCanada’s safety record alone is reason to reject the pipeline—and the fact that the U.S. gets no tangible benefit from the pipeline should make the decision even easier for President Obama and Secretary Kerry.”
Keystone XL would be a pipeline through the U.S., not to the U.S. The pipeline would allow foreign oil companies to export oil products to countries like China and Venezuela, but it would not reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and would create only 35 permanent jobs.
While providing no reward for the U.S., the pipeline would create significant risks for our land, water, and climate. TransCanada, the company behind Keystone XL, has a terrible safety record despite all their claims of world-class safety.
In 2010, TransCanada built a different pipeline called “Keystone.” In its first year, that pipeline experienced 12 separate spills in the United States – nearly one every month. One of those spills alone released 21,000 gallons of oil. Between the U.S. and Canada, the original Keystone pipeline had “over 30 spills” in its first year, according to a report by Cornell University’s Global Labor Institute. These spills came after TransCanada’s CEO pledged the pipeline would “meet or exceed world-class safety and environmental standards.”
Representatives from the “All Risk, No Reward” Coalition will be present at the State Department hearing to make the case that the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is too risky, and not in our national interest.
