Geog #7

Joy Prior
Geog 120
Section 005
#7 Environment
Environmental concerns have come to the forefront of global concerns in the past couple of decades. Select an article dealing with an environmental issue and discuss the geography factors that contribute to the problem. How doe she problem affect the area in whit it is found? How does it affect neighboring areas? What attention is being given to the problem? How does the economic development of the country in with the problem miss found contribute to the existence of the probe as well as affect the country’s ability to effectively deal with the problem?
McGowan, Elizabeth. Pipeline corrosion and Safety Issues Take Spotlight in Keystone XL Debate. SolveClimate. Reuters. 18 February 2011. Web. February 2011. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/18/idUS210128577720110218

Area Alberta to Texas oil pipeline.

The United States’ dependency on oil causes international concerns. One of the debates is about how to transport the cured oil; Oil tankers cross oceans, ten wheelers drive across highways, and pipelines pump oil across the entire world nation. The need for oil is an environmental concern not simply because crude oil is a natural resource, but because of the transportation of the oil. Some believe that one of the most efficient and safest ways to have millions of pounds of oil pumped through pipelines that cross international boundaries; forests, meadows, and natural wonders. There is no denying the United States need for oil for: cars, assault, and production.
Developers want to transport crude sand oil from Alberta Canada through pipelines to the oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico. The pipeline (Keystone XL) would be 1702-miles long and cost $7 billion. Both nations have to approve of the Keystone XL. The United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s team is currently discussing the potential dangers and health risks with the TransCanada’s. The Canadian National Energy Board approved the Canadian portion.
TransCanada (the company heading the massive endeavor) has a notable safety record and promises that Keystone XL will be monitored 24/7. There are already two other pipelines in the nation’s heartland along with thousands of pipelines crisscrossing the entire North American continent. The issue being discussed is not if the pipeline is needed, but if the pipeline is technologically advanced enough to transport the thick 100,000 to 500,000 barrels per day. If the Keystone XL is not sturdy enough then the pipeline may weaken, leak, or erupt into a massive oil spill that would cross entire sections of the nation. Such a leak would threatening underwater sources in South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and Montana.
Currently the oil is being carried from Alberta to oil refiners by boat. The curd oil is taken from Lakehead systems that start in Canada and the northern parts of the United States. Either way the oil will be transported. The debate about how should the oil be transported is heated. Environmentalist, citizens, politicians, and companies have sent researchers across the already established pipelines to determine the dependency of a pipeline system, and potential risks.