Liz Barratt-Brown, Senior Advisor, Washington, DC

In today’s Politico, the former chief logistician responsible for moving troops in Iraq, Retired Brigadier General Steven M. Anderson, in a piece entitled, "Keystone feeds dangerous addiction", calls on all politicians to make weaning ourselves off oil a top priority. He writes that this is both an energy and a national security priority, citing the costs to our economy, to our soldiers in the field of combat, and to efforts to address accelerating global warming.  But the main thrust of his piece is about the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which he says would “maintain the status quo of an unhealthy reliance on oil” and do nothing to reduce gas prices.  “Those who support the pipeline cling to the idea that Keystone XL will reduce gas prices, while ignoring the national security concerns.  But these claims have no basis in reality”.

A battle has been raging in Congress since the President said in November that additional time was needed to consider the environmental impact of the pipeline, especially in the sensitive Sandhills area of Nebraska, where the Ogallala aquifer runs so near to the surface that the pipeline would have been dug into it.  Even ...

Link to original article / Continue Reading...

On Switchboard, NRDC experts respond to the day's news and share their views, insights and expertise on energy conservation, global warming science, and many other environmental topics.