Last night I attend a packed house Missouri Valley Sierra Club Group meeting in Omaha, NE on   "Stop the Transcanada Pipeline".  Speakers were from the National Wildlife Federation, Bold Nebraska and the NE Chapter lobbyist.  Before the meeting the group  protested with signs at a busy intersection and have been protesting every week.  The proposed pipeline would cross the Ogallala Aquifer where Nebraskans get 78% of their drinking water, and  the most vulnerable parts of the Sands Hills as well as other vital rivers and wildlife areas.  We can help NE Sierra Club stop this pipeline by writing to Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State.  For information needed to write to Secretary Clinton, check the following web sites.  To do nothing is to vote for the pipeline and the tar sands.  Phyllis Mains

 

2010 National Wildlife Federation report on the tar sands and pipelines can be found at: www.nwf.org/tarsands

 

More information www.Boldnebraska.org/pipeline-background-resources and Sierranebraska.org

 

 

Hillary Rodham Clinton
U.S. Department of State
2201 C. Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20520
The official US Dept. of State public comment (meaning your email/letter would go into public record) is closed, BUT, you can still send an email to Sec. Clinton (who will make the final decision on whether to grant the permit to TransCanada) at http://tinyurl.com/emailclinton.
You could also go on the State Dept facebook page or twitter feed and leave comments:
http://twitter.com/StateDept
http://www.facebook.com/usdos
Background
TransCanada, an international company based in Canada, is trying to obtain a permit from the United States government to build a second pipeline in our state. TransCanada refers to this new, proposed pipeline as Keystone XL (the current pipeline in the ground already is called Keystone).
The pipeline carries the most expensive and dirtiest form of oil, called tarsands. It is a think form of oil that requires many chemicals and high heat to push it through the pipeline.
Secretary Clinton, because the pipeline crosses the US/Canada border, must approve the pipeline by granting a permit to TransCanada. Because of federal laws, Clinton must go through certain steps before she makes her decision, which includes various environmental studies and public hearings.
Under the Bush Administration and under Governor Heineman’s administration, a TransCanada pipeline -- called Keystone -- was approved and is currently in the ground with oil flowing. That pipeline is NOT at capacity, so the obvious first question is why build another pipeline?
If the new pipeline is approved, 1.1 million barrels of tarsands oil, the dirtiest form of oil, will be pumping through our state everyday. The current pipeline, when at capacity, will pump 435,000 barrels of oil through our land and water.
We currently have no state laws that regulate oil pipelines. We have no trust fund set aside to help families if their land, water or health are affected. We have no Emergency Response Plan that has been made public. Nebraskans are, right now with the current pipeline in the ground, at risk and at the mercy of TransCanada if/when a leak, spill, blowout or anything else happens with the pipe. Additionally, numerous reports have cited increased rates of cancer at the source of the tarsands production in Canada.
National Wildlife report on overview and dangers of pipeline: View PDF
Plains Justice report on expense of pipeline: View PDF
Questions raised about potential increase in rates of cancer linked to tarsands: View Article