How about some benzene in your water? Yellowstone river gets Keystoned.
 

Nothing like a preview of what we can expect to happen to the Ogallala Aquifer when the Keystone XL leaks. :mad:

50,000 gallons of this bituminous sludge cut with benzene, to make it pumpable, leaked into the Yellowstone River upstream of a town's drinking water intakes rendering the water unusable until the solvent evaporates into the atmosphere.

Jebus H. Christ we are a fuckin' stupid nation. For a few measly greenbacks we are willing to poison our water.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-...120-story.html

Darwin understood this.

John

That's what you get for voting Republican

2012 Presidential Election Results, Dawson County Montana

Romney GOP 68.5% 3,024
Obama Dem 27.6% 1,219
Johnson Lib 3.9% 174

Pollutants spilling directly into a river and pollutants spilling on the ground and subsequently percolating down to the water table are two different issues. The former becomes an immediate problem, whereas the latter can be cleaned up before becoming a problem. If protecting this aquifer is the be-all-and-end-all, tanker trucks, railcars, and gas stations (due to underground storage tanks) should be prohibited anywhere near that aquifer.

Opposition/support of the Keystone XL pipeline has become an article of faith for ideologues on both sides. It isn't any more dangerous than any of the other hundreds of miles of pipelines (or tanker trucks, railcars and gas stations) above that aquifer, nor will job gains be what the GOP claims. The State Department studied the pipeline and concluded that it was safer than alternate means of transport and Canada will definitely use alternate (more hazardous) means if the Keystone isn't built.

From what Obama said last night, I suspect he may be willing to use it as a bargaining chip to get the GOP to agree to further infrastructure spending. If so, it would be a rare win-win situation. If not, he's just caving to the environmental wing of his party, many of whom are pretty clueless about environmental issues despite their fervor.

If pipelines are death we're already in real trouble. Feast you eyes on this map:

http://www.propublica.org/article/pi...s-of-pipelines

Pete

If anyone thinks this bituminous gunk is the same as the sweet crude being pulled from the ground elsewhere? I have some Tar Pits out here in Los Angeles you might be interested in buying...

They have to cut this sludge with a lot of benzene to make it flow through the pipeline. It isn't the pipeline that's such a bad thing. It's the route over the aquifer and the added chemical hazard of so much benzene flowing through it.

The more viscous it is, the less problematic the spill (i.e., it infiltrates the soil less quickly). FWIW, there's benzene in all crude oil and refined gasoline.

From the link in Post #1.

What I am wondering is, do these privately held companies mandated to carry adequate insurance? Anyone remember the Elk river chemical spill by Freedom Industries in January of 2014. They filed for bankruptcy within days after the spill.

Before y'all start yelling at Canada why don't you g\Google the Athabaska tar sands and see who really owns the bulk of the site.

BTW, the border is mostly covered with snow right now. I understand that borders that are covered with snow don't count.