Senate Votes In Favor of Dirty Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline

Environment America

Washington, D.C. —Tonight the U.S. Senate voted in support of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which would deepen our dependence on tar sands oil from Canada. Full production of all the oil from tar sands would add 240 billion tons of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere, severely hampering any efforts to tackle global warming.

Unchecked global warming will harm present and future generations of Americans in many ways, including more extreme weather events like Superstorm Sandy, the worst drought since the Dust Bowl, and wildfires raging in the West. The vote was on an amendment (#494) to the Senate budget resolution, which is not binding, and the White House still has the ultimate authority for approving or rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline.

Nathan Willcox, Environment America’s Global Warming Program Director, released the following statement in response:

“By voting in support of the reckless and dangerous Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, these Senators have turned a blind eye to the threats global warming poses to our country and sided with the fossil fuel industry over Americans, our environment and future generations. We are deeply disappointed in their vote tonight, and urge them to oppose any future measures on this or other bills which threaten Americans’ health or our environment.”