The Tar Sands and Keystone XL Pipeline role play was developed by educator Abby Mac Phail. While teaching at an international school in New York City, Mac Phail sought out a way to help her geography students examine the different aspects and implications of the pipeline's construction. Read more about the lesson on the Zinn Education Project's website.
The Tar Sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline
Canada
is the largest supplier of oil to the United States and most of it comes from
the Alberta tar sands. The tar sands cover an area that is roughly the size of
Florida in northern Alberta, Canada. They are located underneath Alberta’s
boreal forest where First Nations communities have lived for centuries. Tar
sands are actually a substance called bitumen that is a mixture of sand, clay,
and heavy crude oil. After Saudi Arabia, these deposits are the second largest
source of oil in the world.
Currently,
about 1.5 million barrels of oil are produced in tar sands operations every
day. The tar sands continue to expand daily and the Canadian government and
industries involved want to double the levels of production. They want to
produce 5 million barrels of crude oil daily by 2030.
Recently,
TransCanada, a Canadian pipeline company, proposed to build a pipeline that
would bring as much as 700,000 barrels a day of crude oil from Alberta’s tar
sands to refineries in Texas. Here, it would be refined into diesel and other
products for export to Europe and Latin America. If approved, the pipeline
would begin in Alberta and cross the province of Saskatchewan before crossing
through six U.S. states: Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and
Texas. Environmentalists and indigenous groups strongly oppose the project.
They are concerned about spills and carbon emissions from production of oil
sands crude.
In
order for this pipeline to happen, its construction must be approved by
President Obama. This project is unique in that it does not have to go through
Congress. Because the Keystone XL Pipeline comes from Canada,
it is a foreign project and foreign projects do not need approval from
Congress. They need approval from the State Department. So the State
Department, under the leadership of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has to
decide whether this pipeline is in the national interest of the United States.
If the State Department decides that it is, then President Obama has the last
word. He has to sign off on it.
When
Obama was campaigning for president, he promised to take environmental issues, especially
climate change, seriously. Since he has been in office, many environmentalists
feel that he has broken his promises. He says that he wants to do something
about climate change but that Congress won’t let him. According to
environmentalists, here is Obama’s chance to prove that he is serious about
protecting the environment and reducing climate change. In August, environmentalist
and indigenous groups launched a massive campaign designed to tell Obama not to
approve this project. They organized two weeks of protest and civil
disobedience outside the White House. In November, about 10,000 people circled
the White House to protest the pipeline.
Our
role play takes place in the days following the protests. Secretary of State
Hillary
Clinton
has organized a public hearing at the State Department and has invited some “stakeholders”
to discuss and debate the proposed XL pipeline. Groups in attendance include:
TransCanada
American
Petroleum Institute
Members
of the Republican Party
Environmental
Activists
Indigenous
Environmental Network
Bold
Nebraska
The
question for debate at the public hearing is: Should
President Obama approve the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline?
Should
President Obama approve the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline?
In
preparation for the public hearing:
- Read your role quietly. Highlight what strikes you as most important. Some roles include links to advertisements that support your arguments. You should watch these in advance and you may want to play these for the class when you introduce your group.
- Decide who will introduce your group. This person must say a little a bit about your group. Who are your members? What do you stand for? Are you for or against the pipeline?
- What are your main arguments for or against the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline? List them here.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Assign
one member of your group to be an expert on each point by:
- 1) explaining it during your introductory remarks
- 2) raising the issue to other groups
- 3) being prepared to defend or respond to that issue when other groups raise it
Summarize
your argument here (in your own words):
TransCanada
TransCanada
is a Canadian company that builds pipelines and other infrastructure to
transport energy throughout North America. At TransCanada we dream big, think
big, and do big things! We pride ourselves on our ability to meet the growing
demand for energy across North America. In 2008, we applied to build the
Keystone XL Pipeline and today we are here to clear up some of the confusions
surrounding this project.
We
understand that many people are concerned about the safety of the pipeline.
There is no need to worry. TransCanada is committed to building and operating
the pipeline safely. From design and construction, to operation and
maintenance, safety is an integral part of everything we do. We have been in
the pipeline business for more than 60 years and we are a leader with one of
the best pipeline safety records in the industry. The Keystone XL Pipeline will
be the newest, strongest, and most advanced pipeline in operation in North America.
It will use the most advanced materials and technology, and each section of the
pipeline will be inspected before it leaves the specialized mills where it is
being made. The real issue is steel strength, and Keystone XL will use stronger
steel to help ensure public safety and protect the environment.
Also,
we monitor our pipeline system through a centralized high-tech center 24 hours
a day, 365 days a year. We use satellite technology that sends data every five
seconds from 16,000 data points to our monitoring center. If a drop in pressure
is detected, we can isolate any section of our pipeline by remotely closing any
of the hundreds of valves on the system within minutes. Since the pipeline is
four feet below the ground, we can begin repairs immediately and effectively.
Pipelines are the safest and the most reliable, economical, and environmentally
favorable way to transport oil. The chance of a significant spill is remote,
yet TransCanada is ready to respond immediately to limit volume and impacts.
At
TransCanada, environmental responsibility is more than just talk. TransCanada
is devoted to minimizing the environmental impact of the Keystone XL Pipeline
along its proposed route. In all cases, great care and planning will be taken
to avoid impacts on the environment. We make a special effort to protect rare
or endangered species and significant water sources.
Not
only do we respect the environments in which we operate, we also respect the
local cultures. We have an Aboriginal and Native American Relations Policy that
is guided by principles of trust, respect, and responsibility. We work together
with Aboriginal communities to find mutually acceptable solutions and benefits.
Often, we provide opportunities for Aboriginal businesses to participate in
both the construction of new facilities and the ongoing maintenance of existing
facilities.
Finally,
this pipeline project will have enormous economic benefits. The construction of
the Keystone Gulf Coast Expansion Pipeline project will create 13,000
construction jobs and 7,000 manufacturing jobs. It will also lead to another
118,000 spin-off jobs.
We
are very pleased to have support for this pipeline from ExxonMobil, one of the
world’s largest oil companies. You can watch their advertisement called “Oil
Sands: A Resource for Energy Security and Economic Growth” at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XQOJipRlJ8
American Petroleum Institute
We
are from the American Petroleum Institute (API). We represent more than 480 oil
and natural gas companies. We speak on their behalf to the public, including to
Congress and the Executive Branch, state governments, and the media. Members of
API are leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America’s
energy. Our members also contribute enormously to the U.S. economy by providing
millions of jobs and delivering more than $86 million a day in revenue to our
government.
We
call on the Obama administration to do what is right for the country and
approve the Keystone XL Pipeline by the end of the year and put 20,000
Americans to work. What do 20,000 American jobs look like? Imagine a tower of
people literally 100,000 feet into the sky. That’s how many jobs this pipeline
will provide! Some of the largest trade unions in this country are in favor of
this pipeline. The Teamsters, Electrical Workers, Laborers’ International,
Operating Engineers, and United Association unions, representing more than 3.3
million members, have called on Obama to keep his promise of creating jobs for
the American people and approve this pipeline. In fact, this project is not
just a pipeline, but a lifeline for thousands of blue-collar Americans who are
desperate for work. Let me just remind you that unemployment among construction
workers in this country stands at 16 percent, close to double the national
average.
Each
delay in making a decision about this pipeline stands in the way of safely
moving vital energy for American consumers and the overall economy.
Strengthening our energy partnership with Canada is a critical step in reducing
America’s reliance on oil from less friendly sources and allowing us to control
our energy future. In fact, a recent poll found that nearly 80 percent of Americans
favor more oil from Canada, already our No. 1 supplier of foreign oil.
Let’s
face the facts. The Canadian oil sands are being developed. Oil will be a part
of our energy equation for the foreseeable future and we have the opportunity
to secure the energy we will need from a friendly and reliable trading
partner—Canada. More importantly, as Canada’s minister of the environment
recently stated, tar sands oil is a source of ethical oil. Not like Saudi
Arabia, from where we purchased 400 million barrels of oil last year. Why
should we trade with a country that does not allow its women to vote, drive, or
even leave the house without a man? By buying our oil from Saudi Arabia, we
fund the oppression of women. If this ethical pipeline is created, it will be a
stable source of 1.4 million barrels of oil per day from our friendly neighbor
to the north. Then we won’t be dependent on getting our oil from Venezuela and
Saudi Arabia. Canada’s ethical oil will strengthen our nation’s energy
security.
For
more on ethical oil, watch “Ethical Oil TV Ad—Saudi Arabia”
The Republican Party
As members of the Republican Party, we
strongly support the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and we urge
President Obama to back this project immediately. In fact, the Republican-
controlled House recently passed a measure that would force a decision on the
Keystone XL within two months.
The Keystone XL Pipeline is a
shovel-ready American energy project. Right away, it will create 20,000
construction jobs and then lead indirectly to another 100,000 jobs. Obama has
been taking too long to make a decision on this because he is more worried
about his own job than the jobs of the American people. He is worried that the
extreme environmental groups, who protested outside of the White House, won’t
vote him back into power if he approves the project. Extreme environmentalists
and those opposed to the pipeline are flat-out wrong. Pipelines are the safest
way to transport oil. And based on the several recent assessments, the safety
of this pipeline will exceed all others. Most importantly, there is absolutely
no proof that the use of oil and other fossil fuels causes global warming. That
is ridiculous! Climate change or global warming is nothing more than an
unproven theory. We need to stop wasting our time with unproven theories and
start providing jobs for the American people.
Here’s what Texas Representative Ted
Poe has said: “To me, this is an easy choice for this administration: either
they can force Americans to continue to rely on unfriendly foreign countries
for our energy, like Venezuela and the Middle Eastern dictators, by depriving
Americans of a reliable source of oil at a time when gas prices are around $4,
or they can work with our friends in the north to supply more than 1.4 million
barrels of oil per day. Pipelines are the proven and safe, efficient source of
energy. Best of all, this project creates thousands of jobs at a time when
unemployment in this country is 9.2 percent.
And here’s Texas Gov. Rick Perry:
“Given the unrest in the Middle East, turning to Canada for a secure oil supply
is logical. Keystone XL will transport crude petroleum from the sands of
northwest Canada, providing a safer and more reliable supply of oil than the
product currently imported from unstable regions of the world.
“The
issue of global warming has been politicized. I think that there are a
substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will
have dollars rolling into their projects. And I think we’re seeing it almost
weekly or even daily, scientists who are coming forward and questioning the
original idea that man-made global warming is what is causing the climate to
change. And I don’t think, from my perspective, that I want America to be
engaged in spending that much money on a scientific theory that has not been
proven and, from my perspective, is more and more being put into question.”
Here
is the official position of former Massachusetts governor and presidential
hopeful Mitt Romney on this project: “We are already heavily involved in
Canadian production and Mexico has recently begun reaching out to foreign
partners. As president, Mitt Romney will seek to promote those relationships.
In addition to ensuring rapid progress on the Keystone XL Pipeline, a Romney
administration will pave the way for the construction of additional pipelines
that can accommodate the expected growth in Canadian supply of oil and natural
gas in the coming years.”
Environmental
Activists
We
are completely opposed to the construction of TransCanada’s Keystone XL
Pipeline. In fact, we are among the 2,000 environmental activists from across
the continent who protested its construction outside the White House for two
weeks in August 2011. We were also among the 10,000 people who circled the
White House recently to pressure Obama to reject this project.
We
keep hearing from members of the Obama administration that they would like to
do more to help the environment but they are always being stopped by the
Republicans. Well, here is Mr. Obama’s chance to do what he says he wants to
do! The thing about the Keystone XL Pipeline is that because it comes from
Canada, which is another country, the approval process doesn’t have to go
through Congress. Because it is a foreign project, it has to go through the State
Department. The State Department has to decide whether this pipeline is in the
national interest of the United States and then Mr. Obama has to sign off on
it. The president has the final word. So in a sense we have really called Mr.
Obama’s bluff. We’re saying, “OK, we are taking you at your word. You say that
you want to do something about climate change but Congress won’t
let you, now you can’t hide behind Congress. This one is on you. You have all
of the power to stop this thing.”
We
are opposed to the pipeline because we know the devastating impacts it will
have. TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline would cross the Yellowstone River, as
well as the Ogallala Aquifer, the largest freshwater aquifer in the United
States. It is an environmental disaster waiting to happen. Our friends at Bold
Nebraska have specific examples about the impact on the state of Nebraska.
Not
only are we opposed to the pipeline, we are also opposed to mining the tar
sands. The tar sands industrial project is completely unsustainable and
immoral. It is destroying the environment and the health of the First Nations
Peoples on whose land it is located in northern Alberta, Canada. We need to
decrease the impact of the tar sands, not increase it. But the Keystone XL
Pipeline would massively increase the capacity of the tar sands.
Twenty
of the world’s top climate scientists are against this project. According to
NASA climate scientist James Hansen, this pipeline would be “game over for the
planet” because its effects would be so extreme. We all know that the safe
amount of carbon in the atmosphere is 350 ppm (parts per million) but currently
we are at 390 ppm. We must do all we can to reduce carbon emissions, not
increase them.
We
are not just against the tar sands because it is oil, but because of the
particular kind of oil that it is. Tar sands are a mixture of sand, clay, and
heavy crude oil. Getting the oil out of that mixture is an incredibly
energy-intensive process. The oil is very hard to extract from the tar sands
and it emits three times as much greenhouse gases to produce a barrel of oil
from the tar sands as it does to produce a barrel of regular Canadian crude.
Also, because of the tar sands, now the largest industrial project on earth,
Canada’s CO2 emissions have gone up by 30 percent. At a time when we should all
be cutting our emissions, Canada’s emissions have gone up by 30 percent. Canada
should be ashamed.
The
American Petroleum Institute likes to talk about jobs and the unions that are
in favor of the pipeline. But what about the unions, representing more than 4.9
million members, that are opposed to the pipeline? The Service Employees
International Union (SEIU), the United Auto Workers, United Steelworkers, and
the Communications Workers of America have called on Obama to reject this
pipeline because they know that the jobs will not be sustainable. As our ally,
Joe Uehlein at the Labor Network for Sustainability has said: “Climate change
demands that we rethink everything. We need to be looking at jobs through a
carbon lens. We can fix the economy and
climate change . . . but not by supporting 20th-century energy projects.” If
this government is truly serious about creating jobs and reducing climate
change, then it should invest in clean energy. This means producing hybrid
cars, renewable energy, and environmentally sustainable biofuels. This is the
energy of the future and America should take the lead in this area—as President
Obama promised we would do when he ran for president.
Tar
sands oil threatens our air, water, land, and economy, and will increase
already dangerously high greenhouse gas emissions. Tar sands oil has no place
in a clean energy economy.
It’s
time for us to get off fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are over. We must show
President Obama that he has the support to stand up against the gas, oil, and coal
industry and deny these permits to the tar sands pipeline.
Indigenous Environmental Network
We
represent an organization called the Indigenous Environmental Network, a group
that works to protect the environment and build sustainable indigenous
communities. We, indigenous peoples (known as First Nations Peoples in Canada),
have lived for thousands of years in harmony with nature. We are taking the
lead to stop the largest industrial project on Mother Earth: the tar sands.
We
are completely opposed to mining the tar sands for oil and to the Keystone XL
Pipeline. We know firsthand the devastating effects of the tar sands on the
lives of indigenous peoples in northern Alberta and we know the impact this
will have on the environment and the lives of the peoples in the communities
where the pipeline will pass. In northern Alberta, our cultural heritage,
ecosystems, and health are all being sacrificed for oil money. If you were to
see with your own eyes the incredible destruction caused by the tar sands, you
would understand how blind greed is destroying our land, water, and way of
life.
When
talking about the tar sands, TransCanada, the oil companies, and even the
Canadian government say that “everything is fine.” They spend millions of
dollars on advertisements and campaigns promising jobs, environmental cleanup,
and carbon offset markets to create the illusion of an “ethical, clean oil
sands” industry. Don’t believe a word they say. Everything is not fine. Our
previously beautiful and pristine land has been contaminated. Now in northern
Alberta, you find ecosystems that have been completely destroyed because of
deforestation, water so polluted with toxins that fish have tumors and birds
that land in contaminated ponds die instantly. Tar sands extraction is also
killing off the caribou. Today, just 175 to 275 caribou remain. And if things
do not change, the total population is expected to be fewer than 50 by 2025 and
extinct in the region by 2040.
In
the First Nations communities surrounding the tar sands, there are dangerously
high rates of cancer. In 2008, a study was conducted to learn about the rates
of cancer in the community of Fort Chipewyan, which is downstream from the tar
sands. The study found that cancer rates had increased 30 percent between 1995
and 2006. John O’Connor, the doctor for this town, found five cases of a rare
type of cancer in this town of only 1,200 people. The normal incidence for this
rare cancer is no more than one case per 100,000 people. O’Connor has also
found disturbing rates of leukemia, lymphoma, lupus, colon cancer, and Graves’
disease in the people of Fort Chipewyan. People are dying in Canada because of
tar sands oil. There is no such thing as ethical oil.
Bold
Nebraska
We
are members of a group called Bold Nebraska. We are people from all walks of
life and all political parties, including farmers, ranchers, conservatives,
liberals, even members of the Tea Party, who oppose the construction of the
Keystone XL Pipeline. We are here today to make our concerns known and we
recently took part in the demonstrations outside of the White House.
We are opposed to this pipeline not
only because transporting oil is dangerous, but also because tar sands oil is
even worse. In fact, tar sands oil is three times more corrosive than other oil
because it has to be mixed with so many different chemicals just to get it
through the pipeline. We especially do not want a pipeline crossing through the
Nebraska Sand Hills or the Ogallala Aquifer. The Nebraska Sand Hills are a
fragile ecosystem. They’re literally made of sand, where a lot of our cattle
are raised.
The Ogallala Aquifer is one of the largest sources of freshwater in
the world. It supplies drinking water to millions of people who live in the
Midwest and provides 30 percent of this nation’s groundwater used for
irrigation. To have a pipeline cross that fragile ecosystem is
mind-boggling.
This pipeline would also kick
landowners like Randy and Amy, whose families have raised cattle and farmed for
generations, off their land.
TransCanada, you are lying when you say
that your Keystone pipelines are the safest on the continent. What about the 12
spills that have occurred on your Keystone I pipeline since it began operation
in June 2010? That pipeline of yours suffered more spills than any other first-
year pipeline in the USA. You can talk all you want about your strong steel and
your 24-hour pipeline monitoring system; your 12 spills in 12 months speaks loud
and clear.
Supporters
of this project say that the pipeline will create jobs. But the truth is that
the type of jobs that it will create will not be permanent and they will be not
be well-paid. If we look at TransCanada’s previous record, when a pipeline was
built in South Dakota, only 11 percent of the jobs went to locals and these
were just temporary and low-paying. Also, we should be suspicious about how
many jobs will be created. The recent figure quoted by TransCanada and the
American Petroleum Institute is 20,000. Last week, Fox News reported that it
would create 118,000 jobs. One news outlet said it might create up to a million
jobs. Get your facts straight. The number seems to change every day.
But
the main reason we are here today is to send a message to Mr. Obama. President
Obama, you promised us on the campaign trail that when you got elected, you
were going to put policies in place to heal the planet. Allowing this pipeline
to cross the Sand Hills and the Ogallala Aquifer, our cleanest source of water,
which we use for drinking and agriculture (Nebraska’s main economic activity),
will not heal the planet. It will do just the opposite.
We,
as citizens of this country, have the right to control and protect our own
lands. That is what democracy is—the right to make the decisions that affect
our lives. We have the right to clean water, clean air, and safe places to
raise our children. The Keystone XL Pipeline is not acceptable. So Nebraskans, across party lines, across the state,
are standing up and saying, “No pipeline.”
Links to Documents, Photos, and Video Clips related to the Alberta Tar Sands and the
Keystone XL Pipeline
1. Invitation Letter to Protest the Keystone XL Pipeline
2. National Geographic Photo Essay of the Tar Sands
3. Map of the Proposed Keystone XL Pipeline
4. ExxonMobil Tar Sands Commercial
5. Ethical Oil Commercial
6. Canada’s Oil Sands: Come See for Yourself
7. Stop the Keystone XL Dirty Sands Pipeline by the National Wildlife Federation Action Fund
8. A Debate between American Petroleum Institute and Bold Nebraska: Should the U.S. Approve TransCanada’s Massive Keystone XL Tar Sands Oil Pipeline?
9. Clip of Over 160 Arrested in Ongoing Civil Disobedience Against Keystone XL Tar Sands Oil Pipeline and Interview with Bill McKibben of 350.org
10. Indigenous Environmental Network at the Protests in Washington
11. Naomi Klein speaking on Climate Change and the Tar Sands
Part 1: about Occupy Wall Street and introducing Naomi Klein
Part 2: about the XL Pipeline and Climate Change
