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Senator asks leading question, but Secretary Clinton not pre-judging proposed Keystone XL
By Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, NRDC
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Today, Secretary Clinton during testimony before the Senate showed her support for energy efficiency and renewables and other ways to use our home-grown resources for clean energy. Despite a line-up of leading questions from Senator Graham, when asked to comment on the proposed Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline that would run from Canada to the Gulf, Secretary Clinton rightly noted that with the State Department in the middle of the permitting process for this pipeline, she could not pre-judge what would happen. Although in answer to the Senator’s pointed question, the Secretary answered the she was generally supportive of the United States receiving more oil from Canada, she did not specify tar sands oil – and that is an important point. Canada is a major supplier of oil to the United States, including tar sands. The critical point is whether the United States should be driving additional expansion of the destructive tar sands oil industry to keep our addiction to oil alive as we are trying to switch to clean energy, including in our cars and trucks.
In a time of rising oil prices, the best way to build energy security in America is through clean, home-grown sources of energy that won’t run out such as wind and solar for electric vehicles and fuel efficiency and smart growth to reduce our dependence on oil. Tar sands oil from Canada will continue our dependence on risky and dirty oil. The State Department has the responsibility to conduct a fair and thorough environmental impact statement and national interest determination before making a decision about the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. We are glad to see that Secretary Clinton is not pre-judging the permitting process for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, but is making clear her support for doing more in energy efficiency and renewables.
Tagged with: keystone xl, hillary clinton
