By OSCAR ASTON, age 10
Protesters at the February 17 demonstration in Washington, DC against the Keystone XL Pipeline. Photo: JOHN DUFFY
On February 17, 35,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C. to protest the building of an underground pipeline called the Keystone XL. The oil company TransCanada wants to build this pipeline in order to transport oil from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf of Mexico.
Environmental and community activists are worried about the potential damage to public health and the environment. “The pipeline is unnecessary and we don’t need it,” said Lyna Hinkel from 360.org, one of the main organizers of the February 17 protest. The pipeline would go through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. Pipeline accidents could poison farms, rivers, water sources, animal habitats and fisheries. According to Tar Sands Action, a group against the pipeline, TransCanada had estimated one oil spill every seven years. But in fact that company has reported 12 spills each year, due to defects in steel.
On February 13, 48 protesters engaged in civil disobedience (a willingness to get arrested as a form of protest) to stand up against the Keystone XL pipeline. “This pipeline will benefit very few at the expense of many today and future generations,” Hinkel told IndyKids.
WHERE THE U.S. GETS ITS OIL
Today the top five places that the United States gets it’s oil from are:
- Canada
- Mexico
- Saudi Arabia
- Venezuela
- Nigeria
