I see alot of uninformed people here spouting off things that don't make any sense. Here are some facts that people need to understand (though I have no doubt most will ignore):
1) The Keystone pipeline will NOT increase oil production. Pipelines do not produce oil, and Trans Canada is not involved in oil production. They maintain an infrastructure that is used to deliver the oil. That's it.
2) Oil production will not increase with the expansion of the Keystone pipeline into the US.
3) Current capacity to transport oil into the US from Canada already exceeds current demand. Analysts predict that if the Keystone pipeline is expanded into the US, pipelines will operate at abotu 50% capacity.
4) The Canadian portion of the Keystone pipeline has caused INCREASES in the cost of doing business for oil refineries, which are going to be passed along to the consumer. So much so, some refineries are suing Trans Canada to be released from their contracts.
All things considered, there is significant concern regarding the Keystone pipeline, and the issue of whether it will create any jobs, much less if those jobs will even be filled by Americans, is questionable at best. Increases in pump prices will lead companies to offset those costs by increasing their prices, laying off people, or both. I've heard (though I'm still looking for it) that there has been expert analysis done that predicts that the ultimate results would be that the Keystone pipeline would have an overall negative impact on employment numbers, with consuming companies laying off more people than the pipeline would hire. Even without such expert analysis at my fingertips, I tend to agree that, at the very least, that could be a very real possibility.
The Keystone pipeline needs to be looked at long and hard, and should not be approved at this point in time. There is still much information that needs to be collected and examined before we can take the risk.
