Keystone XL Pipeline

Contradictory decisions at home and legal battles abroad bring the future of fossil fuels into question

Contradictory decisions at home and legal battles abroad bring the future of fossil fuels into question

President Biden took office in January of this year, one of his stated priorities was addressing climate change and the impacts of this are already becoming apparent. The day Biden took office, he canceled the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline’s purpose was to transport crude oil from Western Canada to Nebraska. It was proposed in 2008 and vetoed by the Obama administration in November 2015. This was believed to be the end of the pipeline; however, immediately after taking office in 2016, Donald Trump signed an executive order to continue the pipeline.

Weekly Climate News

Jan. 28, 2021

  • An earthquake hit Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, causing buildings to collapse and leaving 42 people dead.

  • One-third of American rivers have turned green as a result of human activity since 1984. Only 5 percent are now considered blue.  

  • Newly inaugurated U.S. President Joe Biden rolled out a slew of environmental policies and climate change goals, including canceling the Keystone Pipeline and rejoining the Paris Agreement. 

  • America’s greenhouse gas emissions plummeted more than 10 percent in 2020.  

  • Earth is reaching serious climate tipping points.

  • European Union foreign ministers called for an end to financing fossil fuels. 

  • 2020 is tied with 2016 for the hottest year on record, and Earth is now committed to a 2-degree hotter future. 

  • As a result of our changing climate, land ecosystems have been found to become less absorbent of carbon dioxide. Furthermore, recent research suggests that trees may become carbon sources rather than carbon sinks.

  • Women in Kenya are claiming more land rights, a significant step forward, as women’s involvement in decisions about land use and resource allocation is essential to slow down climate change.  

Controversial Oil Pipelines Shut Down as a Result of Protests and Environmental Work

Recent weeks have seen a major victory for environmentalists and activists across the country, as the construction of three major fossil fuel pipelines came to a halt. For many Americans, this news came unexpectedly, as much of the public discussion about these controversial pipelines had been completely forgotten in the wake of other recent crises.

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