WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, assailed memoranda signed today by President Donald Trump intended to ease the path toward construction of the Keystone XL (KXL) and Dakota Access pipelines. Senator Cardin has consistently and extensively opposed the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines.
“In the sleights of hand attempting to clear the way for the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, President Trump is making dirty moves for dirty oil. His actions show he fails to understand the importance of upholding clean water and intact American landscapes, respecting sovereign Native American nations, and honoring the will of the American people, the vast majority of whom do not support these pipelines and called on the country to move away from them,” said Senator Cardin. “By attempting to short-circuit ongoing environmental impact studies and ignoring the voice of so many who have sacrificed so much to protest these pipelines, President Trump also is showing that he clearly does not respect the role of scientific analysis and need for extensive public engagement in making policy. It shows a complete disregard for public health and the property values of those who live along the pipelines’ routes. So much for devolving power from Washington back to the people, as he pledged to do in his inaugural address.”
“These machinations are as unwise are they are unforgiveable, especially because the low-grade, high-polluting tar sands sludge that will largely flow through these scars across the Heartland is completely unnecessary to preserving America’s energy security. Sadly, they come in the very week that the most recent additions to the mountain of scientific findings show us even more clearly that man-made actions are causing our climate to change significantly, suddenly and dramatically. And they come as the U.S. solar industry creates more jobs in most months than the pipelines will create in years,” said Senator Cardin. “Make no mistake, Keystone XL yields the most benefits for a Canadian oil company by improving the margins on some of the world’s dirtiest and most carbon-intensive oil found in the Alberta Tar Sands region of Canada. If President Trump is serious about putting America First, he should start by taking an objective look at the consensus science around climate change, realize the threat climate change poses to the United States, and aim to better understand and promote the incredible domestic economic potential, entrepreneurial expansion and job growth opportunities that the clean and renewable energy technology sectors hold for our country.”
###
