State Department Approves U.S.-Canada Tar Sands Pipeline

The State Department approved a crude oil pipeline connecting Alberta’s tar sand extraction operation to refineries in Wisconsin, last Friday. In addition to requiring three times as much greenhouse gas emissions to produce compared to conventional oil, environmental advocates and Native groups are concerned that tar sand oil operations will also harm ancient boreal forests in Canada.  State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said concerns about higher emissions would be best addressed by domestic policies that Canada and the United States will take to limit global warming pollution. Tar sand oil extraction has made Canada’s emissions spike in recent years, which has caused the country to not meet its own climate change target.  Read more at Washington Post