TransCanada and the Exploding Pipeline

The debate over whether the U.S. should import oil via tar sands from Canada is a heated one.  Environmentalists have been rallying against the implementation of the Keystone XL Pipeline in every state in the country, while BIG oil and citizens more concerned with job growth than clean water have urged President Obama to approve the project under the guise of becoming less dependent on Middle Eastern oil.

Regardless of their reasons for wanting this project to be fully realized, the supporters have held strong to the opinion that the Keystone XL Pipeline is safe; in fact it has been deemed “the safest oil pipeline built in America to date” by CEO of TransCanada, Russ Girling.  However, according to a recent article by ThinkProgress.org, not only has TransCanada already had to fix a number of “dents and sags” in the pipeline itself, but on January 25, 2014, a TransCanada pipeline exploded in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

This proves that neither TransCanada nor any of their affiliates can truly ensure the safety of anything.  Furthermore, according to a recent article by ThinkProgress.org, not only have there already been issues with the pipeline here in the U.S. that have had to be repaired, but on average, 80 percent of the time, the companies overseeing different areas of pipeline are missing the leaks altogether; some of which are rather large. (See Public Citizen's report for more information.)

Though the main controversy here is that the transporting of oil through areas where a leak could pollute very important sources of fresh water, the other lesser discussed issue is that with continued dependence on fossil fuels for energy, anthropogenic climate change is inevitable.  Aren’t the negative effects that are already being witnessed enough to garner a better plan for the long term?  Especially when 

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