I draw your attention today to your pending decision regarding the Keystone XL Pipeline. Your decision would approve or deny TransCanada's request to build a 1,179-mile-long oil pipeline in addition to the existing Oklahoma-Texas pipeline. This addition would pump bituminous oil from refineries in Canada to Oklahoma, and therefore to refineries in Texas (Eilperin, 1). Additionally, the Keystone XL pipeline has been the subject of intense debate between support and opposition. Your decision will impact future U.S.-Canadian relations, as well as the market for energy resources. It is my position to consult with you on important decisions such as these. Therefore, I advise you to reject the addition of a pipeline between Canada and Texas. My advice is driven by environmental concerns, both domestically and internationally, and the lack of abundant economic contribution the pipeline will make to the United States. Bituminous oil production alone poses considerable environmental risks. Oil sands are obtained by surface mining followed by a combination of drilling and vaporization processes. Unlike most existing oil refineries which only use a drill-and-pump extraction technique, surface mining is necessary for the extraction of bitumen. The ecological environment of the mining site is destroyed because trees have to be cut down in order to mine opencast, furthermore, these mining sites are only getting bigger in order to extract more sand (Williamson, 2). The drilling and spraying process is responsible for emitting approximately “15% more greenhouse gas emissions” than traditional oil drilling per barrel (Eilperin, 1). The entire oil sands production process potentially emits "81 percent more GHG emissions than traditional oil production in 2005" (Giles...... middle of paper ...... benefit to destroying the environment Opposition of Keystone XL Pipeline recognizes the problems that impact the world, such as environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions. Opponents also consider the lack of economic necessity of. a huge pipeline. Mr. President, as your other collaborators, Podesta, Jarret and Pfeiffer, I ask that you reject the Keystone XL pipeline (Bloomberg, 1:30 p.m.). implementation of the pipeline far outweighs the benefits of the pipeline. TransCanada has failed to provide adequate equipment in the small-scale pipeline therefore the risks are too great to produce a larger pipeline. extends vertically across the country. Not only does the Keystone XL pipeline pose numerous environmental threats to the United States and Earth, but its production is not economically rational..