As environmental activists were handcuffed in front of the White
House on Friday, the State Department released the final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the massive Keystone XL
pipeline that would pump crude oil from the Alberta tar sands in
Canada across six western states to stations in Oklahoma and
Texas. Climate change and environmental groups have staged
protests against the proposed pipeline across the country in
recent months, including a two-week sit-in currently underway in
front of the White House. Police arrested 54 of the protesters
outside of the White House on Friday, and organizers say 2,000
people from across the country are expected to participate in
the nonviolent demonstration calling on President Obama to step
in and cancel the project. A total of 374 protesters have been
arrested in the demonstration so far. TransCanada's $7 billion
pipeline would stretch underground for 1,700 miles and deliver
830,000 barrels of crude oil to the US per day. A public comment
period on the EIS ex