According to the article in The Equinox on Nov. 20, 2014 (P. 1), Texas governor Rick Perry made some interesting claims about the Keystone XL Pipeline.
I was not sure that they were accurate and because I am a librarian I couldn’t help myself from doing some research.
I did a Google search (yup – nothing more complicated than that), selected and read two different sources, and here is what I found.
Governor Perry noted that the pipeline will bring oil from Canada to Nebraska.
Actually, the new construction will build a pipeline from Canada to Nebraska where it will meet an existing part of the pipeline which will take the crude oil to refineries in Texas for processing and export. Perry mentioned stimulating the economy.
The U.S. government does say the construction phase may generate as many as 42,000 jobs for two year.
Several sources indicate that the completed pipeline will only need 35-50 full time employees.
So a lot of people will have work for a short time, but almost all of them will be out of work within two years.
Finally, Perry claimed that the pipeline will make the U.S. energy independent.
The sources I consulted* indicated that the pipeline would probably not have any affect on gasoline prices in the U.S. and none suggested that it would make the U.S. energy independent. Most of the oil that is produced would be exported.
In my search I located many other articles and web sites which offered different information and created a picture much more like the one Governor Perry described.
The way the governor, and I, looked for and used information had a lot to do with what story we told you. Which one do you believe?
Are you ready to do your own research to try to reach your own conclusion? I know a great place on campus where people are standing by ready to help you do just that!
Celia Rabinowitz
Dean of Mason Library