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Nebraska gives TransCanada the CornFinger
As a born and raised Iowan, I can’t say I’ve always thought fondly of my neighbors to the west. Corn jokes aside, I am anticipating the new Big 10 match up between my Hawkeyes and the Huskers the fall. Without a doubt, Nebraska will be a force to be reckoned with, especially with a home-field advantage.
Off the football field, Nebraskans have been a force to be reckoned with as well. Ask TransCanada, an international oil company who is attempting to obtain a permit from the United States to lay a pipeline carrying crude oil from Alberta, Canada to Texas. When TransCanada started making plans to place the Keystone XL Pipeline through Nebraska landowner’s fields, through the Sandhills, and over the Ogallala Aquifer, Nebraskans acted just as any true Cornhusker would: they put up a fight.
TransCanada’s risky pipeline carrying dangerous tar sands oil threatens the land, water, and wildlife that Nebraska and it’s economy depend on. Studies have shown that the pipeline would be prone to numerous spills that could harm drinking water supplies. The pipeline would also run through the migratory corridor of the endangered whooping crane. In addition, it’s been found that the pipeline would actually raise gas prices for Midwesterners, Hawkeyes and Huskers alike.
Almost 1000 Nebraskans showed up with their game faces on today, when the US State Department held a hearing in Lincoln, NE on whether it was in the United States’ best interest to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. As industry and union representatives bused in people from out of state to support the project, the home team showed up in full force to give TransCanada the “CornFinger” and urge President Obama and the State Department to oppose the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Similar hearings will be held in Austin TX, the Sandhills in NE, South Dakota, and Oklahoma later this week. A final hearing will be held in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 7th.
