Happy Friday, Blog Readers!
It’s time for another good news blog! First off, we’re happy to see that the Keystone XL Pipeline was rejected—at least for now. If you’re not familiar, large deposits of tar sands in Alberta, Canada are being utilized for oil extraction with the intention of shipping to refineries in Texas via a pipeline that stretches across a delicate Midwestern aquifer.
If the pipeline had been approved, the increase in U.S. emissions would only be a fraction of 1%, in spite of the fact that tar sands oil produces 5 to 15% more emissions than oil extracted through traditional drilling methods (http://wapo.st/A8BjAT). One of the main reasons for scrapping the pipeline lies in the protection of the Ogallala Aquifer. If the pipeline were to leak, there is a good chance there would be chemicals seeping into an aquifer that is heavily depended upon for drinking and agricultural purposes.
Additionally, pipelines, sturdy though they may be, are prone to explosions and ruptures. Just recently near my alma mater-Ohio University in Athens, Ohio (go Bobcats!)- a gas pipeline exploded. Fortunately only one person was injured, but it could have been deadly (http://bit.ly/rtYeqh). The other primary reason to oppose the pipeline is that we need to start shifting away from the use of fossil fuels rather than finding clever ways to extract oil and prolong our use of such energy sources.
Aaaand! The other good news is our buddies over at Bamboo Sushi, with whom we have worked many times in the past, have been recognized as the most sustainable restaurant by Food Republic (http://bit.ly/ADHJB3). Also, as Cassandra Profita points out in her blog from Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Ecotrope (http://bit.ly/xYVMkw); they don’t use Bluefin tuna because it isn’t sustainable.
Nice work Bamboo Sushi, nice work! -Mark