WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- A growing number of protests against the planned Keystone XL oil pipeline show there is "deep concern" about oil from tar sands in Canada, an activist says.
Canadian pipeline company TransCanada wants to build Keystone XL to supplement its existing pipeline carrying tar sands oil from Alberta. Keystone XL would send roughly 15 million barrels of oil to the United States every month.
Critics of the project point to the number of spills on the existing Keystone oil pipeline and the potential environmental impact of heavy crude oil from tar sands projects in Alberta.
Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, a director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the growing number of voices against the pipeline is symbolic of the level of environmental concern.
"The sit-ins show us that there is deep public concern about the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and about the inconsistency of promoting clean energy while supporting expansion of tar sands oil," she was quoted by the Financial Times as saying.
But Karen Harbert, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy, told the Financial Times the project would "significantly increase America's energy and economic security."
More than 150 people were arrested in weekend protests in Washington for blocking the road to the White House.
