Have you voted today

I voted in the primaries this morning. It will be interesting to see which candidates make it to the general election.  Speaking of voting.

Rep. Steven Palazzo voted YES to the North American-Made Energy Security Act. An act that could lead to a bigger environmental disaster then the BP Oil Spill. Apparently we have learned nothing from that disaster, at least our elected officials have not. You can read a good summary of the debate here.

The United States is at a crossroads, where Americans must choose between burning more fossil fuels in their cars or moving to alternatives, he said. Construction of Keystone XL only will play into more demand for oil, rather than spurring investment in cleaner power. The vehicles burning oil from Keystone XL could produce the same amount of C02 as all the trucks and cars in Canada, according to Leach's analysis. 

It's not that this project alone would lead to catastrophic emissions, but it would start a process that could lead to more pipelines down the road and even more extraction, according to McKibben. 

Timing is also a key part of why the project is so important in terms of climate change, he said. Keystone XL could be operational by 2013, while other proposals could take five to 10 years to move through regulation, according to some estimates. Those future dates could come at at a time when public opinion about climate change is different, he said. 

"There is a limited period of time to make this a fait accompli. Sooner or later, the world's going to come to its senses about carbon, at which point no one is going to invest hundreds of billions to get the stuff out of the tar sands," McKibben said.