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President Obama’s commitment to pursuing clean energy alternatives is soon to be tested as the administration decides whether to approve a pipeline that would carry greenhouse gas-intensive oil-sands from Canada to the U.S.  Approval of the pipeline would prove disastrous both for the environment and our country’s potential to lead the way towards a green energy future.

The Alberta Clipper, the proposed pipeline, would stretch 1,000 miles and carry up to 800,000 barrels a day of fuel, and runs completely contrary to the administration’s goal of combating climate change.  If you’ll recall, Obama himself declared that the oil sands create a massive carbon footprint and that clean energy solutions should be pursued by the U.S. and Canada.  The extraction from the oil sands is projected to generate as much as five times more greenhouse gas emissions than is created by a barrel of conventional crude.  Keith Stewart, director of climate change at WWF-Canada, sums up the situation well:

Approving new mega-projects like the Alberta Clipper pipeline would lock North America into the old, high-carbon energy economy.  We need to invest in the green economy of the future, not pour billions into the Betamax of the energy world.

A permit for the Canadian pipeline builder Enbridge Energy has been delayed, but the U.S. state department is still reviewing the project.  We need to tell President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to reject the plans for the pipeline in favor of pursuing clean energy alternatives and staying true to their comittments.  Use the action link below to tell Secretary Clinton to say no to the oil sands pipeline before it’s too late.