As a special pipeline session convenes in the Unicameral it is clear Nebraska is becoming THE bulwark against this project. Keystone-XL-is-safe television ads blanket the state (they're also on YouTube, but embedding and comments have been shut off) featuring Jim Goeke, a professor emeritus at UNL in a frantic attempt to counter the damaging report made by another, currently-employed UNL professor, John S. Stansbury. Only 33% of Nebraskans are now in favor of building the pipeline over the Ogallala Aquifer.
On its website TransCanada says:
Interesting, because Goeke told the Daily Nebraskan that TransCanada tried to buy him off, but he did the ads for free. The Daily Nebraskan added:It is important to note that Professor Goeke is speaking in the ads as an independent expert - he received no compensation from TransCanada.
Even if Keystone XL never leaks a drop (not a chance; Keystone 1 has leaked at least a dozen times in its first year) there are compelling reasons not to put the pipeline in the Sandhills:Goeke said he felt guilty about associating the university with TransCanada."It might have been injudicious to lend my status to them," Goeke said.
That new route also cuts directly across the sensitive Nebraska Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer -- a unique ecosystem and watershed that supports highly fragile grasses and other plant life that doesn't exist anywhere else on the continent.A single set of tire tracks across the area, he said, can trigger erosion that can lead to a "blowout" which can wipe out plant life across 50 hectares within a couple of years, if steps aren't taken to stop the process.As a result of that fragility, Domina said, local ranchers will drive miles out of their way to avoid cutting across a pasture or field with their pickup truck.Pushing a pipeline through that region, he said, could be devastating.
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