1) The Keystone XL pipeline proposal is a $7 billion project to transport oil from Canada to Texas through the US. It faces opposition over environmental concerns related to extracting oil from tar sands. 2) A survey of 15 University of Virginia students found 53.8% opposed and 46.2% supported the northern leg of the pipeline. 66% believed environmental harm mattered more than economic benefits when drilling for tar sands oil. 3) The document concludes that the southern leg of the pipeline should be built, but the northern leg should be rejected due to environmental risks of tar sands oil extraction.

1. Keystone Pipeline Group 8 Shane Palmateer, Maya Dongier, Matt Morris, Lily Henderson, Sama Khaterzai, Priyanka Chavan, Filip Vasquez, Ryan Durazo, Ben Dulaney and Charles Sipe

4. Interest Groups

10. Proposal

12. Public Opinion

13. A survey was taken of 15 people on the campus of The University of Virginia. These 15 people were chosen based on whether they were willing to answer a few questions and if based on our opinion, they seemed to have the time to answer our questions. Before asking the questions, we presented each person with a few facts about the Keystone Pipeline. Three pros and three cons were given so that their answers were not biased based on our facts. By using the Statistical program called Fathom, used by the Environmental Statistics seminar, we were able to simulate 1000 trials based on the original 15 trials. By simulating 1000 trials we were able to more accurately portray the true proportion of opinion about the pipeline on The University of Virginia campus.

14. Do you believe it is worth gas prices going up in exchange for price stability? No- 73.9% Yes- 26.1 %

15. Which factor do you believe matters more when drilling for tar sands oil? The environmental harm or the economic benefits? Economic- 34% Environmental-66%

16. Currently, the state departement is debating whether or not to build the northern half of the keystone pipeline. In your opinion, are you for or against? Against- 53.8% For- 46.2%

18. Conclusion We applaud President Obama for his approval of the Southern leg of the pipeline and feel that he should work to ensure that it is built according to current expectations. However, next year, when the state department returns with its report, Obama should reject the permit for the Northern leg of the Keystone Pipeline XL. As evidenced by our data, public opinion is very equally divided on this issue. However when more specific issues of the pipeline such as gas prices and environmental issues were identified, the participants tended to lean towards our proposal. If the president includes these issues as the key reasons for accepting our proposal, it should surely be a politically viable solution to this crisis.

19. Works Cited Black, Richard. “Global Warming ‘Confirmed’ by Independent Study.” BBC News . N.p., 20 Oct. 2012. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/​news/​science-environment-15373071>. Jones, Jeffrey, and Roberta Rampton. “TransCanada Chops up Keystone XL to Push it Ahead.” Reuters . N.p., 27 Feb. 2012. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. <http://www.reuters.com/​article/​2012/​02/​27/​us-keystone-idUSTRE81Q1II20120227>. “ Keystone Pipeline Project.” TransCanada . N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. <http://www.transcanada.com/​keystone.html>. Kohn, Sally. “Six Reasons Keystone XL was a Bad Deal All along.” Fox News . N.p., 18 Jan. 2012. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. <http://www.foxnews.com/​opinion/​2012/​01/​18/​six-reasons-keystone-xl-was-bad-deal-all-along/>. “ Say No to the Keystone XL.” NewYork Times . N.p., 2 Oct. 2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/​2011/​10/​03/​opinion/​say-no-to-the-keystone-xl.html?_r=2&partner=MYWAY&ei=5065>. Schoen, John W. “Keystone Pipeline Claims Just Don’t Add up.” MSNBC . N.p., 31 Feb. 2012. Web. 2 Mar. 2012. <http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/​_news/​2012/​02/​29/​10541404-keystone-pipeline-claims-just-dont-add-up>.