![](\"\/sites\/default\/files\/imagecache\/Image_Right\/pnl\/images\/keystone-graphic.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\na fellow student rally outside the White House on
\nMarch 2 along with about 1,000 other students from
\naround the countrycalling on President Obama to reject
\nthe Keystone XL pipeline.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The Keystone XL pipeline, the pipeline\u2019s fourth phase, is an extension of an existing pipeline from Alberta, Canada to refineries in Nebraska, Illinois, and Texas. If approved, it will transport approximately 830,000 barrels of crude oil a day.<\/p>\n
Jasmin Dur\u00e1n, a junior international relations major, expressed her frustration with not only the environmental impact the pipeline can have, but its affect on the surrounding communities as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of exacerbating our dependency on \u2018dirty oil,\u2019 there should be some efforts focusing on renewable sources of energy,\u201d Dur\u00e1n said. \u201cIt\u2019s time to stop exploiting our planet in the way that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n
And this is what Dur\u00e1n hoped to achieve marched her way up Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. The most important success this protest achieved was gathering the youth together against an environmental issue and becoming \u201cproactive forces and agents of change\u201d in this society, she added.<\/p>\n
Burgos, who participated in the protest for similar reasons, pointed out the importance of carrying out a person\u2019s actions, instead of simply using words. \u201cI wanted to be part of the society that went to the streets saying, \u2018Stop! Rethink what you are doing,\u2019 instead of the docile part of society that kicks back in [their] room posting [on] Facebook whatever \u2018trends\u2019 they can criticize to get a couple of \u2018likes,\u201d\u2019 Burgos said.<\/p>\n
Supporters of the pipeline said it could create tens of thousands of jobs. However, the US Department of State\u2019s report on the Keystone XL Project said it would actually create 1,950 jobs over a 2-year period, with only 50 permanent jobs once the construction is over. \u201cThis pipeline won\u2019t really impact the growth of the US economy in the way it is portrayed,\u201d Burgos said. According to the report, the pipeline will add only 0.02 percent to the US\u2019s gross domestic product. According to a report done by the Carbon Tracker Initiative, if built, the KXL will emit as much carbon in its lifetime as the annual emissions of one billion cars.<\/p>\n
These consequences were obvious to Ella Mendonsa, a junior political science and policy studies major. \u201cThe Keystone XL pipeline is one of the few fossil fuel projects being implemented on a national level that will cause new fresh damage and pollution on such a large scale,\u201d she added. After numerous people joined together and protested for what they believed in, Mendonsa thinks \u201cObama has taken note . . . at the very least this protest has galvanized our generation into working together to achieve political action on climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On March 2, students from all over the US gathered in Washington D.C. to express their disapproval of the Keystone XL Pipeline\u2019s expansion. A group of Syracuse University students from Divest SU and ESF and Students of Sustainability were among those calling for action against the pipeline. Almost 400 people were arrested, with…<\/p>\n