The Keystone XL Pipeline: Is it much different than the Trans-Alaska Pipeline?

         News of the Susan Mendax scandal has riled up many pro-XL pipeline supporters. On March 7, Mendax claims her old employer, “Cleaner Tomorrows”, a hired contractor to review the harms of the XL Pipeline, could not handle the huge task and flubbed the data so they seemed like they did good work. But in their fabrications they decided to make extreme assumptions about the harm the pipeline would cause. Mendax outed the company on her blog and claimed her female boss felt pressures to succeed on this project because of how she attained this assignment. She claimed her boss was “sucking up” to the EPA through her ties in the WBE.
          Susan Mendax stated that the “Keystone XL didn’t really need to be such a big deal - there are lots of big pipelines like it”. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline was built in the 1970’s after an oil crisis in 1973 that spiked gas prices. This pipeline has been up and running for decades now with very limited incidents. The largest of the incidents involved an unknown man who blew a hole in the pipeline. A few events occurred in the early 2000’s due to lack of inspection. Mendax’s claims in saying that the pipeline “really didn’t need to be a big deal” can be compared to the limited harm the Alaska pipeline has caused. If the XL Pipeline is anything like the Alaska Pipeline, there will be limited incidents and none harming the people living near it.