The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Keystone Pipeline Friday, with a Senate vote on the issue scheduled later this week.

This pipeline is not just a step in the wrong direction, but a barefaced stumble from greener developments.

The Keystone Pipeline is a four-phase crude oil development beginning at the oil sands of Alberta, Canada and ending in west Texas.

Phase One: The original plan, proposed in 2008, detailed the construction of a 1,179-mile pipeline from Alberta, Canada to Steele City, Nebraska – completed in summer 2010.

Phase Two: Keystone-Cushing Extension was an addition to the pipeline from Steele City to storage and distribution facilities in Cushing, Oklahoma – completed in February 2011.

Phase Three: The Gulf Coast Extension lengthened the pipeline from Cushing 435 miles south to Nederland, Texas.  

Phase Four: Keystone eXport Limited (XL) introduces a new route – replacing Phase One – to deliver greater crude oil to Steele City and conjoining refineries.

What this development really brings up is the bigger issue of environmental protection and alternative energy versus fossil-laden fuel and hydrocarbon-rich resources.

Fossil fuel is convenient, readily available and people think it to be infinite. The fact of the matter is that fossil fuels can and will run out, and convenience is severely outweighed by adverse repercussions stemming from its use.

It appears as though policy makers are more interested in making money than they are in the future of this planet. 

Research and development of greener, renewable energy is a work in progress. So far, patience and hard work has yielded brilliant technology from solar, wind, water and geothermal resources. Essentially, the idea is that fossils fuels will become obsolete as superior, more efficient forms of power are discovered.

However, this is not the reality, and the speed at which we refine oil in the United States is not only appalling, but also on the rise. The Keystone Pipeline will add more than 700,000 barrels per day (nearly 13 million gallons of motor gasoline) and initiate unforeseen, adverse carbon-related consequences.

Furthermore, bituminous sands, that is, oil originating from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, is known as “dirty” oil, requiring a greater amount of energy to refine and generating a larger carbon dioxide (CO2) output than other fuel deposits. Clearly, it is not a matter of if we will run out of fossil fuels, but a matter of when.

Instead of spending billions on a pipeline that will foster the destruction of the ozone layer and the depletion of overall health, how about we invest in renewable, safe and environmentally friendly methods of energy.

Proponents of Keystone highlight job creation, noting the previous three phases in addition to the establishment of jobs accompanying phase four. Capital gains and international exchange are also on the docket as pro-oil politicians emphasize the importance of U.S. fossil fuel cooperation.

Opponents, however, note the environmental impact of unnecessary CO2 emissions that have been shown to affect the global population unfavorably.

In a letter to the Department of the State addressing the pipeline, on April 22, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that the viscous tar oil from Alberta “may require different response actions or equipment from response actions for conventional oil spills,” and may lead to “different impacts.”

Moreover, the EPA highlights that the Department of the State neglected to account for the addition outputs of total product emissions based on sands oil crude, which in turn would cause undesirable effects on the environment to increase sharply.

The Earth does not have a second life. We cannot recreate forests nor foster vegetation at the drop of a hat. Nor can we ignore the fact that America is consuming fossil fuels at an alarming rate.

The United States consists of about four percent of the global population, yet is second on a list of largest Carbon Dioxide emitting nations, according to a 2011 study done by the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC).

Eliminating our dependence on fossil fuels starts with higher efficiency and supplemental forms of energy.

This business-as-usual mentality in regards to oil and fossil fuels needs to stop. The idea that the future is going to be anything like the present could not be farther from the truth. A greener future relies heavily on the cautious, fossil-free steps we take today.