Two hundred and fifty people handcuffed themselves to the gate and were later arrested while

protesting the Keystone XL Pipeline. Protesters say that they were there to send President

Obama a message.

JAMIE DEMARCO: President Obama, the Keystone Pipeline is not in our national interest.

We have to move forward to clean energy, not tie ourselves to ancient fossil fuels. There's

a better way, and there's a better way for the United States.

DESVARIEUX: The protest started here on Georgetown's campus. It's where just a year ago President

Obama laid his plan on how he would evaluate the Keystone Pipeline. Since pipeline crosses

an international border, President Obama will have the final say.

BARACK OBAMA: Allowing the Keystone pipeline to be built requires a finding that doing

so would be in our nation's interest. And our national interest will be served only

if this project does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.

DESVARIEUX: Exacerbating the problem of carbon pollution is exactly what these protestors

argue will happen if the entire Keystone Pipeline project is approved.

A report released by Oil Change International found that the 830,000 barrels of crude oil

produced daily from the Keystone XL Pipeline will have a significant impact on the environment.

We spoke with the executive director of Oil Change International, Stephen Kretzmann, to

find out how they reached their conclusion.

STEPHEN KRETZMANN: We got all these figures for how to convert that into carbon equivalent,

and we multiplied it by the 830,000 barrels, and we came out with that equals 181 million

metric tons annually of carbon dioxide. And that equates to 51 coal plants or 37 million

cars, which is a not-small number of cars. Right? That's more cars than are currently

registered in California and New York and Florida combined.

DESVARIEUX: But according to the State Department's recently released environmental assessment

of the pipeline, the construction of the pipeline would be the equivalent of anywhere between

half a coal-fired power plant to half a dozen--a drast difference from OSI's reported 51 coal

plants.

But the State Department's analysis of the project is not without controversy, with critics

questioning the report's credibility, since it was conducted by Environmental Resource

Management, a consultant recommended by the company behind the pipeline, TransCanada.

DAPHNE WYSHAM: The fact that they were called in and asked to provide the environmental

impact assessment for the State Department suggests that the conflict of interest guidelines

were not--they claim they were met and that the State Department actually did carry out

a review. But it's clear that there is evidence that ERM is essentially beholden to Keystone

XL. And so there's no question that the analysis is biased in favor of their client.

DESVARIEUX: On February 26, the State Department's inspector general said that its own review

found no conflict of interest.

The Real News reached out to TransCanada to get their comment on the controversy over

the State Department's assessment. They sent us this statement. Quote:

"This is the second time groups opposed to the project have gone to the well with conflict

of interest allegations and, once again, they have proven to be false. TransCanada remains

focused on the National Interest Determination process for Keystone XL and the facts about

our project speak for themselves."

But the facts are what Democratic representative Raul Grijalva want to be investigated. Last

week, he asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate the State Department's

environmental review process of Keystone XL.

Other members of Congress are also making sure the review process of Keystone is as

thorough as possible. Democratic senators Barbara Boxer and Sheldon Whitehouse sent

a letter to the State Department asking them to analyze the public health risks of the

pipeline.

This is in light of a new study by the Alberta Cancer Board, which revealed that the cancer

rate is 30 percent higher in in Fort Chipewyan, which is located downstream from a major tar

sands extraction site in Alberta, Canada. The doctor serving the First Nations community

was present at the Capitol Hill press conference.

JOHN O'CONNOR: --a sizeable number of carcinogens that get into the food chain, into the water,

into the air. These toxins have been linked with cancers and the types of cancer that

occur in Fort Chip. This represents a public health crisis in this community.

DESVARIEUX: But despite these calls for investigations and attempts to stall the pipeline, like in

this video, where you can see people chaining themselves to machinery, the Keystone XL Pipeline's

basic function, which is to transport tar sands from Canada to the Gulf Coast, is already

in full swing. The southern half of Keystone XL was completed early this year. That's because

in March 2012, President Obama signed an executive order to fast-track the building of the southern

leg, and now it will be able to transport up to 700,000 barrels of crude a day.

STEVE HORN: Right now it's open for business, and TransCanada's very excited about it. And,

unfortunately, I think the environmental community doesn't understand that one half of the pipeline

already exists and it's already very crucial and it's going to have a huge climate-change

impact, ecological impact, etc.

DESVARIEUX: Steve Horn is an independent journalist who has been following Keystone's development

and says it's important to follow what oil industry investors are saying about the Keystone

northern half to understand the industry's position.

HORN: There's been two important reports written about the Keystone XL northern half by banks,

by big banks, by Canaccord Genuity in Canada and another one by National Bank in Canada.

Both of these reports, which came--one came out in fall last year, 2013; one of them just

came out this year--both reports conclude that the northern half of the Keystone XL

Pipeline is not quite as important for investors as it's kind of been played out in the public

theater, in the public sphere. The northern half of the pipeline's key, but they do map

out--there are many ways oil is currently getting to Cushing and many more proposals

to get it to Cushing down to the Gulf Coast. And so it's silly from an investor point of

view to think that you have to put all your eggs in that one basket. And so I think these

two reports are key for, you know, activists to read.

DESVARIEUX: We asked protestors at the rally their thoughts on the northern leg of the

pipeline now that Canadian tar sands can reach the Gulf Coast.

DESVARIEUX: Do you think it is as critical, the northern leg?

COLE NORGAARDEN: I do think--I think it's equally as critical. I don't think we can

let the fact that half of it has already been built stop us or make us think for one moment

that it's not--this fight is no longer worth it, because there are people on the ground

who are willing and are going to stop this pipeline.

DESVARIEUX: Some critics of the Keystone XL protest argue that stopping the northern leg

of the pipeline is a decoy and the real issue should be to focus on the entire

transport system of tar sands to the United States, whether that be by rail or through

existing pipelines.

But OSI executive director Steve Kretzmann says that a large part of the battle is about

slowing down the industry so policymakers can get on board with fighting climate change

not just with their rhetoric but with their policy.

KRETZMANN: These two things are fundamentally in conflict. And I actually think an all-of-the-above

energy strategy is essentially climate denial by another name. But it's going to take a

little while for our movement to make that point.

Power comes from two places, money and people. We are not going to end up with more money

than the fossil fuel industry, but we clearly have more people.

DESVARIEUX: There are certainly more people in the streets against Keystone. But the question

remains if President Obama will listen and take the first step towards a more comprehensive

approach to fighting climate change.

For The Real News Network, Jessica Desvarieux, Washington.