The Promising Predicament of the Keystone XL Pipeline

Abstract

Whether ultimately approved or not, the Keystone XL Pipeline offers a telling window into the contemporary politics of fossil fuels in North America. Although oil pipelines have been around for a century, they have long been neglected in scholarship and public debate. Today, that is beginning to change. Whether as a strategic vehicle for energy independence or as an urgent frontline in the fight against climate change, oil pipelines are increasingly understood not as inert things but as consequential projects in our troubled present.