This week’s On the Radio segment covers the debated Keystone XL pipeline. Listen to the audio below, or continue reading for the transcript.

Protesters in Des Moines joined the national “Draw The Line” rally against the Keystone XL pipeline.

This is the Iowa Environmental Focus.

Protesters turned out in Des Moines to rally against a proposed pipeline that would carry oil from Canada through the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico.

The pipeline proposal has been the subject of a years-long, pitched battle between environmentalists and supporters of oil-and-gas production. Environmentalists warn against the country’s dependence on non-renewable energy, and the potential damage the pipeline itself would have on local environments.

Supporters say the pipeline will create thousands of jobs, allow for significant growth in oil production within the United States as well as Canada and reduce the country’s reliance on fuel imported from overseas by up to 40 percent.

If constructed, the 36-inch Keystone XL pipeline would run 1,179 miles from the oil sand fields of Alberta, Canada, through Montana and South Dakota to Steele City, Nebraska. It could transport 830,000 barrels of oil per day, and will cost an estimated $5.3 billion to build.

To learn more about the Keystone XL debate, visit iowaenvironmentalfocus.org.

From the UI Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, I’m Jerry Schnoor.