Environmentalists from New York and Vermont have released their findings based on research they did on transport of tar sands oil by rail. WPTZ reports that the study details the potential risks of transporting tar sands oil through the Adirondack and Champlain Valley regions with millions of gallons of oil being transported along Lake Champlain’s western banks.

“We are playing Russian roulette with the health of the lake. An oil spill into the lake would be absolutely catastrophic,” Jim Murphy, of the National Wildlife Federation, said.

Consequently, the environmentalists called for more stringent rules on oil transport by rail. Yes there are some risks with oil transport by train, but if environmentalists are so concerned about the volatility or safety risks of crude transport by rail then they should support pipelines, like Keystone, since that is the safest manner to transport oil with little impact to the environment. Not surprisingly, they do not. The remaining transportation methods, however, result in larger carbon emissions than pipelines. This is obviously what organizations like the National Wildlife Foundation and Center for Biological Diversity wants since transport by boat, truck or train also means increased risk of accidents. This, in turn, gives environmentalist groups the ammunition they need to call for more rules on economic activity like they are doing with this report.

Environmentalists are not concerned about global warming or even the environment because what they ultimately want is political control over us and our way of life. Organizations like Center for Biological Diversity and National Wildlife Federation oppose construction of pipelines because it not only gives them more political ammunition with other transportation methods for oil but also the fact that environmentalists are anti-progress and anti-civilization.