Fact Check: Calculations of Tanker Truck Fuel Needed To Replace Keystone XL Pipeline Capacity Does NOT Compute

Will tanker trucks needed to take the place of the now-canceled Keystone XL pipeline have to burn the volume of fuel stated in various pro-pipeline memes? No, that's not true: There are several variables beyond the issue of arithmetic that are not addressed by these memes, but the numbers alone do not add up. For one thing, there is another less expensive and less wasteful means of transport than tanker trucks alone: rail. Especially as the oil market fluctuates, rail transport can pick up or slow down based on the market, whereas pipeline use is contractual at a set, usually long-term rate. So just because a pipeline was projected to be able to carry a certain capacity of oil daily does not mean that volume of oil now must be carried in tanker trucks.