Could more oil pipelines have prevented the explosion in Quebec?

This week, 73 oil tankers jumped the tracks near Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, and slammed into the town's public square, exploding into a searing ball of fire that destroyed 30 buildings, killed at least 13 people, and left 50 others missing.

It was the most destructive and high-profile incident in a recent series of North American oil shipping accidents that have awakened another round of squabbling over whether the Obama administration should approve construction of the Canada-to-Nebraska leg of the Keystone XL Pipeline, a 2,000-mile conduit that will connect Alberta's oil sands with the world's largest oil refining market on the American Gulf Coast.

Proponents of Keystone say the incident is just more evidence that transporting oil by rail is more dangerous than using pipelines. The research shows they may have a point: A 2012 study by the Manhattan Institute found that between 2005 and 2009, spills involving hazardous materials were 33 times more likely with rails than pipelines, reports Bloomberg. However, the Association of American Railroads calls the report "seriously flawed."

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With adjustments, the railroad association argues, railroads account for just 2.7 times more spills than pipelines.

But pro-Keystone stumpers like The Globe and Mail's Diana Furchtgott-Roth say that "human safety should be a paramount consideration" Furchtgott-Rothargues argues, "If this oil shipment had been carried through pipelines, instead of rail, families in Lac-Mégantic would not be grieving for lost loved ones today, and oil would not be polluting Lac-Mégantic and the Chaudière River."

"Chalk up another green policy fail," says Walter Russell Meade in The American Interest. He continues:

Keystone's opponents say that pumping oil sands petroleum and diluted bitumen — both of which will pass through Keystone — will corrode pipes, eventually causing bigger accidents. In March, a pipe burst and thousands of barrels of Canadian crude gushed into a suburban neighborhood in Mayflower, Ark. That incident involved diluted bitumen.

They also argue that the Keystone decision is about more than transportation safety. The Wall Street Journal:

But for some, the question boils down to which is the lesser of two evils. Forbes' Tim Worstall: