President Barack Obama has decided not to make a decision on wether to allow the Keystone XL Pipeline until after the 2012 election.
From Truthout:
The $7 billion pipeline, which would run from Alberta to the Gulf Coast, has generated intense opposition from environmentalists and public officials in Nebraska, who claim that it threatens sensitive lands and underground water supplies along its 1,700-mile route. Critics also say that the heavy oil extracted from sand formations in Canada will add to climate change and extend American dependence on fossil fuels.
The administration in recent days has been exploring ways to put off the decision until after the 2012 election, fearing further alienation of environmental and health advocates who consider the pipeline decision a test of the Obama administration’s commitment to clean energy and air quality. Environmental groups have expressed sharp disappointment with a number of recent administration environmental decisions, including the rejection of a tougher new smog standard proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency and a five-year offshore drilling plan that opens new areas in the Arctic and Gulf of Mexico.
The administration is expected to announce that it will order a study of an alternate route for the pipeline that avoids Nebraska’s Sand Hills region and the Ogallala aquifer. That study could take as long as 18 months, putting an ultimate decision on the project well past next November.
The pipeline deal is a great way to gauge Mr. Obama’s support for environmental issues simply because he doesn’t have the luxury of blaming gridlock in the congress for capitulation to the fossil fuel industry. In this case, if Mr. Obama intends to sell us out, he has no where to place the blame.
It’s hard to look at this as anything other than an acknowledgement that he intends to approve of the deal. Why else would he push it past the election? I would encourage you to contact the White House and tell them that pushing this past 2012, and this beyond the accountability of the election, is the same as approving the deal. Mr. Obama has already lost my vote in 2012, your mileage may vary.
Read more at FDL and Mother Jones.
Tags: obama
