Environmental leaders cheer delay & review of Keystone XL

[Willinois]

The die hard cynics will be mad that Obama only delayed a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline instead of rejecting it outright. It means some people will still have doubts leading up to the election. But, the environmental leaders and groups who have been most active opposing the pipeline are ecstatic.

Here's the email from Bill McKibben, who lead many of the Keystone XL protests at the White House.

Quote:Um, we won. You won.

Not completely. The President didn’t outright reject the Keystone XL pipeline permit. My particular fantasy -- that he would invite the 1253 people arrested on his doorstep in August inside the gates for a victory picnic by the vegetable garden -- didn’t materialize.

But a few minutes ago the President sent the pipeline back to the State Department for a thorough re-review, which most analysts are saying will effectively kill the project. The president explicitly noted climate change, along with the pipeline route, as one of the factors that a new review would need to assess. There’s no way, with an honest review, that a pipeline that helps speed the tapping of the world’s second-largest pool of carbon can pass environmental muster.

And he has made clear that the environmental assessment won’t be carried out by cronies of the pipeline company -- that it will be an expert and independent assessment. We will watch that process like hawks, making sure that it doesn’t succumb to more cronyism. Perhaps this effort will go some tiny way towards cleaning up the Washington culture of corporate dominance that came so dramatically to light here in emails and lobbyist disclosure forms.

An email from Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune encourages people to send Obama a thank you note.

Quote:Another review not only means more time to build our opposition, but gives the administration a chance to do it right. We are confident that a more thorough scientific review of the pipeline proposal and a truly public input process—free from oil company influence—will lead the administration to determine that the right decision is to reject Keystone XL outright.

This means that, for the foreseeable future, there will not be an oil pipeline threatening the extremely fragile Ogallala Aquifer and drinking water for millions, refineries in Texas will not be increasing their toxic pollution, and the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers in six states along 1700 miles of American heartland will remain secure. This decision sends a powerful signal to the tar sands industry that we will not lay down for the reckless expansion of tar sands oil.

Starting the process over will clean up the mess created by the way this was handled in the State Department. The company has said a delay would kill the project, but that's what companies always say about every controversial project. It's a blackmail pressure tactic.

Either way, this is great news!

[SemiCharmedQuark]

(11-11-2011 10:40 AM)Willinois Wrote:  The die hard cynics will be mad that Obama only delayed a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline instead of rejecting it outright. It means some people will still have doubts leading up to the election. But, the environmental leaders and groups who have been most active opposing the pipeline are ecstatic.

Here's the email from Bill McKibben, who lead many of the Keystone XL protests at the White House.

Quote:Um, we won. You won.

Not completely. The President didn’t outright reject the Keystone XL pipeline permit. My particular fantasy -- that he would invite the 1253 people arrested on his doorstep in August inside the gates for a victory picnic by the vegetable garden -- didn’t materialize.

But a few minutes ago the President sent the pipeline back to the State Department for a thorough re-review, which most analysts are saying will effectively kill the project. The president explicitly noted climate change, along with the pipeline route, as one of the factors that a new review would need to assess. There’s no way, with an honest review, that a pipeline that helps speed the tapping of the world’s second-largest pool of carbon can pass environmental muster.

And he has made clear that the environmental assessment won’t be carried out by cronies of the pipeline company -- that it will be an expert and independent assessment. We will watch that process like hawks, making sure that it doesn’t succumb to more cronyism. Perhaps this effort will go some tiny way towards cleaning up the Washington culture of corporate dominance that came so dramatically to light here in emails and lobbyist disclosure forms.

An email from Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune encourages people to send Obama a thank you note.

Quote:Another review not only means more time to build our opposition, but gives the administration a chance to do it right. We are confident that a more thorough scientific review of the pipeline proposal and a truly public input process—free from oil company influence—will lead the administration to determine that the right decision is to reject Keystone XL outright.

This means that, for the foreseeable future, there will not be an oil pipeline threatening the extremely fragile Ogallala Aquifer and drinking water for millions, refineries in Texas will not be increasing their toxic pollution, and the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers in six states along 1700 miles of American heartland will remain secure. This decision sends a powerful signal to the tar sands industry that we will not lay down for the reckless expansion of tar sands oil.

Starting the process over will clean up the mess created by the way this was handled in the State Department. The company has said a delay would kill the project, but that's what companies always say about every controversial project. It's a blackmail pressure tactic.

Either way, this is great news!

And thank you Will for keeping us up to date on this issue!