16 November 2015, 02:01 | Jake Bell

Obama rejects Keystone pipeline, citing no meaningful boost to economy

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise said to us, "President Obama's decision to reject the Keystone pipeline is really a kick in the gut to American energy workers, definitely something that hurts Louisiana's economy". I am disappointed in the president's decision on Keystone.

The pipeline would have carried 800,000 barrels a day of carbon-heavy petroleum from the Canadian oil sands to the gulf coast. Environmentalists also say building Keystone would have been a backward step just when so many nations are taking the sustainable energy route.

"America is going to hold ourselves to the same high standards to which we hold the rest of the world", said Obama.

The rejection of the Keystone pipeline is largely symbolic - according to The NY Times, many State Department reviews concluded that the pipeline's construction would ultimately have little impact on the extraction and burning of fossil fuels from the Canadian oil sands, since they were already entering the market by other means.

Stewart said Friday's announcement shows how far the debate on climate change has come.

JUDY WOODRUFF: With that, President Obama formally rejected TransCanada's application to extend the controversial pipeline. "Frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership".

Calgary-based firm TransCanada has spent the last seven years trying to get the project built and said Friday after the decision that it may try to make another proposal. A political scientist says President Obama has opened the door for major change in Canada, if that's the direction Justin Trudeau and the Liberals want to go.

Many environmentalists view this as a victory, but they shouldn't be so sure.

The president called the pipeline "a campaign cudgel" used by both parties that "obscured the fact that this pipeline would neither be a silver bullet for the economy, as was promised by a few, nor the express lane to climate disaster proclaimed by others".

The $8 billion project's tombstone may be temporary, with the company behind it, TransCanada Corp., now weighing its options.

REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D), Texas: So, you're talking about jobs, you're talking about energy independence. But until today, Obama's White House has adamantly refused to take a public stance, despite vociferous demands.

The commander-in-chief claimed scraping the project would have no impact on gas prices or creating long-term jobs.

http://oracleunion.com/2015/11/16/obama-nixes-keystonexl-saying-pipeline-not-in-national/