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METROVANINDEPENDENT.COM
November 2015
NEWS
Obama rejects Keystone XL Manila airport screeners
After seven years of acrimonious court
battles, profligate spending and hardball
political lobbying, the Keystone XL pipeline
is dead. U.S. President Barack Obama
rejected the proposal, as most suspected
he would.
"S eve r a l ye a r s a g o, th e S t a te
Department began a review process for the
proposed construction of a pipeline that
would carry Canadian crude oil through our
heartland to ports in the Gulf of Mexico and
out into the world market," said Obama in
a press conference on Friday.
"This morning, Secretar y Kerr y
informed me that after extensive public
outreach and consultation with other
cabinet agencies, the State Department
has decided that the Keystone XL pipeline
would not serve the national interests of the
United States. I agree with that decision."
Environmental organizations cheered
the decision, which was viewed as an
important and meaningful decision ahead
of the Paris climate talks.
"The Keystone rejection sets a new
and important precedent in the run up to
the Paris climate talks that we hope Prime
Minister Trudeau will take to heart, project
approvals must take climate impacts into
consideration so that we are building
the future instead of stuck in the past.
Why? Because its 2015," said prominent
Canadian environmentalist Tzeporah
Berman.
The collapse of Keystone XL represents
a spectacular failure for Canada's former
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who
lobbied hard for the pipeline in recent
years. In an interview with Bloomberg
Television, he had openly criticized the
Obama administration, commenting: “I
think there’s very peculiar politics of this
particular administration.”
The effort included a multi-million
campaign to target legislators, academics
and others with Keystone XL advocacy, as
well as a $24 million, taxpayer-funded ad
campaign to get Americans on board with
the project.
“President Obama would never spend
$24 million of taxpayer's mon W