Well, let's start, as is by now traditional around here, with some Good News.He said he would do it and what do you know, he actually did. For just the third time in his years in office, Barack Obama has vetoed a bill, this time the bill approving of the Keystone XL pipeline and stripping from the Executive Branch the power to make the final decision.
As I have said before, it's unclear whether this veto was over environmental concerns about the pipeline or just a refusal to cede any authority - or, I suppose, it could even be both - but the fact remains that the result is that this project, the whole purpose of which is to promote the use of tar sands, the dirtiest, most polluting source of oil there is, the project is again on hold.
As I said last week, one reason these delays are good is that the longer this stretches out, the less "vital" to US national interests the whole thing appears.
In fact, the EPA wants the State Department - the State Dept. is involved because the pipeline crosses an international boundary - to "revisit" the effect the pipeline would have on global warming on the grounds that lower crude oil prices makes the development of tar sands make less economic sense. That calls into question the State Dept.'s contention that the global warming impact of the pipeline is insignificant because tar sands will be developed in any event. Instead, the EPA says, the project will result in a “significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions.”And how that is not against the true national interest is beyond me. Which is why the veto, thus delaying the project, no matter why it was done, is good news.
Sources cited in links:
http://www.aol.com/article/2015/02/24/defying-gop-obama-vetoes-keystone-xl-pipeline-bill/21146258/
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/keystone-xls-climate-impacts-need-revisited-epa-says/
http://www.salon.com/2015/02/03/epa_keystone_xl_would_absolutely_contribute_to_climate_change/
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