REJECTED: Keystone XL, One Happy ClimateMama!

Tweet
Share

While “nothing is over until it is over,” for the moment we have a definitive answer from the President to the “game of chicken” that he has been in regarding the Keystone XL pipeline.

President to House Republicans: Game OVER.

In a statement from the White House issued at around 3:20pm ET on January 18th, President Obama rejected the current proposal from TransCanada to build the Keystone XL pipeline. In December, Congress tied an extension of a tax relief bill to a 60 day “thumbs up or down” approval process on this pipeline, which was set to expire on February 21st. As our Climate Mamas and Papas know, this is a key advocacy issue and close to the “heart” of OUR Climate Mama, Harriet Shugarman.

As the controversy will continue, here are some of the FACTS on the pipeline, in case you get questioned about these issues at your next dinner party, office “water cooler” conversation, or at your child’s hockey game:

1. The Keystone XL Pipeline will create few, if any jobs. TRUE Claims of 20,000 to 100,000 are gross exaggerations. The State Department and TransCanada have said that no more than 6000 temporary jobs will be created and independent estimates put the permanent number of jobs at no more than 50!

2. Keystone XL helps promote Energy Security and Independence. FALSE Companies with refineries in Texas at the “end” of the 1700 mile pipeline from the Alberta Tar Sands have said that most of the oil to be produced is targeted for export markets, not the US.

Why does ClimateMama care about this one pipeline? Because we all need to draw a line in the sand somewhere…many groups have rallied behind this line in the “tar sands.” We need to question where our energy comes from. Do we want to perpetuate our addiction to fossil fuels by building more and more pipelines to carry oil and gas? Or should we be investing in transmission lines to carry energy from the sun and wind to places around our country, so we don’t have to rely on any fossil fuels, domestic or foreign.

Grab the kids in your life and ask them to weigh in on this…their future, and ours is in our hands, lets think carefully about these questions, lets get the facts. And lets make sure our politicians get the facts too (and not just repeat misinformation!) We need to fight for a clean energy future for our children and this pipeline is one of the fights worth fighting for…Seems like we are getting there and can now put this one in the WIN column! But the WAR is far from over, even if this battle may finally be won….