Keystone pipeline: President Obama rejects Keystone XL proposal

The guessing game is over. On Friday, President Obama announced that he is rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline once and for all.

“The State Department has decided that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interest of the United States,” Obama said. “I agree with that decision.”

The company trying to build the controversial Keystone XL pipeline has given up all hope that President Obama will approve the project — and wants a final decision delayed until after the 2016 election.

On Monday, TransCanada asked the US government to temporarily suspend its review of the $8 billion pipeline, which, if built, would bring 830,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada and North Dakota down to refineries on the Gulf Coast. Environmentalists have long opposed this project, and Obama has dithered over a final decision for years (since it crosses national borders, his administration has final say).

By now, most people have heard of the Keystone XL pipeline. It’s the source of a bitter, endless fight in Washington, DC. Yet to many outsiders, it’s not always obvious why there’s so much fuss about a single infrastructure project.

The basics are simple: The proposed pipeline would carry 830,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada’s oil sands down to Nebraska. Supporters argue that building it would create jobs and bolster the flow of crude from a friendly neighbor. Opponents say all that extra fossil fuel will worsen global warming. The Obama administration, which has final say over the project, has wavered on a decision.

At a caucus even in Iowa today, Hillary Clinton finally came out in opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry tar sands oil from Canada down to the Gulf Coast.

Clinton’s shift is a testimony to the extraordinary work done by the climate movement since the defeat of the cap-and-trade bill in 2010. Using Keystone XL as a linchpin issue, the movement expanded, putting thousands of marchers in the streets, pulling a few billionaires onto their side, and generating over $2.6 trillion in fossil-fuel divestment.

The very first thing Republicans will do in the 114th Congress is pass a bill to fast-track approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. President Obama will veto it. Republicans will vow to try again. And the pipeline fight will drag on, as it has for years.

But this time around, there’s a twist. Oil prices have been plummeting, with US crude going from $100 per barrel in June down to less than $50 today. The world is awash in cheap oil. And that’s led many people to ask: does the Keystone XL pipeline still matter at all?

In an interview with Stephen Colbert that aired last night, President Obama sounded skeptical about the Keystone XL pipeline, noting that it would create few jobs and could contribute to “disastrous” climate change.

Obama didn’t say whether he ultimately planned to approve or reject the proposed pipeline, which would transport 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day, mostly from Alberta’s oil sands, down to Nebraska. The administration is still awaiting the outcome of a Nebraska court case that could delay or even scuttle the project. But he cast the pipeline in a fairly negative light.

Energy East is a $12 billion pipeline project by TransCanada — the same company behind the Keystone Pipeline. The idea is to reconfigure existing natural gas pipelines to carry crude oil from Alberta to shipping terminals in eastern Canada.

If built, Energy East would transport 1.1 million barrels of crude oil per day — more than the 830,000 barrels per day that Keystone XL would.

All 45 Republican senators voted for the bill, which would have circumvented the State Department’s current review of the pipeline and approved the project.

14 Democrats voted for the bill. Here’s a list — the ones with asterisks will still be in the Senate next year:

Congress is planning to vote soon on bills to approve the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. The House has set a vote for Friday, the Senate set a vote for Tuesday.

Why the sudden rush? Because of the still-ongoing Louisiana Senate race.

Want to see what America’s energy infrastructure looks like — all those power plants and coal mines and oil wells and transmission lines? The Energy Information Administration just released a new new mapping tool laying it all out.

Below I’ve pulled out 11 maps of interest, but you can customize the maps in any way you want (or zoom in to see state-level details or look at individual congressional districts).

This week, President Obama announced new EPA regulations on power plants — the centerpiece of his second-term effort to fight climate change. The expected chorus of condemnation from Republicans — who, for the most part, don’t even accept climate science anymore — ensued. But there are also many Democrats, mostly from conservative or fossil-fuel dependent states, who are skeptical of Obama’s efforts. While they generally don’t deny or criticize climate science, they tend to loudly condemn most substantive proposals to address it — particularly those that would affect their own states. Here’s six of them, plus one more who’s on the bubble:

In 2010, Democrats in red states were running scared from the unpopular President Obama, and the climate change “cap-and-trade” bill he supported. But West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin decided to address this challenge in a particularly unique way — he ran an ad that showed him shooting a cap-and-trade bill. Yes, with a gun.

The Obama administration isn’t likely to make a decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline extension until after the midterm elections this November.

What is the Keystone pipeline? The Keystone XL extension would transport 830,000 barrels of oil per day from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada down to Steele City, Nebraska — where the oil would then travel on to refineries on the Gulf Coast.