Or does our President, for other reasons, truly want to keep real jobs from being created? And why would he so actively resist America's winning independence from foreign oil?
Sean Hackbarth over at Free Enterprise, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce website, encourages readers to check out Merrill Matthews' USA Today column which explains the clear and overwhelming reasons why Barack Obama should approve the Keystone pipeline right now.
I encourage you to read it too; it's an excellent piece.
But in case you'd like a quick-hit version to pass along to others, Hackbarth provides that in his summation, "7 Facts about the Keystone XL Pipeline."
1) The phase awaiting President Obama’s approval is part of a larger pipeline network that has been safely transporting Canadian oil sands crude to the U.S. since 2010. The final section will run from Alberta to Nebraska linking oil to Gulf Coast refineries.
2) Construction of the final section of the pipeline “will disturb less land than the pipeline that has already been built.”
3) To satisfy environmental concerns, Keystone XL builder TransCanada, rerouted the pipeline around environmentally-sensitive parts of Nebraska.
4) Not only will Keystone XL transport Canadian oil sands crude but will also move 100,000 barrels a day of oil from North Dakota and Montana.
5) Keystone XL will help reduce the U.S. trade deficit by continuing the trend of declining oil imports.
6) Rail and other pipelines are being planned to move Canadian oil sands crude. Blocking Keystone XL will not stop this development.
I’ll add a #7. Both the State Department and IHS CERA conclude that Keystone XL will have a minimal impact on the environment.
Keystone XL will create jobs, help grow the economy, and improve energy security. President Obama should end the delay and approve the pipeline.
