The Keystone debate

There’s been a lot of heat and light in the discussions and debate about the Keystone XL Pipeline, proposed from Canada to the southern United States, leading up to President Obama’s announcement on Friday that he was killing the thing. Response was immediate from business interests and environmentalists.

“Mr. Obama’s denial of the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline, which would have carried 800,000 barrels a day of carbon-heavy petroleum from the Canadian oil sands to the Gulf Coast, comes as he is seeking to build an ambitious legacy on climate change,” wrote the New York Times. “The move was made ahead of a major United Nations summit meeting on climate change in Paris in December, when Mr. Obama hopes to help broker a historic agreement committing the world’s nations to enacting new policies to counter global warming. While the rejection of the pipeline is largely symbolic, Mr. Obama has sought to telegraph to other world leaders that the United States is serious about acting on climate change.”