NY Times Editorial Urges Obama Administration To Reject Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline

Brendan DeMelle DeSmog
on

The New York Times editorial today calls on the State Department and President Obama to reject the disastrous Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which it correctly labels the “wrong pipeline for the wrong oil.”

The NYT editors point to the environmental impacts of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, noting the destruction it would cause to Canada’s boreal forests, the threats to Midwest drinking water supplies from inevitable spills and accidents, and the climate impacts of supporting the extraction of the dirtiest oil on the planet.

Hillary Clinton’s State Department is correctly called to account for its abysmal attempts at drafting an adequate Environmental Impact Statement, which the EPA has labeled “insufficient” both times it has reviewed the document.

In a clear nod to the intense lobbying efforts of the pipeline’s proponents, the Times urges Clinton’s State Department to judge “the pipeline on the merits, not because of politics or pressure from the Canadian government, big oil and the industry’s friends in Congress.”

Read the rest of the Times’ concise and necessary criticism of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline: “Wrong Pipeline, Wrong Assessment” at the Times’ website.

Brendan DeMelle DeSmog
Brendan is Executive Director of DeSmog. He is also a freelance writer and researcher specializing in media, politics, climate change and energy. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The Huffington Post, Grist, The Washington Times and other outlets.

Related Posts

on

Bayer’s efforts to sway public opinion are part of a strategy to “fight any sustainable transition which would harm its business”, say campaigners.

Bayer’s efforts to sway public opinion are part of a strategy to “fight any sustainable transition which would harm its business”, say campaigners.
Opinion
on

Greece’s worst rail disaster ever is the result of the same corporate cost-cutting and deregulation that led to East Palestine and Lac-Mégantic disasters.

Greece’s worst rail disaster ever is the result of the same corporate cost-cutting and deregulation that led to East Palestine and Lac-Mégantic disasters.
on

The St. James Parish Council’s actions continue a long history of racism in this part of Louisiana, the lawsuit claims.

The St. James Parish Council’s actions continue a long history of racism in this part of Louisiana, the lawsuit claims.
on

Solicitor General’s brief backs communities’ position that climate liability litigation belongs in state court, a technical fight that has delayed many accountability lawsuits.

Solicitor General’s brief backs communities’ position that climate liability litigation belongs in state court, a technical fight that has delayed many accountability lawsuits.