Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline contend that it would lead to dramatic increases in greenhouse gas emissions, but a supporter of the $7 billion oil sands project says approval would help cut harmful emissions and make the transport of American oil much more efficient..
The United States aspires to achieve energy independence — a goal whose worth is compounded by the freedom that reliance on solely North American sources of energy would bring from the quagmire of Middle East politics and oil.
![** FILE ** Work has begun on the Keystone XL Pipeline near Winona, Texas, but whether it will ever carry oil sands from central Canada to Gulf Coast refineries awaits a decision by President Obama. (Tyler [Texas] Morning Telegraph via Associated Press)](http://media.washtimes.com/media/image/2013/04/23/20130117-195944-pic-543473233_6_mugshot_four_by_three_s101x76.jpg?38f271e3d49cdfd5d0ef8cac5cad23b117d14f23)
The Obama administration has heard from plenty of critics over its handling — and endless delays — of the Keystone XL pipeline. But now it's taking fire from its own Environmental Protection Agency, which is blasting the State Department for an "insufficient" review of the massive Canada-to-Texas oil sands project.
As the White House moves ever so slowly toward a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline, some environmental groups used Monday — Earth Day — to remind the president that approval of the massive project would carry real consequences.
Americans must no longer ignore false realities and double standards that threaten our health and prosperity.
House Republicans took the first step Tuesday toward forcing approval of Keystone XL pipeline, with a subcommittee passing a proposal that aims to green-light the massive project without President Obama's approval.
Canada is counting on its oil sands for sustained economic growth for the next few decades, but first it needs a reliable customer — preferably the United States.
Not even Vice President Joe Biden, the barker of bonhomie who sees something good in just about any headline, can put a gloss on Friday's news: The economy created a net of only 88,000 jobs in March, not the 200,000 or so expected. Unemployment is "down" to 7.6 percent, but only because so many jobseekers have abandoned hope in the face of daunting odds.
After breaking bread with Republicans lately in search of compromise, President Obama will return to his role as Democratic fundraiser-in-chief Wednesday with a trip to the homes of liberal billionaire supporters in San Francisco.
