Jan. 18, 2012<\/p>\n
Obama\u2019s Rejection of Keystone Permit Sends Message to Big Oil: Main Street\u2019s Interests Trump Your Profits<\/strong><\/p>\n Statement of Tyson Slocum, Director, Public Citizen\u2019s Energy Program<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Public Citizen applauds President Barack Obama\u2019s decision to reject the Keystone XL pipeline. The Keystone pipeline is not about improving U.S. energy security. It\u2019s more about padding Big Oil\u2019s profits by exporting more refined petroleum products than protecting Main Street.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s announcement delivers a well-deserved blow to a project that would shuttle dirty tar-sands oil through America\u2019s heartland for export to the global market, and it defies political threats issued by Big Oil and its cronies in Congress.<\/p>\n The current Keystone XL pipeline proposal would transport the dirtiest oil in the world through America\u2019s largest freshwater aquifer, risking a major oil spill and causing dangerous pollutants to be released into the air during the refining process. This risk is not remote. TransCanada\u2019s first tar-sands pipeline leaked 12 times in its first year of operation, despite the company\u2019s estimation that it would leak just once in 14 years.<\/p>\n President Obama\u2019s decision to send this proposal back to the drawing board acknowledges the unacceptable risks posed to citizens living near the pipeline\u2019s path.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, we will continue to work toward a definitive determination that acknowledges the pipeline is not in the national interest \u2013 crude oil from the pipeline could drive up domestic gas prices and would contribute to rapid climate change that threatens our health and our pocketbooks \u2013 but would only serve the interest of Big Oil.<\/p>\n Big Oil is taking its interest very seriously. The American Petroleum Institute could not have been clearer two weeks ago in threatening \u201cpolitical consequences\u201d for President Obama if the pipeline was not approved.<\/p>\n Fortunately, the president has taken a stand against the oil industry and its paid campaign of lies about jobs and energy security. This is the president\u2019s opportunity to start to end the tyranny of oil and start moving toward a new energy economy that protects the climate, creates jobs and respects the health of our families.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another oil pipeline is simply not a fix for America\u2019s energy needs. Clean energy is what will give us real relief from rising gas prices, bring security and build long-lasting good jobs.<\/p>\n ###<\/p>\n