Environmentalists claim victory on Obama’s rejection of TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline project, but the unemployment rate will decrease even more. This is President Obama’s first decision influenced by the threat of climate change, but it is likely that it’s not the whole reason why he rejected the proposal.
Besides giving him standing as a leader in environmentalism, this decision cuts a large number of jobs for the American people. This decision can be undone by the time the next president is elected, and for now, America will continue to have rising gas prices and less free trade.
The Keystone XL pipeline project was opposed by a large number people over the course of the last seven years who were concerned about protecting their land and climate change. Claims that the project will burn fossil fuels, though the reason the pipeline is being built is to move oil from tar sands in Alberta to port facilities in Texas, and would make for a great economical boost.
Protesters have been boycotting the project since it came under consideration for the American President, and they claim that if Canada is left alone, it will truly be the end for climate change. It has always been a pressing issue, and since the construction project is shut down as of now, we may never know if the Keystone XL pipeline would have caused any damage at all.
