The Hill News

Pressure is building on the Obama administration to reach a final decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. The State Department seems to be siding with backers of the project. The favorable environmental impact statement it has just released does not wholly dispel the reservations of the EPA and private environmental groups, but it carries political weight. Still, before construction can begin, the pipeline needs a finding that it is in the national interest. It is not.
 
Keystone XL, if built, would carry bitumen from Canadian oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries. Its backers claim it will enhance national security without harm to the environment and create jobs in the process. Those claims are dubious.
 
Let’s begin with security. Granted, the U.S. addiction to imported oil, much of it from countries that are unfriendly, undemocratic, or both, does create security threats. One comes from the periodic spikes in world oil prices that disrupt ou! r economy. The Libyan conflict, which pushed oil prices over $100 a barrel last spring, helping to stall the recovery, is a case in point. A second security threat lies in tendency of oil wealth to find its way to groups that are hostile to the United States and its allies. Backers claim that a pipeline that assures a steady flow of oil from a stable, nearby country would be better than continued reliance on distant, often uncertain sources.

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