Ha
For the first time in the six-year fight over the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, both houses of Congress will hold a vote on the proposed project, giving each side in a Louisiana Senate election a chance to boost its candidate.
The two lawmakers locked in the runoff contest, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) and Rep. Bill Cassidy (R), seized control of the congressional agenda Wednesday, extracting assurances from House and Senate leaders that votes will be held to bypass President Obama’s authority and authorize construction of the pipeline.
You knew this was coming, didn't you.?
Let's sacrifice the environment for an already lost senate.
Dirty tar sands oil
Pollution from tar sands oil greatly eclipses that of conventional oil. During tar sands oil production alone, levels of carbon dioxide emissions are three to four times higher than those of conventional oil, due to more energy-intensive extraction and refining processes. The Keystone XL pipeline would carry 830,000 barrels of dirty tar sands oil into the United States daily, and result in climate-damaging emissions equal to adding more than 5.6 million new cars to U.S. roads.
Water waste and pollution
During the tar sands oil extraction process, vast amounts of heat, water and chemicals are needed to separate the tarry substance (known as bitumen) from sand, silt, and clay and to flow up the pipeline. The water used in the process comes from rivers and underground aquifers.
We all knew what was coming, any doubt has now been washed away.
The speed of it however reminds me of:
.
It would be funny, but it is just too much of a ridiculous pandering exercise.
Let's win an election by being nearly a Republican [that's a winner fer sure] and if we have to screw the environment in the process; so be it.
5:25 AM PT: From Dana Milbank at the Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
But the exultant Landrieu had put her fellow Democrats in an awkward spot. Approval of the pipeline was likely to happen eventually, but Obama could have extracted significant concessions from the Republicans for it. Now they may be giving away that chit for nothing, to aide a colleague in a race she’s unlikely to win anyway. Even if she does, it’s the difference between a 54-to-46 Republican Senate majority and a 53-to-47 Republican Senate majority.
Wonderful, funny how quickly power was handed over after the election
Raise the white flag of victory!