On the Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama’s decision boils down to this: Is the $7 billion project in the United States’ national interest? Economic, energy and environmental considerations figure into the answer, but ultimately the president is charged with determining whether Keystone XL will make our country stronger and safer without significantly impacting the environment and the people along its 1,179-mile route.

We say yes – for a number of good reasons.

The pipeline will make the U.S. stronger – economically, by creating jobs and providing broad economic stimulus, and more energy secure by bringing more than 800,000 barrels of oil a day to our Gulf Coast refineries from a friendly, stable source (Canada) as well as the U.S. Bakken region. As for the environment, four separ... more »

Terrific video below from the folks at Oil Sands Fact Check, featuring regular Americans with a message for President Obama: Approve the Keystone XL pipeline now.

Listen to the pleas for approval of the full Keystone XL project – from people who’ve been waiting more than four years for the jobs and economic benefits construction of the pipeline would bring:

“We just want jobs. … A key part of the election was the economy. We need the jobs.”

“Delaying it any further is just harming the United States of America, and it’s harming the workers that are skilled and trained and ready to get to work.”

“Mr. President, I hope you stand behind your word and support labor, and you get behind the pipeline and you give American workers a job.”

“I’d have more money to su... more »

You can’t help but feel empathy for New York state residents, struggling with high unemployment and low economic growth. Ads touting the “new” New York’s open-for-business attitude are airing nationally, trying to encourage new start-ups and to convince enterprises from other states to relocate in the Empire State.

Yet, the potential for dynamic economic growth and robust job creation is right under New Yorkers’ feet. The state’s Southern Tier counties sit atop the natural gas-rich Marcellus Shale – the same play that has fostered boom conditions in much of Pennsylvania.

But New York has had a moratorium on natural gas drilling – hydraulic fracturing – since 2008. The effect is a moratorium on shale energy jobs, shale energy economic growth and shale energy revenue for state and loca... more »

A pair of noteworthy items point to the sustainability of America’s shale natural gas revolution – and also its added benefits.

First, the newest biennial report by the Potential Gas Committee (PGC) says the United States has a total future natural gas supply of 2,688 trillion cubic feet (tcf) as of the end of 2012, a significant increase from its 2010 year-end estimate. Details:

• 2,384 tcf in technically recoverable reserves, including 2,226 tcf from conventional sources, tight sands and carbonates and shales, plus 158 tcf in coalbed reserves. The overall future supply number is the sum of PGC’s technically recoverable figure and the Energy Department’s latest figure for proved reserves (dry gas).
• Compared to the year-end 2010 estimate, assessed resources increased by 28 perce... more »

To hear the other side, you’d think the Keystone XL pipeline project would be nearly 1,200 miles of all pain, no gain for the United States. No rewards? The U.S. State Department has reviewed the Keystone XL four times now and finds rewards aplenty. While Keystone XL opponents don’t like State’s fourth favorable analysis any more than they liked the previous three, they should pay attention nonetheless. Let’s go down the list:

Jobs: Opponents minimize the number and duration of Keystone XL-associated jobs. State says:

“Including direct, indirect, and induced effects, the proposed Project would potentially support approximately 42,100 average annual jobs across the United States over a 1-to 2-year construction period …

Economy: Opponents dismiss the boost the Keystone XL woul... more »