White House Denies Permit for Tar Sands Pipeline

With all this traveling in the East, I forgot to mention some wonderful news from back home.  For many of you, this is now old stuff.  But last Monday – almost a week ago now – the White House and State Department denied TransCanada’s application to build the massive Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

You know the details, recorded on this website, about the Keystone XL and the Alberta tar sands.  Here are a few links to elements of the story we’ve been following for you:

• Summary of the controversy, inviting you to help us stop the pipeline;
• Photo essay of the tar sands to provide a simple narrative of the issues at stake;
• Our arrest at the White House for our protest activities;
• Images and data recorded by Canadian environmental workers, including graphic video footage;
• Analysis of specious oil-industry claims about pipeline job creation in the U.S., claims that are still being spread by U.S. politicians;
• Our testimony at the U.S. State Department on behalf of evangelical Christian organizations;
• Re-post of the most compelling video footage of the tar sands that we’ve seen;
• Debunking  the oil industry’s claims that the KXL would provide U.S. energy independence;
• U.S. Army General’s gripping testimony against the pipeline, on behalf of American soldiers;
• Photo essay of the November action in which 12,000 protesters surrounded the White House to stop the KXL pipeline; and
• Sounding  the alarm that Congressional oil addicts were angling to kill a highly popular tax plan unless the President approved the KXL pipeline.

Well, that tax deal got done, and as part of the compromise, the President agreed to decide on the KXL permit in 60 days, an impossible deadline.

So last Monday, the Administration denied the permit, citing inability to complete the environmental and economic assessment in the mandated timeframe.  We all were very excited.  We had really done something important to move our country in a direction more consistent with the demands of stewardship for the creation.  It almost seemed like a fairy-tale ending.

But in the real world, happy endings aren’t quite that easy to come by, are they?  In fact, House Speaker Boehner told Fox News the other night that he would consider holding the tax plan hostage to the Keystone pipeline again.  Here’s a look at what he said:

So for the moment, be happy and proud of your accomplishments on behalf of creation care.  But remember, it isn’t over.   We’re still keeping a vigilant eye on the corrupting power of oil money in American politics.  There’s so much at stake for our Father’s world, and for his creatures at risk from our ongoing oil binge.

Thanks for reading, and may God bless you.

 J. Elwood

Follow @John_Elwood