Keystone XL Rejection Elicits A Flood Of Responses

President Barack Obama announced Friday the rejection of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline project. The request from TransCanada had been in review for seven years, stirring up a political controversy.

Environmentalists applauded Obama’s decision to reject the project, claiming it would have been harmful to the environment. Republicans and those in the oil industry, however, argued the project would have created numerous jobs and largely benefit the U.S. economy.

“This pipeline would neither be a silver bullet for the economy, as was promised by some, nor the express lane to climate disaster proclaimed by others,” Obama said in a press conference Friday. “The pipeline would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to our economy.”

Immediately following the announcement was a flood of responses and reactions from politicians to environmental organizations to workers in the oil industry, among many others.

“We are disappointed with the President’s decision to deny the Keystone XL application. Today, misplaced symbolism was chosen over merit and science – rhetoric won out over reason,” says TransCanada President and CEO Russ Girling. He added that the company is still dedicated to building the pipeline, however, saying the support of those in favor of the pipeline will help them find a different way.

Those in support of the pipeline will likely try to find an alternative, such as challenging Obama’s decision in court or Congress, controlled by Republicans, trying to override the president. Furthermore, the issue could resurface in 2017 if a Republican were to take the White House and invite the discussion with TransCanada once more.

“It’s inexcusable that after seven years of foot dragging President Obama has denied the cross-border permit for the Keystone XL pipeline project,” says Brian P. McGuire, president and CEO of Associated Equipment Distributors. “His own State Department has said the project will support a substantial number of jobs and significant economic activity with minimal environmental impact. Unfortunately, in the denying the permit, the president has made a decision based on political rhetoric rather than concrete evidence.”

In addition to the expressed outrage over the denial which many claim is hurtful to job creation and the American economy, some also pointed out what they believed to be hypocrisy in the decision, alleging that this particular pipeline has been denied while numerous other projects have taken place without controversy.

“To demonstrate the insidiously craven political nature of this White House action, consider that between 2009 and 2013 more than 8,000 miles of oil transmission pipelines have been built across the United States. And by last year, that number increased to 12,000 miles of pipeline being constructed,” says Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trades Unions. “In other words, we have built the equivalent of ten Keystone XL pipelines since 2009 and the White House has not uttered one single world about those projects.”

Secretary of State John Kerry released a statement Friday explaining the pipeline would not have been good for the economy for a number of reasons, stating that the decision can’t be based “solely on the numbers”, such as the number of jobs that would be created or the amount of “dirty fuel” transported to the U.S.

If there’s one point that all sides seem to agree on, it’s that the pipeline discussion has been over-politicized.

“I am also convinced that public arguments for and against the pipeline have, to some extent, been overstated. Our analysis makes it clear that the Keystone XL pipeline would not be the economic driver it is heralded to be,” Kerry wrote in the statement.

Take a look at some of the social media responses immediately following the announcement Friday:

I’m glad to see #KeystoneXL finally off the table–@POTUS & Sec @JohnKerry made the right move

— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) November 6, 2015

Have you signed the Thank You card to @POTUS for rejecting #KeystoneXL yet? https://t.co/lOZvRJ67tf #ActOnClimate pic.twitter.com/ZsVLg41y8I

— Sierra Club (@sierraclub) November 6, 2015

The State Department estimated that during construction the #KeystoneXL project would support 42,100 jobs and $2B in earnings

— Governor Mike Pence (@GovPenceIN) November 6, 2015