State Dept: Keystone XL Rejected Because of PERCEPTION That It Increases Global Warming

President Barack Obama on Friday rejected the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, to nobody’s surprise, finally putting to an end a political farce that has gone on for most of his presidency.

Secretary of State John Kerry concluded the controversial project is not in the country’s national security interest, and Obama announced from the White House that he agreed.

“America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change, and frankly, approving this project would have undercut that leadership,” Obama said.

What America has really become “a global leader in” is making seriously flawed decisions based on imaginary crises that wind up hurting the economy while having no impact whatsoever on the environment.

The Department of State admitted as much in its “Record of Decision and National Interest Determination,” stating that the reason for their rejection of the pipeline had more to do with perception than reality.

#KeystoneXL was rejected not because it ACTUALLY increases global warming but because of PERCEPTION that it does. pic.twitter.com/HsAHt2sgO6

— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) November 6, 2015

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the “annual increase [in carbon emissions] from Keystone would amount to less than three-tenths of one percent of our total annual CO2-e emissions — [or] 0.286546 percent, if you want to get precise.”

“After two thorough environmental analyses, State Department experts determined that the pipeline’s impact probably would be minimal, even on climate change-inducing carbon dioxide emissions.” (The Washington Post, 4/23/14)

“Marcia McNutt, a scientist who headed the U.S. Geological Survey under President Obama until early 2013, announced Thursday that she now supports approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. McNutt is now the top editor at Science magazine. In an editorial published there Thursday, McNutt describes how she has come to back the project that she previously opposed, and does not believe it would worsen greenhouse-gas emissions.” (National Journal, 2/20/14)

A study commissioned by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and conducted by the National Academy of Sciences found that the type of crude oil the Keystone pipeline would carry is no more corrosive than others and would not increase the chance of leaks.

Rejecting Keystone is rejecting science. But don’t tell that to the “reality based community.”