A polluted process: Keystone XL, the State Department and conflicts of interest - ▻http://www.foe.org/news/blog/2013-09-a-polluted-process-keystone-xl-the-state-department
Pipeline proponents are hoping to force President Obama’s hand by short-circuiting the State Department’s ongoing review of the pipeline’s environmental impact. So far the White House is standing firm. A spokesman said: “The president has demonstrated his fidelity to the State Department finishing its review, as part of the transparent and rigorous process that will determine whether the pipeline is in the best interests of the United States. That’s how this merit-based determination will be made.”
But just how “transparent and rigorous” and “merit-based” has the review really been? The truth is that from Day 1, the State Department’s review of the pipeline has been polluted by conflicts of interest, insider lobbying and the heavy hand of Big Oil. A new infographic just released by Friends of the Earth and 350.org gives the details: To conduct the crucial evaluation of the pipeline’s environmental impacts, the State Department has repeatedly turned to contractors hand-picked by pipeline builder TransCanada. So it’s no wonder that the Canadian government, TransCanada, Congressional Republicans and the oil industry have all along all lavished praise on the State Department’s reviews of Keystone XL.
