The Keystone XL Pipeline

Tim Devaney who writes for the Washington Times in “White House feels pressure on oil pipeline” describes an impasse at the White House on the construction of an oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada to Texas.

The State Department’s support of a controversial oil-pipeline project is putting pressure on the White House to move forward after three years, despite objections from environmentalists.

A series of public hearings concludes Friday on the Keystone XL pipeline, which would run from Canada’s oil sands in Alberta down through America’s midsection to the Texas Gulf Coast.

So far, the State Department has published reports in favor of the project, which is projected to create 20,000 jobs and reduce the nation’s dependence on overseas oil.

Still, it isn’t an easy decision for the Obama administration because it doesn’t want to disappoint its environmental supporters, who are opposed to the project. The president is expected to make a decision by the end of the year.

Students who comment on this article can take the State Department’s or environmentalists’ position.  The production possibilities frontier or supply and demand models could guide critical thinking.