There was, understandably, a lot of coverage of the Obama administration’s rejection of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. But very few people seem to have read the full “Report to Congress” filed by the U.S. State Department explaining the decision. But if you get past the first few pages, you find this gem:
Regarding employment, the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline would likely create several thousand temporary jobs associated with construction; however, the project would not have a significant impact on long-term employment in the United States. While some reports have suggested there could be over 100,000 direct and indirect jobs created by the pipeline [the accompanying footnote cited the number 118,000 jobs], this inflated number appears to be a misinterpretation of one of the economic analyses prepared on the pipeline. Based on the amount of money the applicant projects it would spend on labor in building the pipeline, and the number of construction crews likely to be used in constructing the pipeline, the final Environmental Impact Statement estimated there would be approximately 5,000 to 6,000 direct construction jobs in the United States that would last for the two years that it would take to build the pipeline.
This little bit of spin is worth remembering, as we join with others to gear up for the struggle over Enbridge’s pipeline across BC.
And you might want to mention how there are no jobs on a dead planet in your letter to federal Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver...