How Disappointed Will You Be If Obama Okays Keystone?

Pretty darn disappointed, according to a new poll for the Center for Biological Diversity by Public Policy Polling. Among those who voted for President Obama in the last election, 61 percent said they'd feel "disappointed" or "betrayed" if he greenlights the 1,700 mile pipeline from the tar sands pits of Alberta to refineries in Texas. 57 percent said that such a move would break the president's pledge in his State of the Union address to combat climate change. And 69 percent said the president's legacy should be about clean energy rather than expanding the production of fossil fuels.

Things didn't look so good for Keystone among voters in general either. 74 percent said it was not in the United States' "best interest." 76 percent were concerned about its environmental effects. (This number does not include the authors of the State Department's recent draft Environmental Impact Statement, which found the project to be environmentally sound. It was later revealed that the study had been contracted out to firms with direct connections to TransCanada and the oil industry.)

Of course President Obama doesn't have to run for anything again, so he's less constrained by public opinion than he otherwise might be. On the other hand, he does have ambitious goals for his second term and is encouraging his supporters to actively work to advance them. All of which is prelude to pointing out that rather than resigning yourself to feelings of disappointment or betrayal, you can do something about it right now by calling on the president to reject Keystone XL.

Photo by drbimages/iStock 

PAUL RAUBER is a senior editor at Sierra. He is the author, with Carl Pope, of the happily outdated Strategic Ignorance: Why the Bush Administration Is Recklessly Destroying a Century of Environmental Progress. Otherwise he is a cyclist, cook, and father of two. Follow him on Twitter @paulrauber