Obama stuck between promises, labor groups
Thousands rally in Washington D.C. to protest the Keystone XL pipeline, now all eyes turn to the White House.
Just as a new route for the Keystone pipeline comes under review in Nebraska, President Barack Obama promised he would concentrate more on climate change in his second term.
"You can expect that you'll hear more from me," Obama said during a press conference last week.
Michael Whatley at the Consumer Energy Alliance says the issue pits environmentalists versus labor groups, with Obama stuck in the middle.
"The pressures that are going to be brought to bear against the White House will be significant in terms of both the pro and con side," Whatley tells KTRH News. "And hopefully what we're going to see is a thorough, methodical review."
A public hearing on TransCanada's new route is scheduled December 4th.
"With the election freshly behind the president, we are looking to President Obama to fulfill his promise to tackle the climate crisis," says Allison Chin from the Sierra Club.
That sentiment, says Whatley is becoming the biggest hurdle for supporters of the project.
"Environmental activists have been reaching out to a number of different folks and doing what they can to spin up protest of the pipeline all along the route," he says. "Certainly from a public relations standpoint, it's going to be very difficult up and down the line."
