Piped up

The Keystone XL pipeline is starting to seem like a never ending story, and it may not be one with a happy ending. Despite dozens of activist organizations including OccupyKXL and the National Resources Defense Council rallying in opposition, plans to once again move forward with the pipeline—which will transport oil from Alberta, Canada, to the southeastern coast of Texas—were approved with a 237-187 vote in the House of Representatives on Feb. 16. TransCanada, the Canadian company behind the project, announced that the pipeline would be operable by 2015. Business Insider reported that the project is estimated to cost $7 billion.

The bill passed as part of a larger one that lumps together two other issues: earmarks for oil companies to drill in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge and the go-ahead to open up the coasts of Florida for off-shore drilling.

But those who oppose the pipeline aren’t going down without a fight. A judge in Lamar County, Texas, issued a restraining order to prevent construction of the pipe on a farm near Paris. However, the company has previously taken other farmland by eminent domain.

At a climate change summit in Washington on Feb. 17, Canadian environmental minister Peter Kent encouraged support for the pipeline. At the same summit, he also announced a new plan, in partnership with U.S. Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton, to reduce carbon emissions.