U.S. delays Keystone XL project until after 2012 election

The U.S. State Department announced on Thursday it would postpone any decision on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline until after the 2012 election. The $7 billion pipeline, which would transport oil from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, has been under State Department consideration since 2008, but officials now say they will look at alternate routes in a bid to alleviate the concerns of environmentalists. Critics of the project claim it would threaten sensitive lands in Nebraska and that oil extracted from Alberta’s tar sands would contribute to climate change.

The New York Times