Keystone XL letter from EPA says oilsands development will lead to 'significant' emissions hike

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said developing Canadian oilsands would significantly increase greenhouse gases, a conclusion environmental groups said gives President Barack Obama reason to reject the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. “Until ongoing efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of oilsands are more successful and widespread,” developing the crude “represents a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions,” the EPA said Tuesday in a letter to the State Department, which is reviewing the project. The proposed pipeline has pitted Obama’s allies in the environmental movement against the U.S. energy industry. Obama has said he’ll reject TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone if it would lead to a significant increase in carbon pollution...more