Pipeline rejection must be part of U.S. package in Paris -- Sanders

President Obama should pull the plug on the Keystone XL oil pipeline before global climate talks kick off in Paris later this month, Sen. Bernie Sanders said yesterday. The Vermont independent and 2016 presidential candidate said that by shelving the proposed Alberta-to-Texas conduit, Obama could "send a very strong signal to the entire world that the United States is deadly serious that we are going to combat the international crisis of climate change, that we are going to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel to energy efficiency and sustainable energy." Sanders spoke at the Senate lawn rollout of a bill by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) that would end the sale of new fossil fuel leases on public lands and renewal of all nonproducing leases. The senator, whom polls show running second to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, has been against the project since before it was an environmental litmus test. Clinton came out against it this year after stopping just short of endorsing it as secretary of State. Sanders challenged the front-runner to join him in opposing new leasing on federal lands, too...more