Stop us if you've heard this one: So it turns out that the State Department's new report on the Keystone XL pipeline -- the one that concluded that the project "is unlikely to have a substantial impact" on the rate of Canada's tar sands development -- was prepared in part by two consulting firms with ties to oil and pipeline companies that could benefit from the proposed project. Considering how many conflicts of interest OnEarth has already reported on regarding the Keystone XL review process (for starters, remember the company hired by Nebraska that had done business with pipeline builder TransCanada) ... well, let's just say we're hardly shocked by the news. InsideClimateNews
Labor shortage: Here's another thing that should surprise no one who has been following the Keystone XL fight: industry estimates of how many jobs the pipeline would create are greatly exaggerated. No, really? How exaggerated? Well, included in the same State Department report referenced above is the prediction that just 42,000 temporary jobs would be created during construction (that’s less than one-third of TransCanada’s promises), and only 35 permanent jobs would remain after construction is complete. Thirty. Five. Huffington Post
Frozen out: Polar bear parts are still fair game for international trade after a big official gathering on endangered species failed to act this week. The U.S. and Russia (and when those two are working together, you know it's serious) couldn’t get the votes they needed to shut down the export of polar bear hides and other cherished parts. Turns out polar bears aren’t quite endangered enough for some people, it seems. Guardian
Albany tries again: The New York State Assembly just voted to impopse a two-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in the state, saying more time is needed to study whether the natural gas drilling technique can be used safely without endangering air, water, and human health. When lawmakers in New York's lower chamber did the same thing in 2010 and 2011, the bill died a slow, quiet death in the state Senate. Third time’s the charm? Gotham Gazette
Hey Beijing, you think your air is bad?: Journalist John Upton would like you to know that, living in New Delhi, his air is way, way more gross than those lucky folks in Beijing, whose poor air quality has been in the news a lot lately. He describes it as “charred asbestos through a dirty bong” gross. And, in fact, the air in Beijing is not even close to as bad as what you'll find yourself breathing in a lot of the world’s filthiest cities. Cough, cough. Slate
The high cost of coal: In related air quality news: coal kills. That’s the take-away message, delivered in no uncertain terms, from a new European study about pollution from coal plants. It reports on both deleterious health impacts and crippling economic ones. After all, someone has to pick up the bill for all those hospital visits and the lost workforce productivity caused by breathing bad air. Huffington Post
Recycling the seas: Could the Great Pacific Garbage Patch be recycled? A Belgian company thinks so. It's trawling the high seas for plastic, hoping to turn it into new bottles for cleaning supplies -- many of which would surely find their way back to the oceans, where they could be recycled again. Not exactly the circle of life... Guardian
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