Keystone XL Pipeline, Curious Wisconsin: Sheriff Bob, Factory Farms

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• Senate Race In Louisiana Leads Congress To Vote On Keystone XL

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  Update (Friday, 12:45 p.m.): The U.S. House of Representatives has passed U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy’s bill in a 252-161 vote.

  A runoff race for one of Louisiana’s U.S. Senate seats has put bills that would approve the final phase of the Keystone XL Pipeline on a fast track to the U.S. House and Senate floors, and potentially to the desk of President Barack Obama.

  TransCanada Corp. first proposed the Keystone XL Pipeline in 2008 as an expansion of the already-existing Keystone Pipeline. The idea was to increase the company’s capacity to take oil from oil sands in Canada and carry them about 1,700 miles to refineries in the American South. The proposal chugged along quietly until environmentalists realized the pipeline could be a catalyst for future projects, and pressured officials to reject the proposed expansion.

  One part of the Keystone XL Pipeline, a 485-mile leg in the South, is already in operation. The second leg, which would run 1,179 miles between Alberta, Canada and Nebraska, still needs approval.

  As the current lame-duck Congress gets back to work, both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have agreed to vote on two separate proposals that would approve the final section of pipeline: one by U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, and another by her Republican opponent in the state’s ongoing Senate race, Rep. Bill Cassidy. Landrieu and Cassidy are facing each other in a runoff election that will be held on Dec. 6.

  A vote in the House on Cassidy’s bill is expected on Friday, and another is expected in the Senate for Landrieu’s bill early next week. Since the bills are identical, their respective passage of each would mean the legislation would head straight to the president’s desk. If that happens, it would put pressure on Obama, who has delayed action on the pipeline in the past.

  Landrieu is currently fighting for her political life in the runoff election, with Democrats desperate not to lose further representation in the Senate. Said Ben Geman, the National Journal’s environment correspondent, the expected vote on Landrieu’s bill could be part of an effort to help her electoral chances.

  “Democrats are finally letting a Keystone bill come to the floor at the behest of Landrieu because this could be seen as helping her as she heads into this very perilous runoff,” said Geman.

  The move comes as surprise, since the issue became a political football for Democrats. The party has spent years preventing a vote on the bill, which Geman said is because it splits the party into green-minded liberals and a labor union faction. The latter group, he said, largely wants the construction jobs the project would bring.

  It’s expected that Cassidy’s bill will easily pass in the House when it likely goes to a vote on Friday. Whether or not Landrieu’s bill will pass is less clear.

  “The Senate will vote next week and there’s a real question whether a combination of Republicans and pro-Keystone Democrats can get to that magical 60-vote threshold to beat back a filibuster,” Geman said.

  If it can clear the Senate, Geman said the real question then becomes: What does President Obama do?

  Many are sifting through Obama’s previous statements on the proposal. The White House has been somewhat vague on its stance. However, Geman pointed out that earlier this week while speaking with reporters in Burma, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest came very close to waving the veto pen on behalf of his boss when he said that the president had a “dim view” on this kind of bill in the past and that his thinking has not changed.

  “It really puts the White House in a fascinating bind because Obama has been clear about the fact that he just doesn’t see this project as the environmental disaster that the environmentalists claim,” said Geman. “But he has also been clear in saying that he doesn’t think it would be a big economic jolt that its supporters say it would be.”

  The president has been clear that if he were to sign off on the bill, he would have to be convinced that the pipeline project would not lead to a surge in greenhouse gas emissions.

  An environmental analysis conducted by the State Department concluded that the rate of oil extraction would likely remain at the same level regardless of the pipeline’s installation. However, Geman said that the study also left the president and hopeful environmentalists with some wiggle room by concluding the project would come with ill effects as well.

  “There was just enough hedging in the report that it could in theory give the administration cover to reject Keystone. Whether they will is anybody’s guess,” Geman said.

• Action On Keystone XL Pipeline Proposal Could Force Presidential Action

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  With votes scheduled in the House and Senate, a bill that would approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline could soon end up on President Obama’s desk. An energy reporter discusses what’s at stake.

• Curious Wisconsin – Remembering Bob Dawson And The Sheriff Bob Show

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  One of Eau Claire’s most beloved television stars, Bob Dawson, passed away at the age of 90 last month. He was best known as the host of the locally produced children’s show, The Sheriff Bob Show. One of Dawson’s former colleague talks about his life, and the show that brought joy to kids and adults throughout the Chippewa Valley.

• Journalist Investigates The State Of The Meatpacking Industry

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  The U.S. meatpacking industry has been pushed to its breaking point, according to our guest. He’s a journalist who’s written about how this industry has evolved in recent years. He discusses how things have changed and uncovers the true cost of cheap meat.