Pittsburgh Post Gazette: President Barack Obama is getting flak on the left and right for his

Pittsburgh Post Gazette: President Barack Obama is getting flak on the left and right for his failure to take decisive action on the Keystone XL pipeline, which would cut across the United States to transport Canadian oil to the Gulf Coast.

But for all the controversy the proposal has created, it doesn’t offer much in the way of economic benefits, as its advocates claim. Nor would it spell climate disaster, as environmental activists assert.

Keystone XL has come to represent much more than the effects of the pipeline alone. Climate activists call it a test of Obama’s resolve about limiting human-made climate change. Supporters of Keystone say a veto of the project would prove the president doesn’t care about jobs.

With legislations passed by the House and Senate, Obama has vowed to veto the bill that would approve the pipeline’s construction.

Whatever the outcome, the controversy has forced a debate in Congress about energy. Even after Keystone, the urgent work of crafting the right policies and cutting emissions lies ahead.