> That's an answer to why Obama is playing this game. Not to why enviros care. If they develop that shit, kiss the climate goodbye.
I think Doug is right. From what I know, there are NIMBY / aquifer concerns in play at some local levels, but the real issue is that releasing the carbon contained in the tar sands basically means game over - unless maybe you're "in on the ground floor" with the Koch Bros' investments in geo-engineering.
What I don't get is, why even make the public rejection right now? Is there really serious pressure around this in the U.S. at the moment? If so, it's not apparent from abroad, although I've been traveling the past couple of weeks so not fully up to date on the news. Did Darryl Hannah get arrested again or something?