Landrieu: Ukraine unrest shows need for Keystone

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee said today that instability in Ukraine makes the case for building the Keystone XL oil pipeline in the United States.
“Progress has been too slow,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. She said the proposed pipeline from Canada to the United States would contribute only marginally to air quality problems.
Landrieu sidestepped a question about President Barack Obama’s hesitance to proceed with the pipeline. “I think he has some serious questions about how much it would contribute to the deteriorating climate situation,” she said.
But Landrieu also argued that the need for energy independence in the United States is greater than ever.
“Americans look at what’s happening in Russia and Ukraine — I think it sends shivers up their spine and it should,” said Landrieu, who accused European countries of being “timid” in confronting President Vladimir Putin over Russia’s aggressive actions in Ukraine, a former Soviet bloc state.