Scientists: Backing Keystone pipeline would ‘undermine’ Obama’s climate legacy

A group of prominent climate scientists say President Obama’s legacy is on the line as he mulls whether to approve the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline.

“We hope, as scientists, that you will demonstrate the seriousness of your climate convictions by refusing to permit Keystone XL; to do otherwise would be to undermine your legacy,” the 18 scientists wrote in a public letter to Obama released Tuesday.

Scientists signing the letter include James Hansen of Columbia University and NASA, Stanford University’s Ken Caldeira, Scripps Institution of Oceanography Emeritus Professor Richard Somerville and Penn State’s Michael Mann.

The full list is available here.

Environmentalists are pressing the White House to scuttle TransCanada Corp.’s proposed pipeline to bring oil from Canadian oil sands projects to Gulf Coast refineries.

They oppose Keystone due to greenhouse gas emissions from oil sands production and use, damage to forests from the massive projects and fears of spills along the route.

Business groups and a number of major unions are pressing the White House to approve Keystone. They call it a way to create jobs and improve energy security by strengthening ties to Canada, which is already the biggest supplier of oil to the U.S.

The letter, organized by the environmental group 350.org, cites recently unveiled federal data showing that 2012 was the hottest year on record in the contiguous U.S.

“You take office for the second time at a critical moment. As you may know, the U.S. has just recorded the hottest year in its history, beating the old mark by a full degree; the same year that saw the deep Midwest drought, and the fury of Hurricane Sandy, also witnessed the rapid and unprecedented melt of the Arctic ice pack,” they write.

The State Department is weighing whether to grant TransCanada a permit for the project, but Obama has indicated that he will ultimately be the decider on Keystone.