[O'brien:] Welcome back, everybody. President Obama is postponing plans for the Keystone Oil Pipeline. He's blaming Republicans, and says Congress gave too short of a deadline for review of the plans. CNN's Christine Romans is showing us what the pipeline is all about now. Hey, Christine. Good morning.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Business Correspondent:] Good morning. Let's talk about what it is. It would be the biggest infrastructure project underway in the United States, some $7 billion worth. This is what it looks like, this drawing of this building this pipeline here. It's actually connecting some existing infrastructure, connecting the oil sand fields of Alberta, Canada, to the refineries on the gulf coast of the U.S. The controversy, Soledad, is really the kind of oil. It's unconventional. It's sticky, heavy-like oil stuff mixed with sand, clay, minerals. It takes more energy to turn it to fuel. And it requires extensive refineries. The part of this giant pipeline everybody is fighting about is this, these two extensions that are 16,061 miles of new pipeline. Environmentalists are worried about the fragile sand hills of Nebraska right here. Then there's this connection. This connection right here that goes down to Houston. Critics say that TransCanada could actually maybe export oil to refining to other countries, like China, Brazil, cut the U.S. out. There's also concern, quite frankly, that this is all just going to lock us into this fossil fuels. It's a deeper commitment to oil sands refining, a difficult job that creates more pollution, other types of oil production. Environmentalist, they worry that that pipe could leak. What do supporters say? It's about jobs. The builder says it would create maybe 20,000 jobs. It would add $20 billion for the U.S. economy over 100 years. It's worth noting, Soledad, the State Department says it would only create 5,000 or 6,000 jobs. Others have said they would be temporary jobs, maybe just a couple of thousand. Plus Canadian oil though, it's a stable trading partner, right? It helps avoid the conflict oil of the Middle East. As our colleagues at "CNN Money" put it, Soledad, this is really a debate about national security, jobs, the economy, the environment, and energy. Oh yes, and presidential politics, too.
[O'brien:] I think politics plays a very big role. We'll get to that in a moment. Christine, Thank you.
[Romans:] Sure.
[O'brien:] Let's get into that debate. Arthur Berman joins us this morning, a geological consultant. He is on one side of the issue. On the opposite side is Jane Kleeb. She's executive director of Bold Nebraska. She fought against the pipeline. Nice to have you both. Thanks for being with us. Mr. Berman, I'm going to start with you. You said this is a perfectly awful decision by the president. Why?
[Arthur Berman, Geological Consultant:] Let's talk about the environmental part of this first. The assumption a lot of people make is that the aquifer, the beds that carry the water, is right at the surface and it's an underground cavern and, if there is a spill it's going to go into the water supply. That's completely wrong. The Ogallala, the high plains aquifer, is a rock. It's not a cavern. It's buried several hundred feet below the surface. The likelihood of any spill getting to it is minimal. And there's been evaluations to that fact.
[Jane Kleeb, Executive Director, Bold Nebraska:] That's actually not true, Mr. Berman.
[O'brien:] The president has said essentially hold on, Ms. Kleeb. Hold on. Hold on. Stop for one second. I want to ask you a question. The president has said he's rejecting the bid but he says let's study it more. What's wrong with the take of let's study it a little bit more, sir? Then we'll get to you Ms. Kleeb.
[Berman:] It's already been studied. The State Department's looked into it. There have been independent analyses. I'm not here to say that having a pipeline doesn't present certain risks of oil spillage. All I'm saying is that the concerns about it getting into the drinking water and the aquifer I think are overblown and based on a fundamental lack of understanding of geology.
[O'brien:] All right. Ms. Kleeb, why don't you hop in and tell me what your concerns are. Are they overblown and based on a fundamental lack of understanding of geology?
[Kleeb:] I don't think Mr. Berman is going to be drinking the water in Nebraska, but I am and my kids are. He's not true that the water is not at the surface. In the sand hills, if you stick a pipe in the ground, water will come out. That's often how they feed cattle up there. So, you know, I don't really appreciate his arrogance, saying that we don't understand what we're talking about in Nebraska. We have a lot of concerns about the water, but we also have concerns about the risks of this pipeline to our energy security. This is an export pipeline. Quite frankly, I don't think us, in middle America, want to be used as a middleman for Canada to make millions of dollars.
[O'brien:] When you look at what the president said, Ms. Kleeb, he didn't say, "This could be an environmental catastrophe. This is why I'm going to not allow it to happen." What he said was, really the deadline, the calendar that means that it sounds like, politically speaking, it's still on the table. Some people said that this is going to happen. We know that the company that wants to put the pipeline, in fact, will go back and re-apply for it. Do you worry about the president's support?
[Kleeb:] No, I don't worry at all. I think the president is committed to American-made energy. This pipeline is not American-made energy. This does nothing to get us off oil and move us to a new energy economy, which is exactly what we need to do. And I can tell you that Nebraskans are not done fighting this pipeline. If TransCanada decides they are going to resubmit for a permit for the pipeline, we will be there fighting every step of the way. This is about protecting our land and our water. And this is about protecting our family's heritage, which is why you saw us on, both the Republican and Democratic side, standing shoulder to shoulder to fight this thing. It's not good for our country. It's not good for our state. It's not good for our family farmers and ranchers.
[O'brien:] Mr. Berman, the oil will eventually go out of Canada. They're going sell it. What's the expectation of what happens with that oil?
[Berman:] The great expectation is that they'll export it to China. People who are worried about the environment, putting this oil on tankers has a much higher probability of spills and other environmental issues. This oil is coming from Canada. I hope that the Canadians make money, as we like to in trade. When they sell, it's also going to go to U.S. refineries where Americans will make money. Some of it'll be exported. Exports are good. We have a bad balance of trade. So I think in the long run, the concern is, it's great to say we're going to get off of an oil economy. The reality is that we're not going to get off of an oil economy any time in the next few decades. We're going to need this oil. At the moment, at the rate that China and India are increasing their oil demand, they're going to use 100 percent of existing net exports over the next 20 years. There simply won't be any left for the rest of the world. So I think there is a security issue here. I'd rather get my oil from a neighbor and a friend in Canada than have to worry about the security of supply from somewhere in the Middle East or elsewhere in the world. Plus, we're giving it to competitors so
[O'brien:] Mr. Berman
[Berman:] So there are some real issues here.
[O'brien:] Mr. Berman, I thank you for your time this morning. He's a geological consultant. And Jane Kleeb, who is the executive director of Bold Nebraska. Nice to have you both. Appreciate your time.
[Kleeb:] Thank you so much.
[O'brien:] Ahead this morning in our next hour, we're watching breaking news out of Iowa, a recant recant recount
[Unidentified Male:] You or Sarah Palin.
[O'brien:] Rick Santorum in the recount thank you my annoying panelists for jumping on my mistake
[Unidentified Male:] No, no.
[Obrien:] Now show Rick Santorum in the lead. We'll talk about what the implications of that could be. Also, we'll talk about the new book. It's called "The Real Romney." Two veteran political reporters who wrote it will tell us who they thing the real Romney is. You're watching STARTING POINT. Short break. We're back in just a moment.