Written by Jyrell Wynn, Staff Writer

On November 6, President Barack Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline proposal as environmentalists celebrated this historic event.

Spanning nearly 1,200 miles across six states, the pipeline would carry more than 800,000 barrels of petroleum from Canada to the Gulf coast.

Obama’s decision on the Keystone Pipeline means we can continue our focus on making sure we have a sustainable planet.

“America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change, and frankly, approving this project would have undercut that leadership,” said Obama.

This decision is part of Obama’s agenda on environmental concerns and fighting climate change through attending the United Nations climate meeting in Paris to propose an agreement in which every country reduces carbon dioxide emissions, among other policies, and speaking up about the importance of addressing the issue.

Oil companies and Republicans have been competing against environmentalists and liberal activists in an ongoing seven-year debate with its ultimate conclusion.

During the 2012 presidential campaign, GOP candidate Mitt Romney and other Republican candidates approved of the project.

Paul Ryan didn’t hesitate in criticizing Obama’s decision by calling it “sickening.”

Donald Trump described situation as sad because the pipeline meant “thousands of jobs, good for the environment, no downside!”

Obama believed that claims of creating jobs and environmental threats were exaggerated. Gas prices below $3 and job creation were already being implanted despite pipeline.

“All of this obscured the fact that this pipeline would neither be the silver bullet to the U.S. economy proclaimed by some, or the death knell to climate proclaimed by others,” Obama said.