Keystone XL pipeline vote was way too close

Sierra Club Michael Brune's message about the Keystone XL pipeline vote that came within one vote of passage in the Senate on Tuesday (it had already passed the House):

The U.S. Senate came closer than ever to approving the Keystone XL pipeline today. Just 1 vote stood between us and losing one of the most important battles yet on climate change.

Simply put, the vote came Way. Too. Close. And with the new Senate being sworn in in January, you can bet this fight is about to get even harder.

I do have a small -- no, enormous -- piece of good news. The White House has indicated that it will veto any attempt by Congress to force approval of Keystone XL. So far, President Obama's held the line. Will he continue to do so? That's the big question that our actions today will answer. In fact, we're holding an emergency staff meeting at Sierra Club today to fire up our aggressive campaign to make sure he does just that.

We have no choice but to defeat Keystone XL for good. I believe we can do it, and protect the wildlife and environment we hold so dear, but only with your help.

All signs point to Keystone's eventual defeat. Last Friday, Obama said his position on the Keystone XL pipeline had not changed. And earlier in the week, he entered into a historic agreement with China to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But -- every day brings new challenges and one thing is clear: Big Oil wants Keystone SO BADLY, it's willing to spend anything and do anything to get its way -- even force these votes in Congress to get around the president. The opposition wants to force this pipeline on the American people. And that means the American people -- you, me, and everyone we know -- can't let them.

We've worked so hard to stop the pipeline for a long time now. But we have to keep fighting. Our strong opposition matters more than ever. We're going to need the action and financial support from people like you in order to cut through the noise.

Keystone XL means wolves dying at gunpoint for oil, clean water poisoned with cancer-causing chemicals, clean air choked off with even more carbon. But it's more than this. Keystone XL is our line in the sand. The place where we planted our foot firmly down and said NO MORE.

The good news is, we've managed to stop the development of Keystone yet again. Just a few years ago, Keystone was "inevitable." We were told there was no stopping it. But people like you stood up and said NO MORE OIL. Countless times you rallied, you wrote, you donated.

So far at least. Now we just need to win this thing for good.

We won't stop until green-lighting Keystone is out of the question.