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Rejected anti-Keystone XL ad lambasts TransCanada CEO: video

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WRC-TV,a Washington, DC-based NBC affiliate, has rejected an anti-Keystone ad funded by billionaire environmental advocate Tom Steyer.

“After a careful review,” a station spokesman told SFGate, “it was determined that this ad violates our guidelines. We have communicated that to the advertiser.”

Although the ad was likely rejected because of its over-the-top portrayal of TransCanada CEO Russ Girling, NextGen Climate Action executive director Tom Adams claims the network refused the ad because it feared losing $153 million in television ad spending from the fossil fuel industry.

The ad claims that promoters of the Keystone XL pipeline are "lying" about jobs, hiding potential fuel price increases (by up to 40 cents per gallon) and that the pipeline will deliver oil through the U.S. to China. 

The Financial Post condemned the ad as a "low blow" to Canada, saying the anti-Keystone campaign was "in desperate need of adult supervision". It also quoted Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver criticizing the ad for trying to "mislead the public, ridicule and demonize the project and tarnish Canada’s strong environmental record.” 

Meanwhile, the Texas Observer ran an feature story about TransCanada "botching the job" on the Keystone XL pipeline, quoting landowners and a whistleblower (pipeline expert and former TransCanada employee Evan Vokes). Although the Oklahoma-Texas leg of Keystone XL is 90 per cent complete, landowners expressed alarm over dents, anomalies and frequent repairs needed for the pipeline. 


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