President Barack Obama isn’t likely to utter a word about the controversial Keystone XL pipeline during his State of the Union address Tuesday night — but that isn’t stopping fans and foes of the project from pressing the issue as the White House puts the final touches on the speech.

Critics of the proposed TransCanada Corp. pipeline are mounting protests on the Capitol grounds and taking their message to the airwaves before the address. Meanwhile, Keystone XL’s supporters are using letters and speeches to press Obama to make a final decision on the pipeline that would ferry Canadian oil (and some domestic supplies) to Cushing, Okla., and on to the Gulf Coast.

Tom Steyer, the billionaire hedge fund investor from California, is paying MSNBC to run a minute-long ad that highlights the Chinese interest in Alberta’s oil sands projects and the potential for crude carried through the pipeline to ultimately be sent overseas. The ad calls Keystone XL a “sucker punch to America’s heartland,” and says “oil lobbyists and politicians” touting benefits from the pipeline “take America for suckers.”

Hours before the speech, opponents of the project plan to parade a giant, 100-yard inflatable pipeline emblazoned with the words “Climate Champion or Pipeline President” around the Capitol building.

Bill McKibben, president of 350.org, one of the groups behind the rally, said the mock pipeline is meant to be “a reminder that there’s one environmental issue that’s brought people into the streets again and again across the country, and that’s the KXL pipeline.” Obama has the power to “stop it once and for all,” McKibben stressed.

In Republicans’ weekly radio address, Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri said Obama can help spur the economy by signing off on the pipeline and supporting “increased domestic energy production.”

“The president’s own State Department acknowledged that the Keystone XL pipeline, as just one example, would create tens of thousands of jobs at no cost to taxpayers” Blunt said.

“This project has been stalled for more than five years,” Blunt added. “It’s time for Pres. Obama to approve truly shovel-ready projects like Keystone to encourage private-sector job creation.”

In a letter to Obama last week, all Republican 45 senators insisted the president should not wait any longer to make a final decision on whether to permit the border-crossing pipeline, which is still under an environmental review at the State Department.

“The State Department has had more than enough time to issue a final [environmental impact statement] and make a decision,” the senators said. “We therefore request that you issue the final EIS and presidential permit approving the pipeline as soon as possible and tell us when we can expect your decision.”

Republican aides on the House Energy and Commerce Committee noted the administration’s stated plans to use the speech to lay out concrete proposals for growing the economy in what the White House has dubbed a “year of action.”

“American workers have been clamoring for this pipeline for years,” the GOP staff said. “It’s time for the president to say ‘yes’ to jobs, put his pen to work and approve Keystone XL.”

There’s been no clear signal when the State Department will issue the final environmental impact statement. Even when the analysis is issued, a decision may still be a long way off. The State Department would then have to decide whether Keystone XL is in the national interest, the public would have a chance to comment on the question and other agencies would get to weigh in.

Secretary of State John Kerry said last week that he hoped the final analysis would be ready soon, but added that the administration won’t be rushed into a decision.

Energy and Environment in Obama’s State of the Union Addresses

offshore oil and gas resources. Right now – right now – American oil production is the highest that it’s been in eight years. That’s right – eight years. Not only that – last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past 16 years.”“But with only 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves, oil isn’t enough. This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy. A strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.”“We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly 100 years. And my administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy. Experts believe this will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. And I’m requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals they use. Because America will develop this resource without putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk.”“The development of natural gas will create jobs and power trucks and factories that are cleaner and cheaper, proving that we don’t have to choose between our environment and our economy. And by the way, it was public research dollars, over the course of 30 years, that helped develop the technologies to extract all this natural gas out of shale rock — reminding us that government support is critical in helping businesses get new energy ideas off the ground.” “Now, what’s true for natural gas is just as true for clean energy. In three years, our partnership with the private sector has already positioned America to be the world’s leading manufacturer of high-tech batteries. Because of federal investments, renewable energy use has nearly doubled, and thousands of Americans have jobs because of it. “”When Bryan Ritterby was laid off from his job making furniture, he said he worried that at 55, no one would give him a second chance. But he found work at Energetx, a wind turbine manufacturer in Michigan. Before the recession, the factory only made luxury yachts. Today, it’s hiring workers like Bryan, who said, “I’m proud to be working in the industry of the future.”“Our experience with shale gas, our experience with natural gas, shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don’t always come right away. Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. I will not walk away from workers like Bryan. (Applause.) I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here. “”We’ve subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough. It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that rarely has been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that never has been more promising. Pass clean energy tax credits. Create these jobs. “”We can also spur energy innovation with new incentives. The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. But there’s no reason why Congress shouldn’t at least set a clean energy standard that creates a market for innovation. So far, you haven’t acted. Well, tonight, I will. I’m directing my administration to allow the development of clean energy on enough public land to power 3 million homes. And I’m proud to announce that the Department of Defense, working with us, the world’s largest consumer of energy, will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history — with the Navy purchasing enough capacity to power a quarter of a million homes a year. “”Of course, the easiest way to save money is to waste less energy. So here’s a proposal: Help manufacturers eliminate energy waste in their factories and give businesses incentives to upgrade their buildings. Their energy bills will be $100 billion lower over the next decade, and America will have less pollution, more manufacturing, more jobs for construction workers who need them. Send me a bill that creates these jobs.”“Building this new energy future should be just one part of a broader agenda to repair America’s infrastructure. So much of America needs to be rebuilt. We’ve got crumbling roads and bridges; a power grid that wastes too much energy; an incomplete high-speed broadband network that prevents a small business owner in rural America from selling her products all over the world. ” ______________________________________________________________________

Energy-related excerpts from 2013 State of the Union address

______________________________________________________________________

Obama used his 2013 address to reemphasize the promise he made on his inauguration day – and foreshadow commitments he would make later during a speech at Georgetown University – to take steps to combat climate change, with or without Congress. Excerpts:”

Today, no area holds more promise than our investments in American energy.” “After years of talking about it, we are finally poised to control our own energy future. We produce more oil at home than we have in 15 years. We have doubled the distance our cars will go on a gallon of gas, and the amount of renewable energy we generate from sources like wind and solar – with tens of thousands of good, American jobs to show for it. We produce more natural gas than ever before – and nearly everyone’s energy bill is lower because of it. And over the last four years, our emissions of the dangerous carbon pollution that threatens our planet have actually fallen.”


“But for the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change. Yes, it’s true that no single event makes a trend. But the fact is, the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last 15. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and floods – all are now more frequent and intense. We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy, and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence. Or we can choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science – and act before it’s too late.” “The good news is, we can make meaningful progress on this issue while driving strong economic growth. I urge this Congress to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman worked on together a few years ago. But if Congress won’t act soon to protect future generations, I will. I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.” “Four years ago, other countries dominated the clean energy market and the jobs that came with it. We’ve begun to change that. Last year, wind energy added nearly half of all new power capacity in America. So let’s generate even more. Solar energy gets cheaper by the year – so let’s drive costs down even further. As long as countries like China keep going all-in on clean energy, so must we.”

“In the meantime, the natural gas boom has led to cleaner power and greater energy independence. That’s why my Administration will keep cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits. But I also want to work with this Congress to encourage the research and technology that helps natural gas burn even cleaner and protects our air and water. ” “Indeed, much of our new-found energy is drawn from lands and waters that we, the public, own together. So tonight, I propose we use some of our oil and gas revenues to fund an Energy Security Trust that will drive new research and technology to shift our cars and trucks off oil for good. If a non-partisan coalition of CEOs and retired generals and admirals can get behind this idea, then so can we. Let’s take their advice and free our families and businesses from the painful spikes in gas prices we’ve put up with for far too long. I’m also issuing a new goal for America: let’s cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next twenty years. The states with the best ideas to create jobs and lower energy bills by constructing more efficient buildings will receive federal support to help make it happen.” “America’s energy sector is just one part of an aging infrastructure badly in need of repair.”
_____________________________________________________________________

* Note

: The 2009 speech was not technically a State of the Union address, though it was delivered to a joint session of Congress at the start of the year and was used to lay out Obama’s policy priorities. Material from publicly available whitehouse.gov transcripts. Compiled by Jennifer Dlouhy.