Keystone pipeline will create just 35 permanent jobs. Don't believe the lies | Congressman Raul M Grijalva

We cannot pollute our way to prosperity. If President Trump doesn't own up to that, he will face a backlash

For those who still insist fossil fuels are the future, the Trump administration represents a new day for some old ideas. In an early sign of things to come, the president showed his faith in big oil when he signed documents Tuesday pressuring federal agencies to support construction of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL oil pipelines. Each of these projects faced enormous protests and was put on hold by the Obama administration because of legitimate environmental and due process concerns.

Congressional Republicans frequently howled at far less heavy-handed exercises of executive power under the previous administration. Today, they applaud Trump's move on the mistaken premise that these pipelines are good investments. Not only will these projects not create long-lasting jobs - as CNBC, not exactly an anti-corporate mouthpiece, has noted: "Pipelines do not require much labor to operate in the long term" - they will further delay the inevitable transition to clean, renewable energy our economy needs and the American people demand.