Environment News Service: The new Republican-controlled Senate today voted for the first time to force U.S. approval of the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Proposed by TransCanada, the pipeline would carry diluted bitumen from the Alberta tar sands to TransCanada`s existing pipeline in Nebraska for transfer to refineries on the Gulf Coast.
The Republican-controlled House has already passed a similar bill in this new session of Congress and passed dozens of versions of the measure in the previous session....