Ad in NY Times pushes Keystone pipeline

Alberta\'s provincial government took out a half-page ad in The New York Times Sunday, seeking to influence American thinking on the Keystone XL pipeline. Environmental activists have been trying to pressure the U.S. government to deny permits for the pipeline, which would carry Western Canadian oil sands crude to Texas. Alberta, where the crude is produced, spent $30,000 for the newspaper ad, titled \"Keystone XL: The Choice of Reason,\" MINING.com, a Web-based mining publication, reported. The ad in the Times calls the Keystone XL pipeline \"The Choice of Reason,\" and tells readers Alberta shares Americans\' desire to balance strong environmental policy and clean technology with oil production that helps provide energy security and jobs. The ad points out the pipeline would mean more energy from an ally with a strong environmental track record and less stable countries. It promises 42,100 direct and spinoff jobs for Americans during construction, and an average of 138,000 American spinoff jobs per year for the next 25 years. Opponents have ramped up the pressure, with a Washington rally drawing tens of thousands of people, MINING.com said. With a final decision on the pipeline still hanging, President Obama said last week its economic benefits cited by Republicans were \"probably exaggerated.\"