A group of nine Nobel Prize winners called on President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline.

"Remember back two years ago when President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize just a few months after taking office? Most people—Obama included—were like 'maybe he should earn it first.' In his acceptance speech, Obama listed climate change as one of the things he would 'confront,' along with other world leaders. Now a bunch of other Nobel laureates want to make sure Obama follows through on that promise—and they are calling on the president to block the Keystone XL pipeline to demonstrate his seriousness about the issue.

Nine Nobel Peace Prize winners—including Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama—wrote to Obama on Wednesday asking him to reject the pipeline, which has attracted a lot of attention of late. The proposed 1,661-mile pipeline would carry oil from Canada's tar sands to refineries in Texas. The State Department seems likely to approve the pipeline before the end of 2011, though Obama could still intercede and reject the proposal."

Kate Sheppard reports for Mother Jones September 7, 2011. [2]