After waiting 2604 days and 12 hours, a period during which the administration had time to issue more than 2,500 regulations, President Obama has just rejected the Keystone XL pipeline. With this veto the White House is turning down more than a construction project. Keystone XL had the opportunity to bring jobs and revenue through the heartland of America with little disturbance to the environment. Actually, under a report that spanned the tenures of both Secretaries of State Clinton and Kerry, the State Department found that Keystone XL would benefit the environment. Here’s what we are missing:

$175 Billion

Over the course of the 7-year delay, the United States could have taken advantage of $175 billion in private sector income that has gone untapped. The pipeline had the potential to deliver 830,000 barrels of crude oil a day to refineries. Even at this year’s low prices, that would have grossed $42 million a day.

40,000 Jobs

The building of the pipeline could have led to 40,000 well-paying construction jobs worth $2.1 billion in wages. Nothing more needs to be said on this. By rejecting the pipeline, the White House is also rejecting 40,000 jobs.

Stable Sources

Since 2009, the United States has paid more than half a trillion dollars to Russia, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia for oil. The pipeline would have greatly lessened this dependence by giving the U.S. greater access to oil imports from a much more stable source– Canada.

Environmental Benefits

The State Department’s own data shows that not approving Keystone was actually more harmful to the environment. Due to the first five years of the delay, AAF’s research found that 7.4 million tons of CO2 would be released. This is the equivalent of 1.5 more million cars on the road.  How? The oil will be transported through other means such as rail. This means a less direct and efficient route than a pipeline. It will take 415 rail cars (that’s 5 miles long!) driving between Montana and Texas every day to deliver the same amount of oil as the pipeline.