Posted on 11/12/2015 11:23:06 AM PST by thackney
The Keystone XL Pipeline is officially dead. Last week, President Barack Obama rejected the proposed pipeline, wrapping things up after years of staying firmly undecided on the issue.
"The State Department has decided that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interest of the United States," Obama said during a 10-minute press conference. "I agree with that decision."
Of course, environmentalists hailed the decision as a major environmental victory. The Sierra Club thanked Obama "for taking courageous action" in his decision to finally, finally shut down any hope that the pipeline would ever be approved.
But the thing is, even while environmentalists are celebrating this "big win," it has very little to do with anything environmental and whole lot to do with politics.
Ever since it was first proposed, the Keystone XL Pipeline, a project by TransCanada to tote sticky black bitumen from the Canadian tar sands to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast, has been a point of fierce contention. On the one hand, supporters argued that the pipeline would put people back to work, lower gas prices and cut back our dependence on Middle Eastern oil. But opponents of the project argued that the pipeline would be an environmental disaster that would ultimately force people to give up their land for the pipeline and screw up the environment.
The Keystone XL Pipeline is officially dead. Last week, President Barack Obama rejected the proposed pipeline, wrapping things up after years of staying firmly undecided on the issue.
"The State Department has decided that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interest of the United States," Obama said during a 10-minute press conference. "I agree with that decision."
Of course, environmentalists hailed the decision as a major environmental victory. The Sierra Club thanked Obama "for taking courageous action" in his decision to finally, finally shut down any hope that the pipeline would ever be approved.
But the thing is, even while environmentalists are celebrating this "big win," it has very little to do with anything environmental and whole lot to do with politics.
Ever since it was first proposed, the Keystone XL Pipeline, a project by TransCanada to tote sticky black bitumen from the Canadian tar sands to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast, has been a point of fierce contention. On the one hand, supporters argued that the pipeline would put people back to work, lower gas prices and cut back our dependence on Middle Eastern oil. But opponents of the project argued that the pipeline would be an environmental disaster that would ultimately force people to give up their land for the pipeline and screw up the environment.
Still, environmentalists are hailing this decision as the major environmental battle (and victory) of our time. That may well be the case, but at the heart of this, the issue was never really an environmental one. It was a political issue from start to finish and at the end of the day the environmentalists got a win out of it for one simple reason: Politics.
President Trump will have this pipeline finished in 6 months.
Doesn’t stop Oil from moving and doesn’t stop Oil from being used ,Barry’s pee brain doesn’t get it
Got to have President Trump. He will approved almost immediately. Trump and only Trump would just use the pen but the rest of the candidates would stall, stall, and play games for years.
Oh mr. obutthole knows exactly what he is doing.
He’s not stupid. Just evil.
Yes, his skull is full of waste.
What a poorly written article - WHY was it not about the environment, and only about politics?
Writers don’t even write anymore.
I still can’t get over this statement from his announcement:
“if we’re gonna prevent large parts of this Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes, we’re gonna have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground”
That is more absurd by a factor of ten, when compared to Carson’s ideas about grain in the pyramids. Complete and utter nuttiness. He might as well have cited aliens as his reason.
Environmentally, shipping oil by train and truck creates substantial pollution. A pipeline would have stopped virtually all of this. This is a disaster for the environment and a major win for environmentalists. Curious isn’t it?
That oil is going to market regardless, this only changes how it gets there. A pipeline is the safest, most efficient, and creates jobs, so naturally Barry opposes it.
Just another nail in America’s coffin from the Democrats and the Muslim Brotherhood.
It raises the cost of transporting oil. Less profit in the oil sands is less investment in North American oil production.
We won’t use less oil because of it. But more investment will be put in other locations, other countries.
It might take President Cruz 12 months, since he'll be spending the first six months cleaning up the more-stinky messes of the present administration.
Unless, of course, Canadian PM Trudeau decides it doesn't need to be built any more, which would make his own pseudo-environmentalist donors happy. I wonder if Obama waited until the election up north to ensure no Canadian opposition before making his announcement.
I’m going to guess you’ve never been directly involved in building a pipeline.
“Doesn’t stop Oil from moving and doesn’t stop Oil from being used ,Barry’s pee brain doesn’t get it”
Killing Keystone is like a carbon credit. Oil is going to flow regardless, just a question on who profits from it. Turns out, it is Warren Buffet, a key Democrat donor.
The trains carrying the oil, and having occasional environmentally disastrous derailments, are from BNSF Railway, owned by 0’s personal crony capitalist, Warren Buffet.
So, thousands of trains and trucks have less impact on the environment than does a pipe??????????????
Nope
Real estate and tourism NIMBYs don’t want men at work in their locales, and they don’t care about train spills happening in locales away from them.
I believe that there have been two major train wrecks in the Milwaukee area, involving oil tankers, in the past two months
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.