Did Obama Just Block Keystone?

National Review ^ | 3-16-2013 | Stanley Kurtz

[smoothsailing]

March 16, 2013

Did Obama Just Block Keystone?

Stanley Kurtz

Deciding whether to approve the Keystone XL pipeline is surely one of the toughest challenges of Barack Obama’s presidency. He hasn’t made up his mind yet, of course. Or has he?

Bloomberg reports that the Obama administration “is preparing to tell all federal agencies for the first time that they should consider the impact on global warming before approving major projects.” Up to now, under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), federally approved projects had to consider potential impacts like dangerous spills or air pollution, but not global warming. Directing all federal agencies to take climate change into account under NEPA will transform environmental policy in this country, putting a huge new drag on the economy in the process.

But let’s concentrate on Keystone. The Bloomberg report makes it clear that Obama’s order opens the way for further litigation and substantial delays on Keystone, whether the federal government officially blocks construction or not. That’s because NEPA allows citizens and environmental groups to file claims against projects even after they win government approval.

So the Obama administration could green-light the pipeline, file a report that stops short of calling Keystone a major global-warming hazard, and still find the project delayed for years by environmental groups bringing court challenges under the new NEPA guidelines.

In this scenario, headlines loudly proclaiming Obama’s approval of Keystone would shield him from Republican attacks. Simultaneously, the president could mollify the left by claiming credit for guidelines that effectively allowed his allies to stop the pipeline. And that would be right. Obama can publicly “approve” Keystone, while simultaneously handing the left the tool they need to put the project on semi-permanent hold. Environmentalists would take the political heat, while Obama would get off scot-free. Pretty clever.

Now maybe Obama is going to nix the pipeline outright. That’s what Lawrence Solomon predicts. At this pont, however, Obama’s formal public decision may not matter. The Keystone XL pipeline may have already been effectively stopped by Obama’s quiet new directive. The only remaining question would be how much credit or blame Obama wants to openly take for a block that’s already been thrown.

[Orange1998]

Notice Kinder Morgan signs deal with railroad so close to Keystone decision. Starting to make sense.

Kinder Morgan Invests in New Crude by Rail Project at Houston Terminals

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/kinder-morgan-invests-crude-rail-140000349.html

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the ping.

[Marine_Uncle]

Yes. America could have a railroad option. But it is so less efficient then a “modern pipe line”.

[Brad from Tennessee]

Last week the New York Times and the Washington Post ran editorials, within 24 hours of each other, supporting the Keystone project. Both editorials criticized environmentalists for trying to block the pipeline. It appeared like a joint effort, directed from the White House, to clear the way for Obama to announce he has approved the pipeline plan. That gets him off the hook with the vast majority of the public. Now I guess he can wash his hands of the matter while this new directive throws up new obstacles. I think Obama’s real agenda is not conservation but aiding OPEC, Brazil, George Soros, and Warren Buffett’s Burlington Northern railroad.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/environmentalists-are-fighting-the-wrong-battles/2013/03/04/8093045c-8518-11e2-999e-5f8e0410cb9d_print.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/05/opinion/nocera-a-scientists-misguided-crusade.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=1&;

[Vaquero]

I agree with your anti Gorebull warming stance. I have asked you repeatedly I private to PLEASE TAKE ME OFF YOUR PING LIST.

Now I have to do it in public. It is spam to me.

[ronnie raygun]

Their goal is to pull the rug out from under us and serve us up to the global system

[jughandle]

Pathetic when you obsess over political outcome, who to blame, and who looks good or bad, rather than what is good for the country. Selfish little child.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Whoops,...I thought I had.

I apologize.

I had to rebuilt my sys a while back...my error.

[Vaquero]

Ok. Thanks