Posted on 03/14/2012 12:59:48 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A report released on Tuesday by Cornell University’s Global Labor Institute concludes that the economic damage caused by potential spills from the Keystone XL pipeline could far outweigh the benefits of jobs created by the project.
The institute, which advocates the creation of union jobs in renewable energy and analyzes sustainability issues, said that more than a million people work in agricultural or tourism jobs in the six states along Keystone XL’s route and that the economic costs could be considerable if a major spill occurred.
The risks of an economically damaging accident are higher than those for conventional crude, the report said, because pipelines carrying oil sands crude are more prone to spills, an argument long made by opponents of the Keystone XL project.
The report cited a spill from an Enbridge Energy pipeline in July 2010 that dumped about 843,000 gallons of oil sands crude near Marshall, Mich., and has been especially difficult and expensive to clean.
“Given where the pipeline is scheduled to go, it’s not inconceivable that a spill like the Enbridge pipeline spill could occur,” said Sean Sweeney, the institute’s director and a co-author of the study. “And if it contaminated a major waterway in a remote area, it could take a long time to deal with.”
TransCanada, whose application to build Keystone XL was rejected by President Obama in January, dismissed the report and cited an initial review by the State Department that found the pipeline would have little adverse environmental impact if operated properly.
Terry Cunha, a spokesman for TransCanada, said the company stood by its projections that Keystone XL would create thousands of jobs. “Common sense will tell you that you can’t build the largest infrastructure on the books in the U.S. right now without a significant number of people,” he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at green.blogs.nytimes.com ...
Remember in the 1970s when we were told the Trans Alaska Pipeline wold turn the state into an oil soaked moonscape and kill all the caribou? 35 years after the pipeline was built Alaska is still pristine and there are even more caribou.
Another Chicken-Little opinion from a liberal think tank.
The Ministry Of Truth goes by many different names.
Predictible Pinch, carrying his dear leader’s water, attempts a laughably obvious distraction/propaganda article over the Keystone Pipeline disaster inflicted on the country by this anti-American administration. LeniR would be proud.
The only economic damage being done is the result of Obama’s foolish decision.
Marxist trash. From Cornell, no less (a/k/a The City of Evil). I guarantee you not one of them has ever held a remunerative job, much less created one.
>>>about 843,000 gallons of oil sands crude near Marshall, Mich.<<<
Which is about 20,071 barrels.
To put it in perspective, the Alaska pipeline produces about 671,000 barrels per day. That’s down from 2.1 million barrels per day in 1988.
A barrel of oil would fill about four 10-gallon fish tanks, with two gallons left over. I just measured the 10-gallon tank on my desk here to see how big it is, and for good measure added some inches - it’s about 1-by-1-by-2 feet in volume. A barrel would be four of those stacked up.
My back-of-the-napkin estimatation is that the spill in question would cover about four football fields with about five feet of crude, or maybe ten football fields in about 18 inches of crude. It isn’t a hell of a lot, but stating the amount in gallons makes it seem enormous.
Back in the days when I was a journalist, one of my primary jobs was called “perspective.” Now, 843,000 gallons sounds like a lot, but covering ten football fields with about a foot and a half of crude is really the image that people should have trying to get a mental picture of the size of the spill. (I don’t know if my math is correct, either - I do have a job that I’m ignoring right now.)
A long time ago I had to describe a pollutant which was described in several parts per billion. I figured out that meant a few tablespoons of whatever it was in Lake Oswego.
You get a good idea why I was drummed out of that line of work, too. C’est la vie.
And if I don’t drive a car I won’t have a wreck. Or buy gas, insurance, tires (made from oil)etc..
And that is different than the 10s of thousands of miles of existing pipeline in what way?
Think of the jobs that the clean up will create.
What I am woried about is an alien spaceship crashing into the Keystone pipe line and getting covered with oil (oil might be a posion to aliens) If they died we might be involwed in an interplanetry war because a greedy US wanted oil. Better leave the oil in Canada to protect those alien explorers/s
Windmills are the most dangerous thing made by man
I think they tried that in Louisiana a few years ago.
‘potential spills’
The key word is potential. Use can use that stupid argument for not going outside because you could potentially get hit by a car.
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/globallaborinstitute/about/
About the Cornell Global Labor Institute
‘A Sustainable World is Possible’ event on April 18, 2005
The Cornell Global Labor Institute was established in 2005 to work with trade unions in the US and internationally in developing solutions to some of the major social, economic and environmental challenges of our time.
One of the main goals of the Institute is to help union officers, staff and activists gain a deeper understanding of the policies and institutions that shape today’s world, and assist in bringing unionists based in different countries into contact with each other for meaningful discussions on strategy and policy. The Institute also facilitates dialogue between unions and other civil society organizations and movements in order to build and strengthen lasting alliances around shared concerns.
The Institute also seeks to make a contribution to the development of policies and perspectives that can transcend the limitations imposed by national and cultural barriers. It aims to help forge international social solidarity based on workers’ rights, environmental protection, needs-based sustainable development, and the extension of economic democracy and popular participation in shaping communities and societies.
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/globallaborinstitute/sponsors/
Cornell Global Labor Institute
16 East 34th Street, 4th Floor, 212-340-2840
Global Labor Institute Partners
The Cornell Global Labor Institute has partnered with many organizations since its launch in 2005. These include:
Unions
AFL-CIO
Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU)
American Federal State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
Canadian Auto Workers (CAW)
Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP)
Communication Workers of America (CWA)
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)
International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers (IBB)
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)
International Longshoremens Association (ILA)
International Longshore and Warehouse Workers (ILWU)
International Transport Workers Union (ITF)
Laborers International Union of North America
National Domestic Workers Alliance
Seafarers International Union (SIU)
Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU)
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Transport Workers Union (TWU)
United Auto Workers (UAW)
United Farm Workers of America
United Mine Workers of America (UMW)
United Steelworkers (USW)
Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA)
NYC/NYS Locals
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
American Federal State County and Municipal Employees Local 420
Associated Musicians of Greater New York, Local 802
Communication Workers of America Local 1109
Communication Workers of America Local 1180
District Council 37/ AFSCME
Domestic Workers United
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3
Laborers Eastern Region Organizing Fund
New York State United Teachers (NYSUT)
Professional Staff Congress CUNY (PSC CUNY)
Screen Actors Guild (SAG)
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 32BJ
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1199
Sheet Metal Workers International Association (SMWIA) Local 137
Social Service Employees Union (SSEU) Local 371
Transport Workers Union Local 100
United Federation of Teachers (UFT)
United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1500
Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local 1-2
Writers Guild of America East (WGA East)
Organizations collaborating with GLI on Content and Programs
350.org
Blue-Green Alliance
Center for American Progress
Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS)
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
European Trade Union Confederation
Food and Water Watch
Global Coalition for Climate Action (GCCA)
Global Labor Strategies
Institute for Policy Studies
International Transport Workers’ Federation
Jobs with Justice
Labor Network for Sustainability
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Public Services International Research Unit
Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Iniative
Red Vida
Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
Sustainlabour Foundation
Third World Network
Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD
Transportation For America
UC Berkeley Labor Center
Union of Concerned Scientists
University of Oregon Labor Education and Research Center
US Climate Action Network
Via Campesina
Workforce Development Institute
Worldwatch Institute
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/globallaborinstitute/about/
About the Cornell Global Labor Institute
‘A Sustainable World is Possible’ event on April 18, 2005
The Cornell Global Labor Institute was established in 2005 to work with trade unions in the US and internationally in developing solutions to some of the major social, economic and environmental challenges of our time.
One of the main goals of the Institute is to help union officers, staff and activists gain a deeper understanding of the policies and institutions that shape today’s world, and assist in bringing unionists based in different countries into contact with each other for meaningful discussions on strategy and policy. The Institute also facilitates dialogue between unions and other civil society organizations and movements in order to build and strengthen lasting alliances around shared concerns.
The Institute also seeks to make a contribution to the development of policies and perspectives that can transcend the limitations imposed by national and cultural barriers. It aims to help forge international social solidarity based on workers’ rights, environmental protection, needs-based sustainable development, and the extension of economic democracy and popular participation in shaping communities and societies.
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/globallaborinstitute/sponsors/
Cornell Global Labor Institute
16 East 34th Street, 4th Floor, 212-340-2840
Global Labor Institute Partners
The Cornell Global Labor Institute has partnered with many organizations since its launch in 2005. These include:
Unions
AFL-CIO
Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU)
American Federal State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
American Federation of Teachers (AFT)
Canadian Auto Workers (CAW)
Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP)
Communication Workers of America (CWA)
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)
International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers (IBB)
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)
International Longshoremens Association (ILA)
International Longshore and Warehouse Workers (ILWU)
International Transport Workers Union (ITF)
Laborers International Union of North America
National Domestic Workers Alliance
Seafarers International Union (SIU)
Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU)
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Transport Workers Union (TWU)
United Auto Workers (UAW)
United Farm Workers of America
United Mine Workers of America (UMW)
United Steelworkers (USW)
Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA)
NYC/NYS Locals
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
American Federal State County and Municipal Employees Local 420
Associated Musicians of Greater New York, Local 802
Communication Workers of America Local 1109
Communication Workers of America Local 1180
District Council 37/ AFSCME
Domestic Workers United
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3
Laborers Eastern Region Organizing Fund
New York State United Teachers (NYSUT)
Professional Staff Congress CUNY (PSC CUNY)
Screen Actors Guild (SAG)
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 32BJ
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1199
Sheet Metal Workers International Association (SMWIA) Local 137
Social Service Employees Union (SSEU) Local 371
Transport Workers Union Local 100
United Federation of Teachers (UFT)
United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1500
Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local 1-2
Writers Guild of America East (WGA East)
Organizations collaborating with GLI on Content and Programs
350.org
Blue-Green Alliance
Center for American Progress
Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS)
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
European Trade Union Confederation
Food and Water Watch
Global Coalition for Climate Action (GCCA)
Global Labor Strategies
Institute for Policy Studies
International Transport Workers’ Federation
Jobs with Justice
Labor Network for Sustainability
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Public Services International Research Unit
Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Iniative
Red Vida
Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
Sustainlabour Foundation
Third World Network
Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD
Transportation For America
UC Berkeley Labor Center
Union of Concerned Scientists
University of Oregon Labor Education and Research Center
US Climate Action Network
Via Campesina
Workforce Development Institute
Worldwatch Institute
There are tens of thousands of pipelines criss-crossing this country. One more isn’t going to make any difference to the environment at all.
What it will do is offset a certain quantity of oil normally bought from OPEC. And now you know the source of the caterwauling.
First - the author is trying to convey a falsehood; that ANY "spill" will affect the entire one million people in the six states along the pipeline route - which is nonsense. Second - the author says the economic costs "could be considerable"; they could be minimal too. No one has a crystal ball.
an Enbridge Energy pipeline in July 2010 that dumped about 843,000 gallons of oil sands crude near Marshall, Mich., and has been especially difficult and expensive to clean
First - "expensive" by what standard, and does that standard take into account the economic benefits the Enbridge pipeline had already delivered? And second, does "difficult and expensive" automatically mean "impossible"? In other words, when there is an accident are we able to account for it, rectify its damages and recover from it, and if so, do the costs of that recovery exceed the economic benefits derived from the pipeline before and after the recovery? Likely not.
Given where the pipeline is scheduled to go, it’s not inconceivable that a spill like the Enbridge pipeline spill could occur
And it is just as "conceivable" that a catastrohpic spill on the keystone pipeline may never occur!!!!
The NYSlimes never fails to confirm why I quit reading them years ago.
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