Monday, January 23, 2012

Pipeline Pipe Dreams


President Obama has blocked the construction of Keystone XL, the pipeline that will carry Canadian crude oil to refiners in Texas and Oklahoma.  In doing so he claimed that the pipeline posed environmental risks that needed further review.

This is a lie.

The pipeline has been subjected to endless review and has been approved at every level of government.  The objections to building it are ridiculous and not connected to reality.

Remember when the Alaska pipeline was being planned?  The enviro-nuts claimed it would destroy the wilderness and devastate the caribou.  Well, caribou herds have increased since that time, and there is no apparent damage despite several spills from the pipeline.   The opponents of the pipeline were wrong. 

And not just slightly wrong.  Completely 180 degrees wrong.

The objections to Keystone make even less sense.  This pipeline will be buried underground, and it will be another one among thousands of existing pipelines.


The US is covered in pipelines that pose zero risk.  Keystone is safe and effective and Obama knows it.

Pipelines are much safer than the alternatives.  Trucking and shipping are more expensive and much more prone to spills and accidents.

This pipeline would bring with it thousands of jobs immediately, and millions of barrels of oil in the long term.  It would decrease our dependence on middle eastern oil, and bolster our economy through lower energy costs. 

This is obviously the right thing to do for America.

Naturally, Obama opposes it.

The rejection of the pipe proves that Obama does not value the things most Americans value.  He values the fight against mythical global warming and creating 'green jobs' more than he values reality and real jobs.  It is likely that the Canadians will now build a pipeline to the west coast, where they will place the oil in tankers bound for China through some of the most dangerous waters in the world.

Such a deal.  We get no oil, an increased dependence on the unstable Mideast, and a weakened economy, while the Chinese get cheap oil that will be transported in a riskier manner to be burned in dirtier plants.   Well played, Barack, well played.

This is another reason why Obama is truly the worst President in our history, and likely to be the among the last if things continue at the present rate.







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