Archive
More Keystone XL
New article on how much the US would NOT benefit from the Keystone XL Pipeline project. Not only would this thing be a big terrorism target, leak oil into a huge water supply for several states but would also lead to higher prices at the pump for those in the Midwest and in Ontario.
Less obvious, however, is the fact that the Keystone XL pipeline is not actually needed to bring all that new Canadian oil to the US – a flow now projected to rise to 1.7 million barrels per day by 2030, according to the same DOE study. Often characterized by proponents as validating the need for the pipeline, that study actually found that Canadian oil import growth will go on at “almost identical” levels through 2030 using existing and new pipeline capacity as well as rail shipments – whether or not Keystone XL is built.
It also seems it isn’t needed at all. I did an informal survey among Canadian friends and found not one was for the project either. The big point for them was that the environmental risk was just too much just so Canada could sell oil to China using southern US ports. They were content to sell that oil to the US using the existing pipeline that also keeps gas prices in Ontario lower than they would be otherwise. Imagine that?
The rest of the article available http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46689167/ns/us_news-christian_science_monitor/
Keystone Pipeline Investigation by the State Department
Today, the day after some 13,000 people surrounded the White House to call on President Obama to apply leadership in denying the Keystone XL pipeline application, Politico broke the news that the State Department’s Inspector General will conduct an investigation into State’s handling of the Keystone XL pipeline application.
Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-9), who has been a real leader on this issue, issued a press releasealong with State’s memo to him. “Given the significant economic, environmental, and public health implications of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, the American people deserve an accurate, unbiased review,” said Congressman Cohen, who was the only member of Congress to attend yesterday’s anti-Keystone rally outside the White House. “The recent allegations of corruption and conflicts of interest are disconcerting, and I appreciate that the Office of Inspector General is investigating the State Department’s review process. As stated in a previous letter to the President, I ask that he withhold any final decision on the pipeline until the investigation is complete.”
Back in August, Congressman Cohen laid out some of his concerns:
“I am disappointed that after numerous Congressional letters and serious concerns from the environmental community the State Department has failed once again to adequately asses the real environmental impact of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline,” said Congressman Cohen. “With 12 spills in less than one year of operation in the original Keystone Pipeline, TransCanada has proven they are incapable of safely operating a tar sands pipeline that protects our environment and economy. Natural resources like the Ogallala Aquifer which Keystone XL would run through are invaluable and we should not put a dangerous, dirty tar sands pipeline through the heart of it.”
We don’t really even need this pipeline it would only be used to bring oil to the refineries in the south where as now it’s piped to refineries in the Midwest instead. I don’t see any real benefits to the Keystone XL Pipeline just a whole bunch of risks and expenses. The company that wishes to build it already has a poor track record…not worth risking the Ogallala Aquifer at all!
More on this Pipeline: https://juliannamichigan.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/baltimore-sun-letter-on-keystone-xl-pipe-line/ & https://juliannamichigan.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/mike-klink-testifies-against-the-keystone-pipeline/
Baltimore Sun Letter on Keystone XL Pipe Line
Some interesting points in this letter published by the Baltimore Sun about the Keystone XL Pipe Line.
Much of the country has probably paid scant attention to the debate over the
1,700-mile pipeline known as Keystone XL, which is proposed to connect Alberta,
Canada, with Texas refineries. But in Washington, State Department review of the $7 billion project
has become a messy affair, and the Obama administration is clearly torn over
whether to support or reject it.On the one side are jobs, potentially thousands of them, tied to the
construction of the pipeline, as well as the prospect of tapping Canada’s tar
sands to help meet America’s energy needs. Relying more on a friendly neighbor
and less on government-controlled oil reserves in the Middle East or elsewhere
would seem to boost U.S. energy security.But Keystone XL would come at a huge cost. The proposed pipeline route would
cross the Sandhills wetlands of Nebraska and put at risk the sprawling Ogallala
Aquifer, the source of drinking water for much of the Midwest. That would make
the pipeline a particularly tempting target for terrorism, as a spill could have
dire consequences for the environment.
Read the rest here http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-keystone-20111017,0,7808091.story
That terrorism angle is new to me and a very valid point.
Mike Klink Testified Against the Keystone Pipeline
I caught this story in a local paper and hunted for an online link to share http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/28/keystone-pipeline-construction-leaks_n_984662.html . I found one at Huffington Post. I’ve personally met Mike Klick more than once and he’s not someone you would peg as an environmentalist or even as a liberal in any way. He is a courageous man to speak out on this Keystone Pipeline and share what he has personally learned. He’s from a conservative area of Indiana and I’m sure he will be getting some grief at home for doing this yet he’s doing what is right and out of concern about his fellow Americans. This was today the headline story of his hometown newspaper “The Star”.
A short taste of the article:
Michael Klink, a 59-year-old civil engineer from Auburn, In., says he reported a litany of problems when he was working as a construction inspector at several pumping stations along the Keystone oil pipeline as it was being built in 2009 — from sloppy concrete jobs and poorly spaced rebar to bad welds and poor pressure testing.
For his diligence, Klink says, he was harassed, berated and ultimately fired. The experience has left him convinced that a controversial proposal to expand the Keystone pipeline matrix, which would ultimately deliver as much as 1.3 million barrels of crude oil a day from an oil patch in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in the Midwest and the Texas Gulf Coast, should never gain federal or public support.
“They didn’t care, and that’s why you’ve seen all these leaks already,” Klink said. “And I worry that it’s only a matter of time before there will be another disaster like the Deepwater Horizon — only this time it won’t be out on the water. It will be right in the middle of the country.
“I’m no treehugger,” Klink added. “I just think things ought to be built right, and I have no faith that these guys can do it.”
The Julianna Michigan Show 