Once January arrives, there is no doubt that Congress is going to push forward with a bill calling for construction of the Keystone Pipeline. Clearly, this bill will pass the House; the only question is whether or not Democrats will filibuster it in the senate. If the Republicans take seats in both Alaska and Louisiana which have yet to be finally decided but which look pretty certain to go to the GOP, they will need six Democrat votes to get Keystone approved. That does not seem like a very difficult task since Democrats from energy producing states like North Dakota or West Virginia will surely be on board for the pipeline. In addition to these senators, you have all the other Democrats who will be up for re-election in 2016; do they really want to go back to the voters as the senators who killed Keystone and all the jobs it will bring? That leaves only the question as to whether or not president Obama will veto the bill. We will have to wait and see.
But the question then is whether or not it makes sense for the pipeline to be built. Despite the hundred million dollars spent by Tom Steyer for candidates who oppose the pipeline, construction of it will make no difference to the environment. One way or the other, the Canadian tar sands are going to produce their oil. With the pipeline, that oil will be refined at the most modern refineries along the US Gulf coast where there will be the least environmental impact. Without the pipeline, the oil will more likely be refined in China at refineries that operate at a much lower environmental level. With the pipeline, the petroleum will travel thousands of miles in a safe mode with an extremely low chance of spills. Without the pipeline, the oil is more likely to travel by train and then by tanker, so that there will be a much greater chance of spills and the environmental damage they do. With the pipeline, America will have a greater supply of oil which ought to keep gas prices lower for motorists with all sorts of benefits for the economy as a result. Without the pipeline, the opposite is true. With the pipeline, there should be tens of thousands of two or three year construction jobs across the Midwest as the project gets built. Without the pipeline, there will not be any of those jobs.
America has spent the last six years waiting for president Obama to get off his backside and make a decision on the pipeline. He has chosen not to do this for purely political reasons (i.e., to keep the wacko environmentalists happy). America has suffered as a result. Let's hope that come January we get the pipeline started rather than finding out that the effort is just a pipe dream.
But the question then is whether or not it makes sense for the pipeline to be built. Despite the hundred million dollars spent by Tom Steyer for candidates who oppose the pipeline, construction of it will make no difference to the environment. One way or the other, the Canadian tar sands are going to produce their oil. With the pipeline, that oil will be refined at the most modern refineries along the US Gulf coast where there will be the least environmental impact. Without the pipeline, the oil will more likely be refined in China at refineries that operate at a much lower environmental level. With the pipeline, the petroleum will travel thousands of miles in a safe mode with an extremely low chance of spills. Without the pipeline, the oil is more likely to travel by train and then by tanker, so that there will be a much greater chance of spills and the environmental damage they do. With the pipeline, America will have a greater supply of oil which ought to keep gas prices lower for motorists with all sorts of benefits for the economy as a result. Without the pipeline, the opposite is true. With the pipeline, there should be tens of thousands of two or three year construction jobs across the Midwest as the project gets built. Without the pipeline, there will not be any of those jobs.
America has spent the last six years waiting for president Obama to get off his backside and make a decision on the pipeline. He has chosen not to do this for purely political reasons (i.e., to keep the wacko environmentalists happy). America has suffered as a result. Let's hope that come January we get the pipeline started rather than finding out that the effort is just a pipe dream.
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