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Saturday, May 13, 2017

The Reality of Dakota Access Pipeline

It wasn't all that long ago that president Obama stopped the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline after it was more than 90% complete.  It was meant to be Obama's parting gift to the environmental crazies who think that stopping anything that has to do with fossil fuels is a good thing.  As a result of the uncertainty of the regulatory climate and the high cost of moving the oil to market, the production of oil in North Dakota fell.  That did not mean that any less oil was used worldwide or even in the USA.  It just meant that more of the oil used came from OPEC nations like Iran, Venezuela and Libya.  Foreign enemies of the USA got higher prices and more dollars to spend on weapons.  (They certainly weren't spending those petrodollars on the welfare of their people.)  The non-completion of the pipeline also meant that oil produced in North Dakota was shipped by train, a dangerous method compared to extremely safe pipelines.

Then came the administration of President Trump.  The President reverse the construction stop put in place by Obama.  In a very short time, the Dakota Access Pipeline was completed.  Production of oil in North Dakota is now way up from where it was.  There is a massive increase in employment, not just in oil production but also in almost every other field across that state.  That increasing US oil production is making life difficult for some of the terrorist supporting oil states in OPEC.  The USA is importing less oil, which means more dollars stay here in our economy and provide jobs for Americans rather than Iranians.  No more or less oil is being used worldwide, but the benefits are being retained here in the USA rather than shipped abroad.  The safety of shipping oil has also been greatly improved by using the pipeline.

The only people upset by the pipeline are the enviro-crazies and some local Native Americans who think that the pipeline will leak.  The locals have to remember that there are literally tens of thousands of oil pipelines across the USA and fewer than 0.01% leak in any year.  Most of those which do leak have only tiny problems.  Major leaks in oil pipelines are extremely rare.  As for the enviro-crazies, there's nothing we will ever be able to tell them which will make them happy.  They hate fossil fuel.  They drive to rallies in their cars that use gasoline.  They read all about the environmental problems in their homes which are lighted with electricity generated from coal.  They go to conventions and other gatherings in planes that need oil.  Meanwhile, they rail against fossil fuels.  Some day, solar power may make a dent in some of the current places that use fossil fuels.  Wind power will never do so; there just isn't enough wind.  The strange thing is that the enviro-crazies don't seem to be able to focus on actual reality.  They could reduce the use of fossil fuel is they improved the efficiency of heating and cooling systems, reduced other power usage, or took other conservation steps.  Cutting energy production does none of that.  It just rearranges whose energy is being used.

The reality is that the Dakota Access Pipeline has proven already to be a great addition to the American energy landscape. 

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