Keystone Less of a Risk Than Pipelines Already in Place, Experts Say

January 21, 2012 at 10:36 am (Canada, Dave Heineman, Energy, Independence, Keystone, Keystone XL Pipeline, Pipeline, President Obama, Thomas J. Donahue, TransCanada, U.S.)

Pipeline to nowhere?

President Obama recently unleashed his first campaign ad for the 2012 election year.  The 30-second spot is described as such:

President Obama has taken steps to make us energy independent and create an economy that’s built to last. He’s been a strong supporter of domestic energy production, has made historic investments in clean energy technology, and has nearly doubled fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks. Because of the progress we’ve made, our dependence on foreign oil is the lowest it’s been in 16 years.

The Washington Post gave the ad a rating of ‘three Pinocchios’ for misleading viewers with a suggestion that Obama was responsible for creating 2.7 million clean-energy jobs, and for cherry-picking certain citations to back up its claims.  The resulting descriptions of the ad included such words as ‘slippery’, ‘slick’, and ‘misleading’.  


The Obama administration in a nutshell.


But the irony that the first ad campaign of the season touts Obama’s strengths in making the United States more energy independent, while he is simultaneously thwarting further energy independence via the Keystone pipeline, can not be overlooked. 


U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue called the decision to deny the Keystone XL pipeline permit ‘dumbfounding’.  He added, “the President’s decision will make us more dependent on oil from foreign nations that don’t share our interests.”


So why would the energy independence-touting President deny construction of a pipeline that has the potential to improve said independence, along with an added bonus of creating a minimum of 20,000 jobs?


Aside from kowtowing to environmental groups, Obama cites “the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment”.


That smokescreen doesn’t hold up either.  A new report from Fox News indicates that the Keystone pipeline would actually pose less of an environmental danger than pipelines currently running in the U.S.

Several energy experts who represent the oil and gas industry say the controversial Keystone XL, a 1,700-mile pipeline that would run from Canada to Texas, poses less of a risk to the environment than the estimated 50,000 miles of crude oil pipelines already crisscrossing the U.S., a network they say is safe and efficient.

The report also cites the new pipeline’s state-of-the-art technology as being improved safety-wise, as well as the alternative to a pipeline – hauling oil by tanker, truck, or train – a far more perilous environmental risk.
Additionally, though environmentalists expressed concerns that the Keystone pipeline would cross the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the world’s largest aquifers extending into eight states and providing drinking water for two million people, the concerns are unfounded.  Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman, a Republican who had voiced concerns over the aquifer, said “an alternative route being worked out with TransCanada will not pose a risk to environmentally sensitive areas.”
Heineman added that he would send a letter to the President saying he approves it, “and if he were decisive, he could turn around and approve it shortly thereafter.”
Problem being, the only decisive move the President has made involves placing politics above jobs, above energy independence, and above the well-being of the American people.






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