According to Wikipedia, “The Keystone Pipeline System is a pipeline system to transport synthetic crude oil and diluted bitumen (‘dilbit’) from the Athabasca Oil Sands in northeastern Alberta, Canada to multiple destinations in the United States, which include refineries in Illinois, Cushing oil distribution hub in Oklahoma, and proposed connections to refineries along the Gulf Coast of Texas. It consists of the operational ‘Keystone Pipeline’ (Phase 1) and ‘Keystone-Cushing Extension’ (Phase 2), and two proposed Keystone XL pipeline expansion segments. After the Keystone XL pipeline segments are completed, American crude oil would enter the XL pipelines at Baker, Montana and Cushing, Oklahoma.
“The Keystone XL has faced lawsuits from oil refineries and criticism from environmentalists and some members of the United States Congress. The U.S. Department of State in 2010 extended the [June] deadline for federal agencies to decide if the pipeline is in the national interest, and in November, 2011, President Obama postponed the decision until 2013. On November 30, Senate Republicans introduced legislation aimed at forcing the Obama administration to approve the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days, unless the president declares the project is not in the national interest.”
In rejecting the Keystone Pipeline System Project, which has been in the national headlines for nearly two years, Obama did nothing unexpected. First, he lied; expected. He made such a big deal about having to rush through the evaluation process, knowing full well that this is the third phase of an ongoing project the plans for which have been available since before June, 2010. How can I say that? The deadline for deciding on approval for this phase of the project has been kicked down the road several times. How could approval even be hoped for unless completed sets of plans existed at that earliest date?
Proponents had long known the influences that environmentalists have had with this president. Obama has shown a predisposition to green energy issues and projects as is evidenced by his loan guarantees for several faltering companies, among which was half-billion dollars for Solyndra, a soon-to-be-bankrupt solar panel manufacturer.
Yet, Obama has used safety and environmental concerns as his excuses for delaying if not completely cancelling the pipeline project. "The rushed and arbitrary deadline insisted on by Congressional Republicans prevented a full assessment of the pipeline’s impact, especially the health and safety of the American people, as well as our environment," President Barack Obama said, adding, that the announcement "is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline."
Arbitrary? Nothing could be farther from the truth. The plans and intentions of the Canadians to build their component of the project have been known to the White House for a very long time. It is only American the bureaucracy that has prevented a timely decision. Numerous pipelines already run through the proposed location of the Keystone line. Environmentalists are acting as though this is the first line to go through virgin territory. But truth does not seem to matter to this president.
TransCanada CEO, Russ Girling said in a statement, “Until this pipeline is constructed, the U.S. will continue to import millions of barrels of conflict oil from the Middle East and Venezuela and other foreign countries who do not share democratic values Canadians and Americans are privileged to have.”
The response from the GOP to this delay has been severe, with possible plans by the House to approve the project in defiance of Obama’s order. Naturally, it would be killed in the Senate by Harry Reid, who has shown absolutely no willingness toward cooperation, and any vote by the House would be largely symbolic. But in an economy where 14 million are unemployed, it is amazing that Obama believes his supporters will tolerate decisions such as this.
Republican Rep. Fred Upton has asked Hillary Clinton, to testify before a House committee on the Keystone rejection.
"By declaring that the Keystone pipeline is not in the ‘national interest,’ the President demonstrates a lack of seriousness about bringing down unemployment, restoring economic growth, and achieving energy independence," said Mitt Romney.
TransCanada conservatively projects that Keystone would create tens of thousands of jobs.
“The job creation, economic and energy security arguments are overwhelmingly in favor of building it. The President, opposing pipeline construction, is not in the best interest of the United States,” said U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar.
Obama countered, saying, that this "does not change my Administration’s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil. Under my Administration, domestic oil and natural gas production is up, while imports of foreign oil are down. In the months ahead, we will continue to look for new ways to partner with the oil and gas industry to increase our energy security."
But the statement is hollow on the face of it with the likelihood that Canadian oil that is not sold to US refineries will almost certainly be tankered to China, refined there, and then sold back to US consumers. It looks even worse following the confirmed developments surrounding the unexpected and suspect $2 billion loan guarantees that were given to Brazil by Obama to promote their own deep water oil drilling industry at a time when US deep water drilling was banned: that oil having now been contracted to China instead of the US. Environmentalists should in actually be up in arms that China, a country with a poor environmental record, is going to be given an even greater responsibility in the processing of the world’s oil and gas supplies. The sincerity of both becomes an issue.
Who can any longer hold back in asking out loud the question, “Whose side is this guy on?”
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