Call to Stop Keystone XL 2

Re: the statement

A perfect answer, since the deadline the Republicans pushed on him had nothing to do with the pipeline at all, but rather was nothing but a political ploy designed to fuck him up at election time.

Has he duped anyone? 

I think it is a success for the people in Nebraska concerned about their aquifer, but I thought Obama's position was pretty clear when he said he was was postponing the decision until after the election.  DId anyone think his decision then would be anything other than approval? 

In reaction to this latest news, almost every headline I have read on this has included a "for now" caveat.

Obama quite clearly said he did not turn this down based on the merits of the project, but because there was not time to do a proper evaluation within the deadline. The White House indicated they would consider a new application.

If someone wants to imagine that he said or intended anything other than that, that would be their problem.

If anyone got duped in this, it is those people who think the Republicans were in any way supporting the pipeline when they backed Obama into a corner. Had they not decided to play political hay that pipeline would still be on the table. We should thank them for killing it.

Again, regardless of what was eventually going to happen with the pipeline, this is all about the election. 

CBC:  TransCanada expects the new application to be fast-tracked because all the enviro and regulatory work has been done except a tiny part of the new route and all the papers are already on file.

As I said quite clearly, M. Spector if anyone was mistaken about Obama, no one fooled them but themselves.

Not that I have any illusions about Obama being a completely progressive administrator, but on this issue he was quite transparent, and did nothing to capitalize on the situation. He said nothing at all against the pipeline. He turned down this application because he was forced to do so by Congress, but said he would welcome a new application.

He blamed the Republicans for initiating the whole thing, and in that I think he is entirely correct. Had they not orchestrated this showdown it would just have been tabled until after the election, and probably passed then.

If there's a covert conspiracy in there it is way over my head.

Democrats in the USA are either a bunch of total nitwits, or they truly believe Obama vetoed XL because he believes it's an environmental catastrophe in the making. Even Hillary Clinton was on CNN saying the same as Obama - the veto had nothing to do with the merits of XL, but rather the tight time frame given by the Republicans  to evaluate it fully. And she said TransCanada can apply again for a new pipeline permit.

CFR: Examining Obama's Pipeline Decision

http://www.cfr.org/united-states/examining-obamas-pipeline-decision/p271...

"...In the near term, there is no pipeline constraint to bring oil from Canada into the United States, but one will be hit in perhaps five years, if the pipeline capacity is not improved. Then there is the issue of where you can get it to in the United States, because right now the way the infrastructure is set up, it doesn't take the oil to where it can be used in refineries as well as it should.

There have been some developments over the last few months, particularly the impending reversal of something called the Seaway Pipeline, which had taken some further pressure off and has made this decision on Keystone less consequential.."

Cloak of Green  - by Elaine Dewar

http://books.google.ca/books?id=ui2OTJqsqI8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=cloa...

'The Links Between Key Environmental Groups, Government and Big Business'

Gateway gate may be closing

quote:

At least three major stumbling blocks surfaced repeatedly in the review’s important first days that are likely to dog the $5.5-billion pipeline, which would carry product from the Alberta oil sands to this community on the northern West Coast, throughout the two-year review process: aboriginal opposition, little community buy-in and lack of trust that it can be built safely.

They are essential building blocks of any major development in Western and Northern Canada, from liquefied natural gas plants coming to this town, to oil sands projects in Alberta, to potash mines in Saskatchewan. Even the much-delayed Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline had them largely nailed down before Imperial Oil Ltd. and its partners moved forward with an application for regulatory approval.

Meanwhile, cross-border environmental groups that were expected to influence the hearings have been a non-issue so far. Demonstrations were discouraged by the Haisla, a peaceful band that hosted the review’s start and put forward the first witnesses.

Like the Haisla, First Nations on the coast and in the B.C. interior will voice concerns that the benefits offered to aboriginal communities do not justify the risks of an oil spill to their food sources.

Those who believe it’s a bargaining position are mistaken, said Ellis Ross, the elected chief of the Haisla....

quote:

The port city of Kitimat, which has received tanker traffic for the past 50 years to serve its industrial operations, used to be a champion of the pipeline. But it has chosen to be an observer of the review process, rather than a participant, as a result of the controversy surrounding it and division within the community. Mayor Johanne Monahan won’t even talk about it. She said council would decide whether to back it or oppose it after the review has been completed....

quote:

Enbridge claims that safety measures have been built into every aspect of the pipeline’s construction and operation, meeting or exceeding all applicable industry standards and government regulations, but its recent oil spill in the Kalamazoo River in Michigan, BP PLC’s spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Exxon Valdez disaster just up the coast, are undermining its message. Trust in its plans is also affected by a history of bad practices in the logging and other local industries that have depleted fish stocks and polluted the channel’s waters....

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/01/12/gateway-gate-may-be-closing...

Texan Lawmakers Angry..

http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2012/02/texan-lawmakers-angry-that-canad...

"...that Canadian oil for the Keystone pipeline might go to 'our worst enemy'..."

Lakota Indians Block Keystone XL Pipeline' Trucks in Six Hour Standoff (and vid)

http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/03/lakota_indians_block_keystone_xl_...

"Five Lakotas on Pine Ridge Indian land in South Dakota were arrested Monday after attempting to block two tarsands pipeline trucks from entering their land. According to the Lakota activists the six hour standoff started when the trucks refused to turn around claiming they had 'corporate rights that supersede any other law.'..

not on Lakota land apparently...

Trains Roll From Canada to Gulf to Fill Void Left by Failed Keystone Pipeline

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/03/20/trains-roll-from-north-to-fil...

"A Canadian railroad carrying millions of barrels of oil to Gulf refineries is hurtling full steam ahead through the Obama administration's block of the Keystone pipeline. The amount of oil Canadian Pacific Railways carries down through the heartland has surged 2,500 percent since 2009, to 8.5 million barrels per year from just 325,000.

The company expects to move 45 million barrels per year within the decade. The Calgary based railroad is one of two that carries oil down from Canada's tar sands, but Canadian Pacific also carries thousands of barrels per day to the Gulf from North Dakota's booming Bakkan Formation oil fields. Experts estimate shipping by rail instead of pipeline adds anywhere from $5 to $10 to the price of a barrel, not to mention the high-capacity 24-7 flow a pipeline affords..."

Obama orders agencies to fast-track Keystone XL’s southern leg

Obama, facing election-year pressure to bolster the U.S. energy industry, said his new plan to fast track the southern leg of Keystone XL was a “common sense” move that would reduce an oil glut that is slowing U.S. refining....

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/03/22/obama-orders-agencies-to-fa...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/05/07/sk-wall-mulcair-1205.html

Brad Wall was on P&P tonight saying Mulcair has it all wrong. He even mentioned that Ontario's McQuinty apologised for using the term 'petro dollar'. Basically Wall is just re-hashing Harper talking points.

Could pipeline money bias Susan Rice?

excerpt:

The fresh scrutiny stems from Rice's 2011 financial disclosure report, which reveals that she owns $300,000 to $600,000 worth of stock in a company called TransCanada. That's significant because TransCanada wants to build a 1,700-mile pipeline — known as Keystone XL — linking Canadian oil sands with oil refineries in Texas, but needs approval from the State Department since it would cross an international border. Rice could thus face a conflict of interest as secretary of State, since she'd likely benefit financially from the effect of Keystone XL on TransCanada's stock price. First reported Wednesday by OnEarth magazine, Rice's TransCanada investment is one of more than 100 assets listed on her disclosure report, which range from Barnes & Noble to Western Union and total somewhere between $23 million and $43 million. But as OnEarth's Scott Dodd points out, the ambassador seems to be especially fond of fossil fuel companies, including many based in her husband's native Canada: 

"[A]bout a third of Rice's personal net worth is tied up in oil producers, pipeline operators, and related energy industries north of the 49th parallel — including companies with poor environmental and safety records on both U.S. and Canadian soil. Rice and her husband own at least $1.25 million worth of stock in four of Canada's eight leading oil producers, as ranked by Forbes magazine. That includes Enbridge, which spilled more than a million gallons of toxic bitumen into Michigan's Kalamazoo River in 2010 — the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history."

New US secretary of state John Kerry is a climate hawk, and opposes Keystone XL. But he's not the President, so it'll be interesting to see how he makes-up with Obama when Obama gives his appoval to the project.

From 2011:  Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), a longtime advocate of green causes, is vowing a careful review of the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline ahead of the Obama administration’s decision on whether to permit the controversial project.

ETA: Recent developments
 

ETA: Holy sh*t!

The Canadian Press reported last week that Kerry had as much as US$750,000 invested in Suncor, a Calgary-based oil company whose CEO has urged the Obama administration to greenlight TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline.

Climate Activists Are Just Getting Warmed Up

While we were in the midst of a sea of 40,000 to 50,000 people at the largest climate rally in US history, I shouted call-and-response chants with two friends from Maryland, one of whom was riding on my shoulders to get a look at the size of the crowd. When my neck hurt too much to continue, I set my friend down. After asking her about how big the march was, she said, "Dude, this is huge! There's no way Obama can ignore this!"

But the funny thing was Obama actually was ignoring us. While a crowd the size of Perth, Scotland, covered six lanes of DC streets for several long blocks on a frigid and windy February day, getting extensive media coverage all over the world, President Obama was playing golf with a Texas businessman who makes his money in the fossil fuel industry. To put that in perspective, the president left town during a historic rally pressuring him to take action to reject a pipeline, in order to play a game based on egregious wasting of natural resources with someone who does business with Anadarko, an oil/gas/pipeline company.

For NR:

Playing Golf as the Planet Burns: Obama Meets With Oil-Man as Protesters Call for Halt to Keystone Pipeline

President Obama spent his Sunday swinging at little balls with Jim Crane, a Texas businessman in deep with Big Oil.

South Leg of Keystone XL from Oklahoma to Texas Hits Halfway Mark

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/763017-south-leg-of-keystone-xl-fr...

"While the debate continues over whether the US will approve a proposed oil conduit from Canada to the Gulf coast, the segment from Cushing, Okla., to the Texas Gulf Coast is heading towards completion and could be transporting oil by the end of the year.."

NYT: When to Say No

excerpt:

The State Department’s latest environmental assessment of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline makes no recommendation about whether President Obama should approve it. Here is ours. He should say no, and for one overriding reason: A president who has repeatedly identified climate change as one of humanity’s most pressing dangers cannot in good conscience approve a project that — even by the State Department’s most cautious calculations — can only add to the problem.

excerpt:

Supporters of the pipeline have argued that this is oil from a friendly country and that Canada will sell it anyway. We hope Mr. Obama will see the flaw in this argument. Saying no to the pipeline will not stop Canada from developing the tar sands, but it will force the construction of new pipelines through Canada itself. And that will require Canadians to play a larger role in deciding whether a massive expansion of tar sands development is prudent. At the very least, saying no to the Keystone XL will slow down plans to triple tar sands production from just under two million barrels a day now to six million barrels a day by 2030.

excerpt:

It is these long-term consequences that Mr. Obama should focus on. Mainstream scientists are virtually unanimous in stating that the one sure way to avert the worst consequences of climate change is to decarbonize the world economy by finding cleaner sources of energy while leaving more fossil fuels in the ground. Given its carbon content, tar sands oil should be among the first fossil fuels we decide to leave alone.

excerpt:

In itself, the Keystone pipeline will not push the world into a climate apocalypse. But it will continue to fuel our appetite for oil and add to the carbon load in the atmosphere. There is no need to accept it.

Premier Redford's comments today about Keystone are laughable, ridiculous, and absurd - she is definitely going to be a one-tern wonder.

And the US Keystone Pipeline Project opponents just got a big boost today from a US billionaire who has decided to oppose the project. Interesting.

Mulcair could score big on this.

A bit dated but still relevant.

What the Keystone Rejection Really Reveals

ENERGY & EQUITY: The ruthless, evolving nature of energy politics.

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2012/01/19/Keystone/?utm_source=daily&utm_medi...

Quote:

The Environmental Protection Agency objected Monday to the State Department’s latest review of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, suggesting that more work must be done before the Obama administration can determine whether to approve the 1,179-mile northern leg of the project.

The EPA recommended that State reassess the amount of greenhouse gas that would be emitted by the development of oil sands in Alberta, Canada, as a result of construction of the pipeline, which eventually could transport as much as 830,000 barrels of diluted bitumen crude to refineries in Texas.

. . . .

The EPA’s objection provides opponents with political ammunition and could force President Obama to weigh in on the permitting decision. Secretary of State John F. Kerry will decide whether the pipeline is in the U.S. national interest unless another federal agency objects. If the EPA continues to challenge State’s analysis, Obama will have to make the call.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/epa-wants-state-de...

InsideClimateNews reports that much of the analysis by the State Department in its Keystone XL Pipeline review relied on material from “Jacobs Consultancy, a group that is owned by a big tar sands developer and that was hired by the Alberta government—which strongly favors the project.” “The Jacobs Consultancy is a subsidiary of Jacobs Engineering, a giant natural resources development company with extensive operations in Alberta’s tar sands fields.” “Jacobs Consultancy has carried out influential studies assessing the oil sands’ carbon footprint—research that has played a role in in the Obama administration’s review of the Keystone XL.” “As a rule, the Jacobs carbon footprint estimates of the tar sands oil that would move through the Keystone XL were considerably lower than alternative estimates produced by the U.S. National Energy Technology Laboratory, or NETL, which is part of the Energy Department and is independent of tar sands commercial interests.”

http://insideclimatenews.org/content/us-keystone-report-relied-heavily-alberta-govt-funded-research