Keith Sketchley writes:
Today the US State Department reported ‘no major environmental objections to the proposed $7 billion Keystone pipeline’. I wonder what Obamas and Kerrys reasons for further delay will be now?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared a major hurdle toward approval Friday, a serious blow to environmentalists’ hopes that President Barack Obama will block the controversial project running more than 1,000 miles from Canada through the heart of the U.S.
The State Department reported no major environmental objections to the proposed $7 billion pipeline, which has become a symbol of the political debate over climate change.
John says:
January 31, 2014 at 10:42 pm
Good, awesome news. It’s long past due this country further develop it’s own energy resources.
Which country are you talking about? I can see this coming from a Canadian.
“I wonder what Obamas and Kerrys reasons for further delay will be now?”
Who needs a reason? He has a pen. He has a phone.
DirkH says:
February 1, 2014 at 5:51 am
” … Creating more public debt than all other presidents combined? …”
—-l
I believe this is one hockey stick deserving of research – it seems there is more blade than stick 🙂
The upper Midwest and plains states are criss crossed with pipelines. Some even come from Canada. The burying beetle apparently manages. The only difference with this pipeline is that it has come up on Obama’s watch, and he has turned it into the poster child of environmental protection and climate change.
“Creating more public debt than all other presidents combined?”
The republicans did that by tanking the economy prior to BO taking over. It the Repubs had been in charge, the USA would have 30% unemployment now. Yes, there is a huge debt, but an extra tax on the wealthy would keep that in check. All this has nothing to do with the need for a stable source of oil for the USA. BO is simply a willing captive of his many billionaire greenie friends.
This is the second Dept. of State study to conclude what anyone who knows about pipelines would conclude: They are not bad for the environment.
The irony of the most anti-energy President getting the benefit of private industry turning America into the largest oil producer is pretty strong. The reality that this President is more anti-science than any other recent President, in his opposition to Keystone, his pushing of failed AGW ideas, and his weakening of NASA is one that will hurt America for many years to come.
Ed_b,
Is this really the forum for you to demonstrate just how ignorant you are about recent history?
Obumer punted past his own final election to placate the Greens. He does it this election, he endangers three Democratic Senatorial seats up for re-election in states that want the KXL.
Plus, he already jeopardized Canada’s trust, and Harper has pledged remaining oil to China, in addition to allowing Chinese firms to buy into the tar sands in a big way. Capacity is being doubled on an existing right of way to Vancouver for Asian export as we speak. State knows this. I predict the greens will lose this unless Obumer loses control of his appointees at EPA and State in furtherance of their own political objectives at the expense of the unpopular lame duck. And green NGO court challenges about insufficient review will have difficult sledding given the re-review plus state level support including in Nebraska. Alleged review deficiencies are no longer colorable.
Steve from Rockwood says: @ur momisugly February 1, 2014 at 5:15 am
Other than Obamacare and the green energy revolution (i.e. subsidizing solar and wind projects) what has this President really done that is memorable?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Torpedoed the US economy.
GRAPH: Payroll Employment by sector Changes from Dec 2007 -Oct 2011
Total Non-Farm Jobs Down by 6.5 Millions, Seasonally Adjusted (BLS)
GRAPH: Unemployment Rate – Oficial (U-3 & U-6) vs ShadowStats real unemployment rose from ~11% to ~24% during the Obummer years.
Explanation for difference: “GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC REPORTS: THINGS YOU’VE
SUSPECTED BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK!”
H/T to “John Williams’ Shadow Government Statistics”
Don’t mention Kerry. This is President Obama’s decision all the way.
Folks, that oil was pledged to China prior to Obama’s election. If you would read the early news stories of the field, being developed by one of the worst polluting companies on earth. America does not need KXL, China needs it. Canada don’t want the mess, so it won’t ship from Canadian ports. So pass it to America. Unfortunatly the fight has been that KXL is “pro” american, because the Koch Bros are american, no, they are Birchers, anti american, They have been buying votes in the name of facism for years now. Fachism is business controlling the life of the as in slaveowners. Remember how slaves were treated, especially in films, those were the good days, owners had to cloth and feed the slaves, now they just starve them,
By the way, check for the political influence, is that politician working for you, or for a bunch of money worshiping Pharisees.
This has always been a clear case of politics trumping economics. The idiotocracy of Environmentalism was born chasing the phantoms of a ” Silent Spring” and web-toed babies. Meanwhile China scoops up the treasures we carelessly toss aside.
To Hunter @6:37am:
Ed may have a point, just probably not the one he was thinking of. The Republicans would never have listened to their conservative wing that would have told them to cut the budget to grow the economy (as was done effectively in the 1920s and late 1940s.) The establishment types in charge would have simply done less of the same ineffective policies the Democrats did. Of course he is wrong about 30% unemployment, it would probably be about the same 7ish percent, but the labor participation rate would be far higher meaning many more people working and higher tax receipts. Of course some people don’t live in reality when it comes to economics, but would rather cling to cherished fantasies.
It is a telling observation that all those people in Washington State who oppose all those deadly coal trains passing through their cities and towns have no issues with all those Boeing airliners made in the Puget Sound region which spew all that deadly CO2 into the atmosphere all over the planet. None of these people is demanding that Boeing be prevented from building jet airliners in Washington State.
pat says: @ur momisugly February 1, 2014 at 5:20 am
the sooner everyone understands CAGW is not a partisan thing, the better we will be able to defeat the scam. i do believe there are more CAGW sceptics than believers who already know this.
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Case in point. The UK is considered to be “Leftists” by many “Conservative” Americans. The UK public is finally waking-up A recent poll found the just one in five people believe climate change is man-made, compared to one in three a year ago. The survey of 1,000 people found people over 65 were more likely to be sceptical. Considering UK pensioners are freezing to death it is not surprising they are the most sceptical.
(Ducks, spins and tries to out run RichardSC and DirkH)
Hmmm … which party was it that was for ‘giving everyone a home loan who wanted one’? Can you say Democratic Party? Put us in the ‘fix’ we are now with toxic mortgages packed-up as valuable ‘securities’ via the Community Reinvestment Act and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac distorting the housing credit system don’t you know …
THE TRUE ORIGINS OF THIS FINANCIAL CRISIS
As opposed to a desperate liberal legend.
Report to Congress on the Root Causes of the Foreclosure Crisis
By the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Thomas Sowell on the root causes of the mortgage lending crisis
.
Oh my God, the level of ignorance in some of the comments made here is blowing my mind. I see most are still falling into this trap of left vs right and shooting out terms like environmentalists, IPCC, EPA etc. How original……..please!- are those your thoughts or the ones the media seeded in your mind. How typical to fall under the spell of this Crown Corporation know as the Democratic United States of America (not the Republic) The typical divide and conquer technique used on the masses since the inner city of London got its hands on you wealth/resources. Wake up! Your amateurs in this game and the only way to win…. is none compliance.
Mike Bromley the Kurd says:
February 1, 2014 at 5:58 am
John says:
January 31, 2014 at 10:42 pm
Good, awesome news. It’s long past due this country further develop it’s own energy resources.
“Which country are you talking about? I can see this coming from a Canadian.”
We only hear about the KXL pipeline but, in 2014, there are over 12,000 miles of oil and gas pipeline projects planned for construction start in the lower 48 states, not including the Keystone XL pipeline. This is a “boom” year for oil and gas pipeline construction in the US which will continue into 2015. KXL would be icing on the cake.
Obama is between a rock and a hard place here. The objections to approving the pipeline are fading away with each report that green lights the project (along with other arguments). Yet, he is beholden to the green movement and lobby who mostly and vehemently oppose the project. The oil is going to go somewhere whether Obama approves the project or not, and Canada is not going to leave it in the ground — it’s too valuable. The oil or its refined byproducts are going to be burned somewhere and the CO2 is going to be released into the atmosphere somewhere — project or no project. This makes the climate change argument here pointless and ridiculous. Furthermore, moving the oil by pipeline is safer and thus more environmentally friendly. If Obama simply would make these arguments, the green movement really wouldn’t have much of a leg to stand on in my opinion.
It serves to prove the logic and common sense have never been two of Obama’s (nor the green movement’s) strong points. It’s long past time for the green movement to stop being heads-up-their-butts daydreamers and start facing the realities of today’s world, but I’m not going to hold my breath waiting to that to happen.
irony…tar sands oil will most likely INCREASE rail shipments soon due to ability to ship the bitumen w/o mixing in as much reducer. CP and CN are very actively working out details as we speak to increase shipments.
so the “dirtiest oil” there is will be increasing rail, rail also increasing due to east/west routings, pipelines do not have the directional flexibility. rail stands to make tons supporting building the pipeline (equipment/etc) and any loss of oil shipments they may see from pipeline offset by change in insurance and licensing/permit fees for the unit train hazmat shipments.
pretty good article in this months Trains Magazine (not available to non subscribers) about this and they have had some good articles before about it too. the warren buffet/bnsf crap is just that…crap.
and most of the pipeline already built and running already.
ecoloons make no sense.
Today the US State Department reported ‘no major environmental objections to the proposed $7 billion Keystone pipeline’.
Facts are pesky things. ;->
pat says: @ur momisugly February 1, 2014 at 5:27 am
…. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/31/tell_us_were_all_doomed_mps_beg_climate_scientists/
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The UK journalists are writing some of the most entertaining articles right now.
Here is another: The weather prophets should be chucked in the deep end – Homeowners lumbered with useless swimming pools know precisely who they should blame
The Keystone pipeline proposed by ‘job creators’ will only create 50 actual jobs according to the State Dept. Not counting spill cleanup, then it come closer to the original job numbers from the Con men trying to sell the deal.
Good read on it.
http://whowhatwhy.com/2013/10/07/new-reasons-to-be-terrified-of-xl-pipeline-obama-is-considering-part-of-1-of-a-2-part-series/
Here is something I posted over at American Elephants while wierdo was snipping me out.
December only created 74,000 new jobs, far below payroll services company ADP estimate of 215,000. Hold on, I study economists, the Bureau of Labor Statistics number may well be revised upward later just as November was, adding an additional 38,000 jobs increasing the total from 203,000 to 241,000 jobs.
The Household Employment Survey unemployment rate showed a decline of three tenths to 6.7%. The rw talking point is that folks are discouraged from looking for work and thus aren’t counted anymore. Another talking point is that if unemployment is stopped they’ll all go out and find jobs. All those discouraged workers are not getting unemployment, or they would be required to look for work as a condition of ui, so… why isn’t the economy booming? Contradictory rw talking points, imagine that.
The Job Participation Rate continues to decline, the right makes much of lately, as if Obama was to blame for it. It declined all through the Bush Admin as the BabyBoomers began to retire. Every adult not in the Military or institutionalized is counted on the Participation Rate. So as long as your 90 year old grandparents stay out of prison they’re counted, no matter if they ever had a job or not.
A large number of family members of all ages have given up looking for work since their unemployment benefits have run out, simply to save their family money. With 5+ workers for every job opening, just giving up a fruitless hunt for work with costs involved may be the best option for the family as a whole.
It’s not to hard to figure out what the problem is, 2013 saw China pass the US as the world’s biggest trader with combined imports and exports of $4t. The entire US GDP is only $16t. Thanks to trickle down economics with no regulation on corporate mergers and disastrous trade policies the fate of the US gets increasingly hopeless. That is the jobs policy of the Conservatives, no jobs, everybody can just stay home. They believe you can just live off your trust fund, right?
http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/BL-REB-2534
Here’s a look at job creation under each president since the Labor Department started keeping payroll records in 1939. The counts are based on total payrolls between the start of the month the president took office (using the final payroll count for the end of the prior December) and his final December in office.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/sep/06/bill-clinton/bill-clinton-says-democratic-presidents-top-republ/
Remember all the cries from the Rightwing business pundits that hyper-inflation is just around the corner, or better yet that it’s already happening. This would mean that the government numbers on inflation are lies, all lies (lies, lies, I tell you). How many years do they think they can keep saying this without anybody catching on? Most people are starting to grasp that it’s nothing but ‘Horse Snip’.
The proof that the ‘untethered’ rw has been using throughout Obama’s two terms has been that steadily increasing gold price ‘proves’ inflation has been happening at a rampant pace. Kept saying this even as gold prices have fallen by a third. (oops) Now they’re proclaiming that ‘real’ gold, that is physical gold that you buy at the jewelry store or pawn hasn’t gone down, and it’s in short supply. Except that ‘real’ gold has gone down, the market is the market.
Oil is supposed to be the other harbinger of hyper-inflation, except oil hasn’t been going up either. Sure Bush taking Saddam’s massive oil production off the market did drive the price of oil from $18 a barrel to $140 a barrel until it collapsed the banking system, but that increase was incorporated into the price of everything like you’d expect, and has stabilized.
What is Hyper-Inflation really? It is the printing of massive amounts of money, and distributing it to people who will spend it to buy goods and services that are in ever shorter supply. This drives up prices in a fantastic way, but only if you keep printing money in ever increasing amounts. That problem we don’t have. There is really downward pressure on wages and that inhibits spending even if the workers have some money. We have far more goods than people can buy, you should expect prices to actually fall some before long. When you start seeing empty shelves at big box stores then you can worry.
Most of the $75b (was 85b) per month in new money that the Federal Reserve (a private bank) is printing is going to people that already spend millions each month to maintain their ‘lifestyle’. Buying a new large Italian yacht or new French helicopter isn’t going to produce any inflation. Most likely the rich just launder their increased cash flow through a Cayman Islands bank that they may even own & that is really held in New York so as to not pay any taxes, but not actually buy anything.
The real goal of the Fed is to convince the super rich that the Fed is printing sufficient money so that it will lead to inflation and cause their wealth decline in real terms. The idea being that the rich will need to actually get out and ‘make’ some money, to engage in some sort of real commerce that will ‘inadvertently’ do us ‘little people’ some good. There have been some signs of this in inventory builds, primarily in the easing of mortgage requirements so that a few more people can buy homes. Thus the taper test.
In short, you can forget about buying a wheelbarrow to carry your loaf of bread money, but being prepared to transport your hoard of canned goods while you still have some money might be prudent. Deflation is still the real fear, this is what has always defined a Depression, and we’re going to have another, no ifs ands about it. Why? Because billionaires flush with cash love a good bout of deflation so as to buy up your assets for 10 cents on the dollar, they still hold sway.
Most of the really vast fortunes that old white wealthy are sitting on today came from their daddies taking advantage of the last massive deflation in 1930. In short, we can take control our future, but only if a significant fraction of people come to understand the things the rich don’t want you to know anything about.
If you like your bridges shut down as political payback (NJ) or neglected until they fall down (MN) then keep voting GOP.
Most of the really vast fortunes that old white wealthy are sitting on today
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ain’t jealousy a bitch…
Ed, apparently this really is the forum for you to show your ignorance.
Like many on the far left, you ignored entirely the linked comments responding to your first absurd comment, where you blame the right for the mortgage collapse. Ed, your not responding to direct and informed counter arguments, and then moving forward to make many more false assertions, moves you rapidly into ignore the troll territory.