![cp-keystone-pipeline[1]](https://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/cp-keystone-pipeline1.jpg?quality=83)
Craig Rucker of CFACT writes:
After years of deliberate delays President Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline today. This is a victory for radical environmentalists and those who wish America ill.
It is a punch in the face to everyone else. Keystone XL is a clean, safe way to transport Canadian oil to American refineries and markets.
It would bring jobs along with abundant, affordable energy. Stopping the pipeline has no meaningful benefits for the environment and will create no meaningful change to global temperature. House Speaker Paul Ryan had this to say:
“This decision isn’t surprising, but it is sickening,” the Wisconsin Republican said. “By rejecting this pipeline, the president is rejecting tens of thousands of good-paying jobs.”
“He is rejecting our largest trading partner and energy supplier. He is rejecting the will of the American people and a bipartisan majority of the Congress,” he added. “If the president wants to spend the rest of his time in office catering to special interests, that’s his choice to make. But it’s just wrong. In the House, we are going to pursue a bold agenda of growth and opportunity for all.”
President Obama’s bad decision indicates that his White House is truly captive to the radical eco-left.
If the President is this bad on energy policy it indicates that there may be no limits to how bad a climate agreement he may sign in Paris.
At the White House sound understanding of science, energy and the environment have left the building.
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Obama’s decision is not surprising. He has been talking about his decision for a long time.
As far as the term “energy policy” goes, anytime you have a socialist policy, you are talking about regulation. As such, we need no energy policy except to leave the energy markets alone. The only energy related policy involved should be coincident with national security, i.e., strategic oil reserves. The markets can pretty much handle everything else, and Obama’s interference with the market will have consequences, but we don’t know those consequences will be. We all know they will most likely be negative.
The market forces are like gravity. They are always there, and they always win. You cannot change human nature, and you cannot replace the market.
The Canadians can let the Chinese pay to build it to Vancouver.
They will be happy to buy that oil and put the screws to Bayrack.
With any luck, it’s just a delay until after the election.
Are you ready for President Hillary Clinton? Even though 60% of the electorate think she’s a liar, I’m giving her even odds of winning the presidency.
Go figure!
@ur momisugly RockyRoad
Like many, many females in a divorce action.
They want to “destroy” their husband …. even if it costs them every last penny they could hope to gain from the “settlement”.
http://news.sky.com/story/1580781/pipeline-company-asks-for-project-to-be-delayed
So, the president and his administration didn’t have the nerve to outright cancel the pipeline until Keystone XL decided to put the project on hold. Instead of calling a play, he let the clock run out. Bold. Leadership at its finest.
rovingbroker: I loved the news video from the back right of Obama showing the teleprompter rolling ….
And he spits in the face of another ally.
…And relies on that alliance and AGW to “make it okay”.
Obama spits in the face of America, again.
I assume the timing meant his Canadian counterpart is in total agreement with the destruction of Canadian exports, loss of jobs in building KXL, and the risk of transportin their oil by rail car with the inevitable periodic mass fatalities?
Now Tom Steyer can start writing that $1 billion check he promised to the democrats.
Obama’s rejection of Keystone Pipeline is expansion upon his use of Global Warming Scam to harm America.
The major oil companies affected by this latest slap in the face to their continued development of a North American resource will now access their options. Competition for the big ore hauling dump trucks was restricted to three major players. One of the most purchased was the Caterpillar 797 but if Obama doesn’t think the USA benefits from oil sands production then watch for layoffs at the Caterpillar plants that manufacture these machines. Almost every oil sands plant used equipment manufactured in the USA. Well as a former executive of an oil company I can tell you that there are other players out there and the USA is not the only source when it comes to equipment of this type. We have long memories when it comes to who our friends are and under Obama the USA is not what I would call friendly to there northern neighbor..Have a good day.
There are non-American alternatives to Cat. In particular, Euclid is made in Canada.
Canada’s problem is that the US is ten times as big and powerful. Canada’s bargaining position is often quite weak.
1. He gets to hurt U S All with this slow down in oil to be refined in the U S via this pipe line.
2. He gets to hurt any possible sale of oil out side the U S later to help in our balance of trade.
Any time he can hurt U S All it is done, it helps his hate feel better.
This was inevitable ‘Paris leadership’. There is already a parallel pipeline on existing right of way doubling Alberta capacity to Vancouver for export to Asia. China already bought major bitumen sands interests in Alberta. There is a second new west coast pipeline, the Northern Route, that has preliminary route approval except from native american tribes (that is a grease the palms issue, not a major hangup). Essay How NOT to stop KXL. The only remaining question is whether Canada will build an eastern pipeline to the Altantic. If they do, they can stop importing middle east crude to that region and start exporting to Europe.
Meanwhile, does nothing for CO2 emissions while damaging the US/Canada relationship. No wonder ‘bubble boy’ Obummer thinks climate rather than ISIS, Russia, or North Korea is our biggest foreign policy problem. Swiftboat Kerry of course agrees.
ristvan
“does nothing for CO2 emissions”
Exactly. Total hydrocarbons consumed will be determined by demand in the global economy and will have only an infinitesimal variation in response to building/not building the pipeline. The pipeline would have entailed a small savings in fuel as compared with rail transport, and of course rail transport is also associated with a higher rate of accidents, which require the use of hydrocarbons in cleanups. So the effect of this decision will be to increase slightly the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere, a paradoxical achievement for an environmentalist president..
By the way, the State Department’s study of the matter reached similar conclusions.
… except from native american tribes (that is a grease the palms issue, not a major hangup).
The native palms have been greased by US environmental activist organizations. It is a deliberate policy of these colonialists to go after the natives.
The greatest obstacle to energy infrastructure projects isn’t technical expertise or financial capital; it’s gridlock due to opposition from strong alliances between environmental organizations and First Nations and their ability to attract media attention and stop or stall development. This gridlock has been fomented by the Tar Sands Campaign, a heavily-funded international initiative launched by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Tides Foundation in 2008.
http://business.financialpost.com/fp-comment/vivian-krause-new-u-s-funding-for-the-war-on-canadian-oil
http://www.albertaoilmagazine.com/2014/07/vivian-krause-great-green-trade-barrier/
The oil sands smear campaign was funded by U.S. interests but not many people in either country know this.
Then there are those in Canada who took the money and people need to know who they are as well.
POTUS views Trudeau as weak compared to Harper and then Trudeau’s appointments backed this up. Sure this was done for the Paris COP21 show.
Pelosi had a meeting in Ottawa with Rick Smith, Environmental Defence Canada, and Marlo Raynolds of Pembina back in September 2010 at the U.S. Embassy when she was U.S. House Speaker.
Rep.Ed Markey, now Sen.Ed Markey, was also at that September 2010 Ottawa meeting.
Rmember Waxman-Markey, Cap-and-Trade back in c.2009?
TSS/Tar Sands Solutions Network, Sept.10, 2010
‘Our pitch to Pelosi’
Article mentions the Keystone XL pipeline.
http://www.tarsandssolutions.org/in-the-media/our-pitch-to-pelosi
INET/International Institute for Economic Thinking, New York
Drummond Pike
Founded Tides in 1976 and stepped down as CEO of Tides Network in October 2011
Pike served on the Board of Tides Canada.
http://ineteconomics.org/community/experts/dpike
Marlo Raynolds joined BluEarth Renewables, Calgary, Sept.3.,2012
This is a renewable energy company engaged in wind energy projects.
Google for more information if anyone is interested
Tides Foundation Board includes:
Joanie Bronfman, Chair. and also served on Tides Canada Board.
http://www.tides.org/about/board
Joanie Bronfman is a Segram’s heiress
TSS/Tar Sands Solutions Network
Steering Committee includes:
Katie Colorulli, Sierra Club, USA
Bill McKibben, 350.org
http://www.tarsandssolutions.org/about/steering-committee
TSSN Member Groups include:
350.org
Greenpeace Canada
NRDC
Rockefeller Brothers’ Fund
Sierra Club U.S.
http://www.tarsandssolutions.org/about/network-members
Ironic that the Rockefeller Brothers Fund is based on oil profits!!!
TSS/Tar Sands Solutions Network Steering Committee includes:
David Turnbull: http://www.tarsandssolutions.org
Google: “Camps and Schools 5/14/03” and scroll down to page bottom.
David Turnbull, junior at Dartmouth, s/o Bruce H. and Susan W. Turnbull, Bethesda
OMICS International
Susan W. Turnbull, member of Democratic National Committee 1992-2011 and Vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee 2005-2009. Sons Joshua and David Turnbull.
http://www.research.omicsgroup.org/index.php/Susan_Turnbull
Relationship?
So what else is new? How many times has he rejected the Keystone Pipeline? Hopefully the new GOP president will approve it, if the Canadians can wait that long.
Bill Mckibben was on NPR saying that this year is the hottest year the planet has ever seen.
http://www.npr.org/2015/11/06/455049068/environmentalists-cheer-keystone-xl-pipeline-decision-as-decisive-moment
at 3:20
Bill Mckibben is a liar
Bill McKibben’s a perfect fit for NPR- aka government radio.
BTW, McKibben also said that the Antarctic is melting quickly, despite NASA’s recent announcement that Antarctica is gaining ice mass. I’m not taking time to count all of his factual “errors”, but there were many.
None of his statements were challenged.
I guess he wasn’t living in the 1930’s…
the hottest year the planet has ever seen.
================
ever? how about millions of years ago, before there was ice at the north and south poles?
If it was, it was by 0.04C + or – 0.1 of error. But of course they really like saying 2.89C above the 1990 average. 2.89C is all scary while 0.04C is not…
The hottest year the planet has every had? I think you jest, sir.
Maybe the hottest year based on adjusted data (always upward) from improperly situated land based thermometers.
And even then, so what? Are you a climate denier? Climate changes. We are living in an ice age, defined as permanent ice caps on both poles. As you don’t know, we are living in one of the most demonstrably unstable epochs of climate known. The ice age, in which we live, is unprecedented. Think on that. During the last 400 million years, there has been nothing like our ice age, as far as climate scientists know. There was a “snowball” earth maybe, but that was an entirely different affair.
Of course the timeing was intentional. Right before Paris.
This decision won’t benefit the environment. It certainly won’t benefit the economy.
It’s all about ideology and paying off friends.
Just like every other decision made by the idiot currently residing at the WH.
Russia will be pleased.
Russia Today gave non-stop coverage to all the protests and “concerns”, throughout the years of delay.
Including repeated airing of this very “emotive” documentary film. “Above All Else”.
I noticed, that I never hear about pipeline projects in Russia which have been curtailed or abandoned due to so-called “grassroots” protests.
Unfortunately “grassroots” protests are really anything but. Somebody must first sow the seeds.
People now willingly protest for state control of the things that they willingly use and need.
Never understanding who is pulling the strings.
Here’s a trailer for the documentary that was aired repeatedly on Russia Today. The world will never run out of useful idiots:
For useful reference – we are all aware of the existence of NIMBY’s = Not In My Back Yard.
Whereas we are now living in the age of the BANANA’s = Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone!!
Unless its a wind farm or solar
Yeah, people seem to like the idea of erecting lots of industrial scale wind turbines very near to OTHER PEOPLE!!
As long as it’s not somewhere where they like to spend any time. 🙂
This was a no-brainer for Obama politically.
12 months until the election. He will be able to tout this to get the green vote for the dems. Most of that oil would be tar sand derived oil, which isn’t economic in this price environment so even if it would have been approved, the oil wouldn’t be coming here any time soon. Once prices improve (post-Obama) & we need the oil here, there is nothing to stop it being reconsidered at this point.
Bottom line – Obama had nothing to gain politically by approving it & nothing to loose by nixing it (for now).
This should come as no surprise to anyone & should be viewed as a purely political move. It also should be recognized there is nothing to stop this being re-considered in the future – even if the Canadians in the mean time build pipe to the west coast & ship oil to China – there is still plenty of oil from the tar sands that could be brought to market to the US if Keystone gets future approval.
This will be marked by historians as the high-water mark of the extreme leftist period movement in America…
Other than securing huge campaign donation for DEMs from mega-rich enviro-wacko activists (i.e. Tom Steyer), this stupid announcement accomplishes nothing.
Only around 25% of Americans were opposed to Keystone, which is political suicide as Obama just ticked off the other 75% of American voters in a big way…
The timing of this 7-yr Keystone “decision” being just a few weeks before the Paris Left-Fest is very sad. Obama would sacrifice 10’s of THOUSANDS of good-paying jobs so he’ll have a talking point when reading grandiose speeches off his teleprompter in Paris…
I can’t wait…
All Obama has done is: squander 10,000 high-paying jobs, make the US less energy secure, increase US energy prices, and give China a big windfall, who will gladly purchase Canada’s oil….
I want to puke.
“The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”
Mark Twain
People do not realize that Marxists have taken over the Democratic Party in the last 15 years and that their party is now essentially a Marxist/Communist party. There is no appreciable difference between the Communist Party platform now or the Democratic Socialists of America and the Democratic Party.
The Democrat Party has been sold out to unions, and the unions have been sold out… Twenty five years ago it was the unions who were militantly opposed to illegal immigration. They hated them. It cost them jobs, lowered wages and working conditions… and because in those days the unions were controlled by people who actually cared about their membership. Now they’re controlled by Marxists. You hear about revolution and a one party state. They’re unions selling their own members down the river…
America is making its last stand now. If we don’t win in 2016, that’s really over for the American dream, the American economy and everything else. If America goes down, who will defend freedom from that point?”
“There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter; from the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence…” ~Daniel Webster
who give granted money to Karl Marx ?
SORRY : who granted money to Karl Marx
The best way to reduce ghg is nuclear power. The biggest anti-nukes in office in DC are the Clintons, Harry Reid, Obama, and Bernie Sanders. Yet they claim to be leaders in the fight to reduce ghg. One of the reason I am not concerned about climate change is the rejection rate of good solutions. Shipping jobs from the US will only reduce our emission while polluting countries with lack regulations.
There is a reason I am now enjoying retirement. My last 6 years in nuclear power was designing new reactors while the first part of my career was starting up new reactors. What a hoot. The best president for energy and the environment was Bush. Effective policies last. The US is building four new nukes. Jimmy Carter who?
…and I used to operate them and analyze events. The subsidizing of favored ways to generate electricity is forcing reactors to be retired before their useful lives are up – a loss of real wealth and productivity. In the meantime, China is building wall-to-wall nuclear power plants: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2015/10/22/china-shows-how-to-build-nuclear-reactors-fast-and-cheap/
(their plan appears to mesh well with the predicted eventual peaking and reduction of coal mining in China)
This makes Obama responsible for the next death and destruction that may occur when a train carrying oil derails and crashes. Such derailing have already happened in the past and will surely reoccur.
Jaroslaw Sobieski, Hampton
The next train/oil disaster will play out just like previous ones. In other words, there will be so little US news coverage of the event that few will even know that there was a disaster.
Anyone would think that pipelines never break in this country, happens multiple times a year.
I know. The oil spills on the ground. Where it came from,…..
David Ball November 7, 2015 at 7:26 am
I know. The oil spills on the ground. Where it came from,…..
Like the Refugio spill in may where ~150,000 gal of crude ended up in the ocean?
Or the spill into the Yellowstone River in January?
Or last october the spill of 168,000 gal in Louisiana?………………
Obama rejects the Keystone XL pipeline. A most deplorable decision for the economy and the environment.
The President has decided to deny the permission to build the Keystone XL pipeline, thus satisfying the environmentalists that want to wean us off our dependency on carbon based products, such as fuel, food and fertilizer. The arguments for denying the decision are nearly exclusively political, while the arguments to build the pipeline are concerns for our national security and economy.
Here is the deal:
Canada has the tar-sands and is extracting the oil. This was not our decision. If we don’t buy the oil, China will.
We are importing crude oil from the Middle East (Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, etc.), Nigeria, Venezuela and other volatile places, leaving us exposed to supply and price disruptions.
We export refined products to the Caribbean islands, which by the way have a larger carbon footprint per person than the U.S. This is good business, since the islands are too small for a refinery.
It takes more energy to run a refinery up north in a cold climate than in hot, humid Baytown, Texas.
more… http://lenbilen.com/2015/11/06/obama-rejects-the-keystone-xl-pipeline-a-most-deplorable-decision-for-the-economy-and-the-environment/
How about that section from Nebraska to the Gulf. Is that being built? That would help a lot. Can’t believe the Bamster has any control there. Anyone know?
Never mind. Answered above. took a while to read thru all.
Unfortunately, President Obama is not so much an idiot as a careful teleprompter reader of Saul Alinsky’s assault against Western Civilization.
I fear for our country over the next 15 months or so, because impeachment with removal from office is off the table. Unless somebody in the Democrat Party can “speak truth to power,” how can we foresee any resistance to even anti-constitutional actions from the President and his handlers?
Therefore, especially after the election in 2016, President Obama might well amaze everybody with his “death spasms.”
So long, Keystone, it’s been good to know ya.
I read this website daily and have never felt compelled to comment until now. I suffer to understand the science being spewed. Having spent my career in the transportation of energy through pipelines, I have a unique understanding of the engineering, regulations, maitenance and associated risks. My hands have carried tons of shovel dirt, my pen has signed off on engineering designs and everything in between.
I don’t know who is advising O’Bobble or even if he is open to suggestion, but a modern pipeline that is properly engineered, designed, and maintained represents as close to zero risk as anything I can think of from a transportation perspective. Understanding of DOT pipeline regulations would assure all of the above. Those who object often point to pipeline failures from post WWII pipeline relics that have failed. A reasonable argument can be made for those being replaced. Modern pipelines are far superior in design, metallurgy, corrosion control and maintenance. I expect they’ll last hundreds of years(if not more), way past their usefulness.
The oil is coming out of the ground, that is an obsolete. The most environmentally benign, economical, and safe method of transporting energy molecules, is through a pipeline.
If a project is good for America, Obama is against it. It’s as simple as that–the guy is anti-American!
There wasn’t any science involved; it was pure greenie politics, and timed for COP21, which is also pure greenie politics. It’s all designed to prop up the failing climatist industry and push world-wide socialist government, sticking a knife in the heart of democracy.
JPP
Agree – where the start and end points are fixed for years [decades, even – you suggest – centuries].
But sometimes – due to the vagaries of the market – the oil [or gas, or LNG] traders buy a cargo without knowing where it will go [read that as – ‘where it will make them the most profit’].
A good pipeline network may allow that parcel to go to its destination.
Shipping, however, gives a huge flexibility after sale, and so an ability to react to market fluctuations.
Indeed, also to sit and wait.
In the 1980s there were about 5 VLCCs, laden – so about 1,250,000 tonnes of crude; sitting at anchor off Brunei.
It was assumed that this was Saudi run-out money – but the ships spent at least a couple of years there.
And cricket was played every Saturday, on deck, weather permitting.