State Department: sorry, Mr. President. The Keystone Pipeline can go ahead.

[Wehrwolfen]

By: Moe Lane
March 2nd, 2013

The Obama administration is rapidly running out of wiggle room on the Keystone pipeline:​

The State Department’s long-awaited environmental report on the Keystone XL pipeline leaves President Barack Obama with no real scientific reason to reject the nation’s most fiercely debated energy project.

The sprawling 2,000-page report, released late Friday afternoon, doesn’t issue a clear yea or nay on a sprawling section of pipeline that would traverse from western Canada to Oklahoma. But the report’s key takeaways — including a conclusion that the project would have “no significant impacts to most resources along the proposed Project route” — Obama may have been hemmed in by his own State Department experts.

Politico went on to say “Environmentalists were left sputtering Friday…” over the decision, as if there was or is ever a moment when environmentalists are not sputtering, on Pavlovian cue. Although I’ll concede that they’d have their reasons to sputter, here: the best that the State Department could do to scuttle the project is to conclude that it’d have no real impact on the environment, one way or the other. Which makes perfect sense. Canada will be developing its oil sands, because Canada likes money and oil sands can be turned into lots of money without too much fuss and bother. We’ve known for quite some time how to move large amounts of liquids from Point A to Point B without spilling too much of it. Contra the Greenies, we’re not going to stop using hydrocarbons any time soon. The only question is: How much money is it going to cost American taxpayers to do all of this?

This is going to be a fun let’s-you-and-him fight to watch: the Obama administration has to pick which one of its special interest groups to offend. I suspect that Obama is personally and ideologically committed to the radical Greenies (who absolutely hate this project, for frankly theological reasons), but is professionally and pragmatically obligated to Big Labor (who absolutely want the jobs for their workers, so that they can get their cut). The dueling inclinations are pretty evenly matched, which is why a decision hasn’t been made yet; nobody in politics actually likes to have a Gordian Sword* like this looming over his head. But the time for dithering is ending, and somebody on the Democratic side will end up unhappy about the eventual Keystone decision. It is guaranteed.

Guaranteed.

Mind you, the Greenies are feeling very put-upon, these days: it’s not as good as the last decade, where people were rich enough to indulge them. So – assuming that Barack Obama has a rush of oxygen to the brain, and actually approves a project that will create jobs for a change – expect a certain amount of, ah, unhinged primal screaming from those charming would-be environmentalist theocrats in the coming months ahead. It’s already starting, in fact: I found this particular comment entertaining, in a somewhat horrified laughter sort of way. We really let people like this go out without a keeper?


[Excerpt]

Read more:
State Department: sorry, Mr. President. The Keystone Pipeline can go ahead. | RedState

 

[ScienceRocks]

Why the fuck shouldn't it? Do we care about jobs and growing our economy anymore????

 

[Grandma]

By: Moe Lane
March 2nd, 2013

The Obama administration is rapidly running out of wiggle room on the Keystone pipeline:​

The State Department’s long-awaited environmental report on the Keystone XL pipeline leaves President Barack Obama with no real scientific reason to reject the nation’s most fiercely debated energy project.

The sprawling 2,000-page report, released late Friday afternoon, doesn’t issue a clear yea or nay on a sprawling section of pipeline that would traverse from western Canada to Oklahoma. But the report’s key takeaways — including a conclusion that the project would have “no significant impacts to most resources along the proposed Project route” — Obama may have been hemmed in by his own State Department experts.

Politico went on to say “Environmentalists were left sputtering Friday…” over the decision, as if there was or is ever a moment when environmentalists are not sputtering, on Pavlovian cue. Although I’ll concede that they’d have their reasons to sputter, here: the best that the State Department could do to scuttle the project is to conclude that it’d have no real impact on the environment, one way or the other. Which makes perfect sense. Canada will be developing its oil sands, because Canada likes money and oil sands can be turned into lots of money without too much fuss and bother. We’ve known for quite some time how to move large amounts of liquids from Point A to Point B without spilling too much of it. Contra the Greenies, we’re not going to stop using hydrocarbons any time soon. The only question is: How much money is it going to cost American taxpayers to do all of this?

This is going to be a fun let’s-you-and-him fight to watch: the Obama administration has to pick which one of its special interest groups to offend. I suspect that Obama is personally and ideologically committed to the radical Greenies (who absolutely hate this project, for frankly theological reasons), but is professionally and pragmatically obligated to Big Labor (who absolutely want the jobs for their workers, so that they can get their cut). The dueling inclinations are pretty evenly matched, which is why a decision hasn’t been made yet; nobody in politics actually likes to have a Gordian Sword* like this looming over his head. But the time for dithering is ending, and somebody on the Democratic side will end up unhappy about the eventual Keystone decision. It is guaranteed.

Guaranteed.

Mind you, the Greenies are feeling very put-upon, these days: it’s not as good as the last decade, where people were rich enough to indulge them. So – assuming that Barack Obama has a rush of oxygen to the brain, and actually approves a project that will create jobs for a change – expect a certain amount of, ah, unhinged primal screaming from those charming would-be environmentalist theocrats in the coming months ahead. It’s already starting, in fact: I found this particular comment entertaining, in a somewhat horrified laughter sort of way. We really let people like this go out without a keeper?


[Excerpt]

Read more:
State Department: sorry, Mr. President. The Keystone Pipeline can go ahead. | RedState

" We’ve known for quite some time how to move large amounts of liquids from Point A to Point B without spilling too much of it."

Except for the occasional tanker that runs aground, 2 Shell Oil arctic rigs that both failed and leaked within months of each other, and that delightful mess in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as disasters that have occurred in other countries.

We might know, but doing is another matter. Like as the Titanic, there's always someone wanting to cut corners, convincing consumers that obvious flaws are unimportant.


The President had every reason to worry about that aquifer in Nebraska.


"and actually approves a project that will create jobs for a change..."

When has he not approved jobs programs? The stimulus was his idea, no? And it's not the left that wants to fire all the cops, firemen, and schoolteachers (while calling them "thugs.")

 

[Mr. H.]

Is the President, or anyone else for that matter, aware that the real polluters of the Ogallala aquifer are farmers? Yes agriculture has been draining and polluting that aquifer for decades and will continue to do so in perpetuity.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/opinion/polluting-the-ogallala-aquifer.html?_r=0

 

[francoHFW]

So you think he had other reasons than finding a better route and the governor of Nebraska wanting it stopped? Pub dupes!! LOL

 

[francoHFW]

BTW, all your other "facts" about the number of jobs and the economic rewards are total Pubcrappe too...

 

[mudwhistle]

By: Moe Lane
March 2nd, 2013

The Obama administration is rapidly running out of wiggle room on the Keystone pipeline:​

The State Department’s long-awaited environmental report on the Keystone XL pipeline leaves President Barack Obama with no real scientific reason to reject the nation’s most fiercely debated energy project.

The sprawling 2,000-page report, released late Friday afternoon, doesn’t issue a clear yea or nay on a sprawling section of pipeline that would traverse from western Canada to Oklahoma. But the report’s key takeaways — including a conclusion that the project would have “no significant impacts to most resources along the proposed Project route” — Obama may have been hemmed in by his own State Department experts.

Politico went on to say “Environmentalists were left sputtering Friday…” over the decision, as if there was or is ever a moment when environmentalists are not sputtering, on Pavlovian cue. Although I’ll concede that they’d have their reasons to sputter, here: the best that the State Department could do to scuttle the project is to conclude that it’d have no real impact on the environment, one way or the other. Which makes perfect sense. Canada will be developing its oil sands, because Canada likes money and oil sands can be turned into lots of money without too much fuss and bother. We’ve known for quite some time how to move large amounts of liquids from Point A to Point B without spilling too much of it. Contra the Greenies, we’re not going to stop using hydrocarbons any time soon. The only question is: How much money is it going to cost American taxpayers to do all of this?

This is going to be a fun let’s-you-and-him fight to watch: the Obama administration has to pick which one of its special interest groups to offend. I suspect that Obama is personally and ideologically committed to the radical Greenies (who absolutely hate this project, for frankly theological reasons), but is professionally and pragmatically obligated to Big Labor (who absolutely want the jobs for their workers, so that they can get their cut). The dueling inclinations are pretty evenly matched, which is why a decision hasn’t been made yet; nobody in politics actually likes to have a Gordian Sword* like this looming over his head. But the time for dithering is ending, and somebody on the Democratic side will end up unhappy about the eventual Keystone decision. It is guaranteed.

Guaranteed.

Mind you, the Greenies are feeling very put-upon, these days: it’s not as good as the last decade, where people were rich enough to indulge them. So – assuming that Barack Obama has a rush of oxygen to the brain, and actually approves a project that will create jobs for a change – expect a certain amount of, ah, unhinged primal screaming from those charming would-be environmentalist theocrats in the coming months ahead. It’s already starting, in fact: I found this particular comment entertaining, in a somewhat horrified laughter sort of way. We really let people like this go out without a keeper?


[Excerpt]

Read more:
State Department: sorry, Mr. President. The Keystone Pipeline can go ahead. | RedState

" We’ve known for quite some time how to move large amounts of liquids from Point A to Point B without spilling too much of it."

Except for the occasional tanker that runs aground, 2 Shell Oil arctic rigs that both failed and leaked within months of each other, and that delightful mess in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as disasters that have occurred in other countries.

We might know, but doing is another matter. Like as the Titanic, there's always someone wanting to cut corners, convincing consumers that obvious flaws are unimportant.


The President had every reason to worry about that aquifer in Nebraska.


"and actually approves a project that will create jobs for a change..."

When has he not approved jobs programs? The stimulus was his idea, no? And it's not the left that wants to fire all the cops, firemen, and schoolteachers (while calling them "thugs.")

Aren't we talking about a pipeline here? Not an oil tanker?

Focus.