Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline Project
COMMENTARY | President Obama has once more closed down an opportunity for national energy independence. He rejected the application for the Keystone XL Pipeline project.
Keystone XL is a proposed pipeline that would carry crude oil from Canada's tar sands deposits to Texas for refining. A Canadian company, TransCanada, proposed the $7 billion project, as it would cover 1,700 miles across U.S. soil and encounter environmental concerns. TransCanada would build and operate the pipeline but needs U.S. approval to do so.
But Obama didn't reject the project on environmental terms. Environmental agencies were not even involved. The rejection comes as the second of two refusals based more on election-year politics. Congressional Republicans had set a Feb. 21 deadline for the President's review. Not wanting to be rushed, Obama simply rejected the application, preferring to put the whole issue past the election. Such a decision flies in the face of Obama's supposed commitment to national energy security and independence.
Besides putting his re-election first, Obama's shutdown of the pipeline application shuts down opportunities for American jobs. In the mid-America states from North Dakota south to Texas, construction and manufacturing jobs by the thousands would be created. TransCanada estimates 20,000 high-paying industrial positions. Such large scale infrastructure improvements were once proclaimed as favored by Obama, in an America profoundly hurting for jobs. That pronouncement disappeared with his rejection slip on the Keystone project.
The Keystone pipeline would have reduced dependence on foreign oil, with crude supply coming from America's nearest friendly neighbor. It would have reduced exposure to global disruptions in crude deliveries to refineries. It would have shortened the shipping distance of crude from across the seas. These all have substantial cost-saving and energy security benefits for America. But once again, Obama has put himself before America.
Some have called Obama's decision "an act of insanity." Whether or not it comes from a personal disability, the decision disables America yet a little bit more. Whether or not one agrees with what to call it or the decision itself, one thing is clear: Obama has acted in his own self-interest, rather than in the interest of America.
Published by Lorraine Yapps Cohen
I design jewelry free from the constraints of textbook techniques and write non-fiction free from the rigors of technical expression. Chemist by training, creative by spirit, conservative in values, and art... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentDropped by to read again. Thanks:)
Excellent presentation - thanks very much:)
Despite assertions to the contrary, it's actually Republicans who are trying desperately to force this issue into the realm of politics, not the President. House Republicans intentionally attached a grenade provision to Obama's short-term payroll tax extension legislation forcing the President -- by the arbitrary date of Feb. 21st -- to either issue the permit or explain why he would not. Given the choice, the President chose to do the latter.
Even TransCanada president Russ Girling seems to acknowledge that a delay in resolution of the permit issue would not likely affect the company's plans to bring the pipeline online by 2014 -- once the permit is ultimately approved (which, in my opinion, is almost a certainty and, likely, prior to the 2012 presidential election.) Girling said the company would reapply for the permit requesting that it be approved in a time frame consistent with the 2014 objective.
The reason for the administration's denial of the permit (presently) is because the arbitrary deadline imposed by the Republican held Congress would not allow the U. S. State Department adequate time to evaluate alternative pipeline routes to TransCanada's proposal, thereby ensuring the protection and safety of the American people, as well as the nation's natural environment. The following is a portion of the statement released by the White House clarifying the administration's actual reason for not granting the permit at this time.
"Earlier today, I received the Secretary of State's recommendation on the pending application for the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. As the State Department made clear last month, 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. As a result, the Secretary of State has recommended that the application be denied. And after reviewing the State Department's report, I agree.
This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people. I'm disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my Administration's commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil." ~ The White House (January 18, 2012) (End Quote)
Has the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico been so long ago that congressional Republicans have already forgotten it? Or is their memory, and that of GOP presidential candidates and rank & members of the party, that selective?
What did you expect. It's not "of the people, for the people, by the people" anymore. We made poor choices and are paying for it. The problem is, people corrupt once they're in the office. My uncle was a state senator and after one term, he decided not to run. He was sick of the corruption and lewd behavior of the other senators...and that was at the state level. We already turned the bend with our apathy and it's time to get the system working again.
well written - thank you
Good information, election time brings strange behavior.
Politics and political correctness is tearing this country apart. My heart sunk when Obama rejected this pipeline. I don't necessarily directly blame Obama. I think all the politicians should get the blame.
This is so bad when a president puts his own re-election ahead of the people he is supposed to care about! Wow! I just pray that our next president will care about America's problems! Thanks for sharing!