Below is a brief article by the Heritage Foundation. It is another example of how ridiculous this President is behaving. Private money, funding a private project, producing thousands if not tens of thousands of jobs (especially when you consider the multiplier effect), helping the U.S. energy situation by actually getting oil from a friendly neighbor to the north rather than from our enemies... what is it about this that doesn't make sense? Even the environmental impact study finds no compelling reason to halt this project. So Obama punts... delaying a project that is truly shovel ready and without using OUR money!!! Another reason why Barack Obama must be a one term president. Read below...
If Americans needed any further proof that the Obama Administration is one of the most political on record, or that, for all the recent demagoguing, it really cares only about re-election, not about job creation, then you need look no further than its cynical Keystone XL oil pipeline decision last week.
Over the last several months, radical environmentalists along with Hollywood celebrity activists descended on the White House in protest, urging President Barack Obama to block the construction of the $7 billion pipeline that would bring in more than 700,000 barrels of oil per day from Alberta, Canada, to the Texas Gulf coast. Last week, they got their wish.
The Obama Administration on Thursday announced that it would delay a decision on the pipeline until after the 2012 election. In siding with his leftist environmentalist, big Hollywood base, President Obama's ambition is nakedly apparent, as is his total disregard for the 14 million unemployed Americans sitting on the sidelines, waiting for Washington to get out of the way so they can get back to work. And it also shows that for him, politics is more important than achieving true energy independence for the United States.
And here's why: The Keystone pipeline would have done what the President's hundreds of billions of dollars in stimulus spending failed to do. It would have created thousands of jobs (tens of thousands, by some predictions), while generating $5.2 billion in property tax revenue for Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas. And it would have done it all with private dollars--not taxpayer dollars.
The kicker is that despite all the hoopla from the enviro-celebrity protests, this pipeline should have been anything but controversial, even by the Obama Administration's own findings. Heritage's Nicolas Loris explains:
Radical environmentalists act as if this is the first oil pipeline being built in the United States. We have 50,000 miles of oil pipeline in this country that have provided massive economic benefits with minimal environmental harm.
In short, building the Keystone XL pipeline is nothing new, and it’s one of the most environmentally sensible ways to transport oil. Even the Obama Administration determined it to be safe when the State Department’s recent Environmental Impact Statement found that the pipeline would pose few environmental risks.
Another important point is that even if the Keystone pipeline isn't constructed in the United States, the resource will still be tapped, and it's going to head elsewhere. Heritage's David Kreutzer explains that the development of Canada's oil sands will be slowed (thereby increasing its cost), and it will be diverted to non-U.S. consumers, meaning that the Canadian oil will be shipped across thousands of miles of ocean to Chinese refineries. Kreutzer's admonition to the Obama Administration?
So, block the XL pipeline if you think the environment will be better served by shipping Canadian oil an extra 6,000 miles across the Pacific in oil-consuming super tankers and then refining it in less-regulated Chinese refineries. In addition, be aware that replacing the Canadian oil means the U.S. also must import more oil by tankers, which are less efficient than pipelines.
The facts, though, don't matter to environmentalist activists. They don't matter to certain celebrities, and now they apparently don't matter to the Obama Administration, either. Evidently, neither do jobs or energy independence. Following the President's decision, actor Robert Redford applauded Obama and said, "This is American democracy at its best: a president who listens to the voice of the people and shows the courage to do what's right for the country." No, Mr. Redford, you're wrong. When the President puts his job over those of tens of thousands Americans, that is politics and a presidency at its worst.
3 comments:
It takes it off the political table so it isn't a hot campaign issue next year. I would not be shocked after the election he gives it the green light with in a couple months. I can appreciate the concern that this pipeline would run through the main water source for 8 states. Sure nothing may happen for 20 years, but then all of a sudden an accident happens and additional costs have to now be undertaken to further clean the water for those areas.
Yeah there is political motive behind everything, people bashing the President for this are motivated from the other side. So few really have the ability to sit back and look at things from a bigger perspective. For me, build the damn thing but find a way to ensure that no contamination can come to the water source in Nebraska. Also he did not kill the project, it is just delayed for a year with the Canadian company understands and they still fully believe it is going to happen.
Radical environmentalists .... right
Just like the super conservative governor of Nebraska that doesn't want the pipeline going thru his state. There are many people opposed to this pipeline. Might want to check your facts before posting.
Dear Anonymous... Why are you anonymous? The facts are really pretty simple. In today's economy delaying a job is killing a job. In today's economy and geopolitical morass, not getting energy from a friendly on our northern border now, puts our country in further jeopardy. Obama has done the same thing with off shore drilling. Everyone thinks that we can continue to outsource our energy without dire consequences. To me it is not just Jobs and Energy, it is National Security. My guess is that if given the facts, a national referendum would result in a pipeline being built. But wait, I guess we will have a national referendum a year from now... it's just too bad we have to wait another year. But thank you for your thoughtful and civil response.
There is always a possibility that something could go wrong, but if we don't take a chance then nothing will ever get done. We need the oil just as badly as everyone else in the world but if we don't take it then China or some other country will buy it then we won't get it. What does this mean. We are out the necessities when other countries are gaining the resources needed to gain power, money, and control against us.
We need to keep it flowing in order to stay organized and in control. As stated, there are already thousands of miles of pipeline already built. So just build it next to one of the other pipelines so that it is easier to monitor and it reduces the chance of contaminating fresh areas.
Yes we do need to start looking to clean ideas of energy. But until we have them in place we cannot neglect our society today.
Obama gave billions of dollars to banks to try and restart the economy but with no guarantee. Half of the banks were not even owned by citizens of the U.S. It makes us suspicious that he has a secret agenda to cushion his or some friends pockets when the things he does do not make sense.
He tried to pull a Roosevelt by initiating the road construction projects, though needed to be done, were never going to create enough jobs to restart the economy cause the jobs that do the road construction are no longer done by just a worker but by skilled heavy equipment operators. He does not have any fresh ideas that could help the U.S. but is quick to blame other people.
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