A very provocative and important posting from the national Club
transportation list. Grenelle refers to a French roundtable on the environment that
has resulted in major projects such as high speed rail building. Now, if the
French would just shut down their nuclear reactors . . .
Curing the addiction, by reducing automobile driving, seems to me just as
important as stopping the Keystone pipeline, which is like denying the
addicts their drug.
Tom
In a message dated 6/21/2013 8:47:32 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
As noted, they are currently investing @ $25 billion/year in increasing
tar sands extraction.
Which is, by coincidence, the same amount that would be required for the
United States to equal the French urban rail building effort per capita
(France x4.75 = USA). That is the investment required to "cure the addiction".
Rail cars can be built as quickly as tar sands capacity can be increased,
after a short ramp up time to either add new shifts to existing factories
or build new rail car factories.
Going East from Alberta, it is extremely easy to add a second, or even
third track to existing rail lines. After all, we have three and four tracks
hauling coal out from the Powder River Basin of Wyoming today (which is even
more carbon emitting). And new rail lines are not THAT difficult to build
on the Great Plains.
As noted before, I do not see transportation as the limiting factor for
tar sands extraction. Labor, northern Alberta infrastructure, capital, water
and natural gas are more limiting. Frank Chuck's report does not disagree
with my previously stated observation.
We should be protesting *FOR* an "American Grenelle" to limit carbon
emissions, rather than against Keystone XL.
Curing the addiction is a more viable strategy than denying addicts their
drug of choice.
Alan
---------- Original Message ----------
From: Chuck Frank <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: CONFIDENTIAL: TAR SANDS VISIT REPORT
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 17:29:46 -0500
All of what you say is perceptive and accurate. They believe that the oil
will get out on rail if not in a pipeline and think it's stupid since it
will cost more and create more environmental damage than if transported by
pipeline. And that is all true. But I believe it was on this listserv that
I read an article talking about the logistical limitations of shipping by
rail especially in the short term. There are only so many rail cars that
can be built and run on the existing rail lines and I'm not sure if or how
many more rail lines can be built in and out of that area.
Charles E. Frank
25 Lakeview Terrace
Highland Park, IL 60035-5041
(c) 312-613-2204
[log in to unmask] (mailto:[log in to unmask])
On Jun 21, 2013, at 5:24 PM, Irvin Dawid <[log in to unmask]
(mailto:[log in to unmask]) > wrote:
thanks for sharing - and preparing such an extensive report, Chuck.
I only saw one reference to rail: "Rail transportation is adding 250,000
bpd capacity every year recently. Rail costs $10
to $15 more per barrel vs. a pipeline."
I am concerned that rejecting the pipeline will only cause the suppliers -
and the refineries, to resort to rail.
A most interesting case occurred in southern California - refineries opted
out of a pipeline funding agreement to transport oil by rail instead.
See Bloomberg: Energy
"Amid U.S. Oil Boom, Railroads Are Beating Pipelines in Crude Transport"
By Matthew Philips and Asjylyn Loder
June 13, 2013
Surprisingly, this article neglected to cover the increased safety issues
associated with this type of oil transport.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-06-13/amid-u-dot-s-dot-oil-boom-ra
ilroads-are-beating-pipelines-in-crude-transport
However, E&E picked-up on it:
"Is rail-bound crude oil a disaster waiting to happen?"
Blake Sobczak, E&E reporter
Published: Friday, May 31, 2013
"The Northeast has old, dilapidated infrastructure. We have neglected it
for decades, and now, all of a sudden, there's this renaissance of railroads
coming back with oil," said Fadel Gheit, managing director and senior
analyst covering the oil and gas sector at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. "When you
increase the traffic, you increase the chances of accidents."
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/stories/1059982047
(Bakken oil is being transported via rail to NE refineries and ports,
including Albany, N.Y.)
Irvin Dawid
Burlingame, CA
On Fri, Jun 21, 2013 at 11:47 AM, Chuck Frank <[log in to unmask]
(mailto:[log in to unmask]) > wrote:
Last week Debbie and I traveled to Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada to see
and learn about the Canadian Tar Sands mining operations. Attached is my
confidential report with photos. Please do not pass this on without my
permission. Thanks.
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Charles E. Frank
25 Lakeview Terrace
Highland Park, IL 60035-5041
(c) _312-613-2204_ (tel:312-613-2204)
[log in to unmask] (mailto:[log in to unmask])
>
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