Six reasons
Keystone XL was a bad deal all along
By Sally
Kohn
In announcing his
decision to not grant permission for the Keystone pipeline extension, opponents
of President Obama argue the president gave in to pressure from environmental
activists.
In reality, the
president was resisting an artificial deadline from Republicans trying to force
his hand.
But the fact is, for
the good of our country and our economy, rejecting the Keystone XL deal was the
best decision possible.
Here are six facts
about the proposed Keystone XL deal that make clear why the pipeline was a bad
deal for America and why it deserved to be rejected:
1. Keystone XL
Would Not Reduce Foreign Oil Dependency
The
oil to be sent through Keystone XL pipeline was never destined for US markets.
In its own presentation to investors about the proposed pipeline extension,
TransCanada (the company behind Keystone XL) boasted that most if not all of the
extracted and refined oil would be exported --- sold in oversees markets where
oil fetches a higher price (and thus turns a higher profit for the company).
2. Keystone XL
Would Have Increased Domestic Oil Prices
Currently, Canadian oil reserves stored in the Midwest
help suppress gas prices in the United States, particularly for farmers in our
nation’s heartland.
In its permit
application for the pipeline, TransCanada noted that the Keystone XL pipeline
would allow the company to drain these reserves and export that fuel as well.
According to TransCanada’s own statements, this would raise gas prices in the
United States, especially in the Midwest.
3. Keystone XL
Overstated Number of Jobs to be Created
In
2008, TransCanada’s original permit application to the State Department said the
Keystone XL pipeline would create “a peak workforce of approximately 3,500 to
4,200 construction personnel” in temporary jobs building the
pipeline.
By 2011, now facing
growing opposition to the pipeline, TransCanada had inflated these numbers
(using undisclosed formulas) to 20,000. Supporters of the proposal, backed by
big oil, have since trumpeted these trumped up numbers.
4. Current Keystone
Pipeline Leaked 12 Times in Last Year
The
pipeline that the Obama administration has rejected the permit for would be an
extension of a pipeline that has already leaked -- not just once, but 12 times
in the last year.
While TransCanada
tried to dismiss these leaks as “minor” averaging “just five to 10 gallons of
oil” each, the leak on May 7, 2011 near Millner, N.D., spilled about 21,000
gallons of oil in total.
5. The
Environmental Concerns About Oil Leaks Are Justified
Nebraska’s Republican Governor Dave Heineman strongly
opposed the Keystone XL project because the pipeline would run through a massive
and vital aquifer in his state the supplies clean drinking water to over 2
million Americans plus water that fuels the region’s agriculture
industry.
Building the pipeline
might have created a few thousand temporary jobs but even a minor oil spill in
or near the aquifer would have jeopardized hundreds of thousands of jobs, not to
mention the health and safety of millions.
Meanwhile, in Michigan
where a similar tar sands pipeline spilled over 840,000 gallons of crude oil
into the Kalamazoo River in 2010, residents are still complaining of headaches,
dizziness and nausea while studies continue to look at the long-term effects of
just being near such an oil spill when it happens.
6. Mining Tar Sands
Would Worsen Global Warming
Assuming you believe, like the vast majority of the
world’s scientists, that climate change is both real and of concern, the
Canadian tar sands are the second largest carbon reserve in the
world.
Mining these reserves
would release all of that carbon into the atmosphere, to detrimental effect on
our environment. Sure, Canada might go ahead and mine the tar sands anyway, but
the United States doesn’t have to help pollute the planet and our own states in
the process.
No matter how you look
at it, the Keystone XL proposal was a slimy, scam of a deal. America is better
than that.
We can create
good-paying jobs that build our families and our economy for the future without
hurting our environment today.
We can invest in
innovative energy technology that not only reduces our dependence on dirty fuel
but also puts us in the lead in critical, emerging markets.
We can prioritize good
jobs and a competitive economy of the future, with all the upsides of American
energy production and innovation and far, far fewer of the downsides that
Keystone carried.
Let’s focus on more of
those deals going forward.
Sally Kohn is a Fox
News Contributor and grassroots strategist. You can find her online at
http://sallykohn.com.