Peaceful Protest Underway against Tar Sands Oil Pipeline

Hi Andy, thats a beautiful photo of industry cleaning up the soil.. removing all that nasty sticky tar, meanwhile lots of articles on trains transporting the tar past the border. Now that Chavez died, Venezuelan tar and heavy crude production should boom again.

keep up the good work, Andy H.
it is hard to believe LEAF owners, even one, would support this sort of environmental degradation. Sometimes even the direst threat wont wake people up. Which is scarier: climate change or Iraq with no WMD, especially nuclear? which would you go to war to stop?

Thanks very much. I'm glad many of the folks here 'get it.'

From the perspective of someone that served before, during both Iraq wars, and after, it appears to me that the fossil fuel industry is a much larger 'clear and present danger' to the people of the US than Iraq ever could have been even in some sci-fi parallel universe.

Senior folks in the US Navy made an interesting comment on our current challenges in the Pacific:

CAMBRIDGE — America’s top military officer in charge of monitoring hostile actions by North Korea, escalating tensions between China and Japan, and a spike in computer attacks traced to China provides an unexpected answer when asked what is the biggest long-term security threat in the Pacific region: climate change.

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http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nat...CLrWEMxRe9IXJZcHL/story.html?s_campaign=sm_tw

There are a lot of reasons why wholesale destruction of a complex ecosystem is not such a great idea. Here's another one:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgmssrVInP0[/youtube]

The boreal forest appears to be even more important than rainforest for removing CO2 from the atmosphere. That adds another 'lose' to the tarsand's lose-lose-lose-lose proposition.

AndyH said:

“The only local jobs TransCanada has created here is paying off our local police.”

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"Local jobs" is always the carrot they use to promote the worst ideas. If jobs is the only criteria, why wage a war against drugs ?

it is always about higher returns for the people who live a 1,000 miles away.

BTW, there is a similar controversy now about shipping coal from WA ports. There is more coal around here than the tar sands in Canada.

Gasheads and treehuggers alike should oppose this project. People who are gullible enough to think the Canadians are doing this just to keep their neighbors supplied with cheap gas really should think again. Seriously, isn't all this hurry up to increase pipeline capacity to a seaport a little suspicious?

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/pipeline-pipe-dream-keystone-could-unintended-consequences-150929433.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't know what America is going to do without Canadian oil. Its trade deficit will soon end (the US oil trade deficit represents 13% of global oil production, and Americans consume 21% of global oil production, despite representing only 5% of the global population). The US imports about half the oil it consumes (although I believe Bakken production has provided a short term spike which might bring that to about 1/3, not quite sure what the up to date numbers are). There is no way America is even remotely close to getting off oil.

MarkBC said:

I don't know what America is going to do without Canadian oil.

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But does the pipeline increase U.S. access to Canadian oil, or decrease it?

Today's WSJ has a good story on the evolving rationale for building Keystone.

The former "energy security" argument in favor of building, has now largely been replaced by the "oil company profit" imperative.

Much of the crude oil flowing down the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would likely end up being exported as refined products by U.S. companies, a prospect that is further stirring debate over whether the project serves the national interest...

When the Keystone pipeline was first proposed in 2007, U.S. fuel demand was booming and domestic oil supplies seemed to be thinning. Hal Kvisle, then chief executive of pipeline builder TransCanada Corp., TRP.T +0.17%said at the time that the pipeline would "link a growing supply of crude oil with a rising North American demand for energy."

Since then, U.S. oil production has boomed while demand has been stagnating. As a result, U.S. refineries are increasingly cranking out gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for overseas markets, in particular Latin America. U.S. exports of refined products have nearly tripled since 2005, according to government data, and the U.S. became a net exporter of those products in 2011...

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324392804578358791884145514.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MarkBC said:

I don't know what America is going to do without Canadian oil.

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I hope you were being sarcastic there? Because I can't believe you Canadians are drinking the Coolade too. We won't see any more Canadian oil in this country than we already see from existing pipelines reaching into the mid-west. Heck, we may even see less as production which currently ends up there is instead sent through Keystone down to the Gulf for eventual export to the far-east.

The only reason the Canadian Government want's Keystone down here is they don't want it (and the environmental risks thereof) in their own back-yard. And they're even willing to give up on the tax revenues on what flows down here through it in order to get rid!

mwalsh said:

I hope you were being sarcastic there? Because I can't believe you Canadians are drinking the Coolade too. We won't see any more Canadian oil in this country than we already see from existing pipelines reaching into the mid-west. Heck, we may even see less as production which currently ends up there is instead sent through Keystone down to the Gulf for eventual export to the far-east.

The only reason the Canadian Government want's Keystone down here is they don't want it (and the environmental risks thereof) in their own back-yard. And they're even willing to give up on the tax revenues on what flows down here through it in order to get rid!

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Not sure who/what you were referring to but no sarcasm here. I am convinced the pipeline will make for higher gas prices here, not lower.

LTLFTcomposite said:

Not sure who/what you were referring to but no sarcasm here. I am convinced the pipeline will make for higher gas prices here, not lower.

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Messed up my quote editing. It's was MarkBC's comment I was referring to.

mwalsh said:

I hope you were being sarcastic there? Because I can't believe you Canadians are drinking the Coolade too. We won't see any more Canadian oil in this country than we already see from existing pipelines reaching into the mid-west. Heck, we may even see less as production which currently ends up there is instead sent through Keystone down to the Gulf for eventual export to the far-east.

The only reason the Canadian Government want's Keystone down here is they don't want it (and the environmental risks thereof) in their own back-yard. And they're even willing to give up on the tax revenues on what flows down here through it in order to get rid!

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Of course Canadians consume oil too, just as much as Americans, but the point is Canada still has lots of oil left. I don't think you will see less oil as a result of this pipeline. I believe it is currently illegal to export crude overseas from the US. The only thing they'd be exporting is finished products but the only reason that is happening now is because the US is able to maintain such a huge trade deficit of oil imports. In the not-too-distant future the reserve currency status of the US dollar will end and then America will have to balance its trade. Then you can be sure there will be no diesel exports from USA! In that case the US will want oil from close to home and the way it will get more of it will be through this pipeline.

I'm not saying that this pipeline is in any way a solution, I'm just pointing out that America is far more dependent on oil than almost anyone realizes.

Oh don't think for a minute that the Canadian government doesn't want the other pipeline out west. Harper is an ex-oil man. It's BC that's putting up the resistance.

MarkBC said:

mwalsh said:

I hope you were being sarcastic there? Because I can't believe you Canadians are drinking the Coolade too. We won't see any more Canadian oil in this country than we already see from existing pipelines reaching into the mid-west. Heck, we may even see less as production which currently ends up there is instead sent through Keystone down to the Gulf for eventual export to the far-east.

The only reason the Canadian Government want's Keystone down here is they don't want it (and the environmental risks thereof) in their own back-yard. And they're even willing to give up on the tax revenues on what flows down here through it in order to get rid!

Click to expand...

Of course Canadians consume oil too, just as much as Americans, but the point is Canada still has lots of oil left. I don't think you will see less oil as a result of this pipeline. I believe it is currently illegal to export crude overseas from the US. The only thing they'd be exporting is finished products but the only reason that is happening now is because the US is able to maintain such a huge trade deficit of oil imports. In the not-too-distant future the reserve currency status of the US dollar will end and then America will have to balance its trade. Then you can be sure there will be no diesel exports from USA! In that case the US will want oil from close to home and the way it will get more of it will be through this pipeline.

I'm not saying that this pipeline is in any way a solution, I'm just pointing out that America is far more dependent on oil than almost anyone realizes.

Oh don't think for a minute that the Canadian government doesn't want the other pipeline out west. Harper is an ex-oil man. It's BC that's putting up the resistance.

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Glad to hear you say most of that.

Yes, it won't be exported as crude...it will be refined at Port Arthur first. Trust me...not a drop of Canadian oil will be kept here. Decreasing Americas dependence on foreign oil (I always thought Canadians were foreign anyway?) is the biggest boondoggle of this whole deal. With the number of new jobs being touted as the second biggest boondoggle.

MarkBC said:

I don't know what America is going to do without Canadian oil. Its trade deficit will soon end (the US oil trade deficit represents 13% of global oil production, and Americans consume 21% of global oil production, despite representing only 5% of the global population). The US imports about half the oil it consumes (although I believe Bakken production has provided a short term spike which might bring that to about 1/3, not quite sure what the up to date numbers are). There is no way America is even remotely close to getting off oil.

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Thanks for weighing in, Mark.

I cannot disagree with your observations or numbers. We're very addicted and there's not much happening to break that addiction.

The only point where I cannot follow you is suggesting that any of this has anything to do with the KXL pipeline. The reason this is a non sequitur is because we know that products refined from the diluted bitumen the KXL may bring to the Gulf of Mexico are not going to be used in the US. We know this for a couple of reasons. First, because the destination refinery is 1/2 owned by Saudi Arabia. The refinery is located in a tax-free export zone. 60% of the fuel is already pre-sold to - CHINA.

How will we benefit from the project? We may have 35 permanent jobs once the pipelines are complete.

What's the down side? 1. Because TransCanada has proved that DilBit is not crude oil, they do not have to pay the oil tax that supports the spill response process. 2. The southern pipeline already has holes in the pipes - and it's not yet been pressurized. 3. The last DilBit pipeline brought on-line in the MidWest has leaked 13 times in the first 12 months it was in operation (and the dilbit cannot be cleaned from water). 4. TransCanada is using eminent domain and coercion to essentially steal private property. 5. Completion of the southern leg from Oklahoma to the Gulf (currently underway) will reduce an oil surplus in the midwest - and result in HIGHER fuel prices from Ohio to Missouri.

Then there's the whole carbon thing...

http://priceofoil.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/KXL_undermine_energy_security_2page_Web.pdf

Here's a look at the KXL from a 'boots on the ground' perspective - ND and Texas land owners:
http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/farmers-&-ranchers/50c77b4d2b8c2a2ff1000274

Welcome to a week of protests - already in progress...

http://www.tarsandsblockade.org/weekofaction/planned_actions/

It’s becoming increasingly clear that we cannot rely on corporation-funded politicians to oppose corporate excess; we must engage this destructive industry directly. That’s what we’ve done in Texas, and it’s working: in February, TransCanada reported lower fourth-quarter earnings and admitted that the southern portion of Keystone XL (the Gulf Coast Project) was way behind schedule and only 45 percent completed. By showing up at their offices and putting a stop to “business as usual,” we can show tar sands investors that their lives would be easier and their businesses more secure if they invested in projects that don’t endanger our communities’ health and the chance for a livable climate.

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State Department KXL assessment used TransCanada-provided contractor; contractor biographies and prior projects redacted...

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/keystone-xl-contractor-ties-transcanada-state-department

TransCanada can't get their pipeline through BC. Apparently they tried sometime back to win over the public with ads in movie theatres etc. People were laughing at the ads (according to first hand reports by a reporter on local NPR).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9uoTXWaXqc[/youtube]

Ultra-conservative, Marine, retired oil company chemist...and fighting TransCanada in Texas courts...

I came to East Texas nearly 30 years ago after spending all of my teen years and most of my adult life along the Houston Ship Channel, working in the oil refineries and chemical plants. I see beauty everywhere but I really like East Texas in the springtime. I bought this property to leave to my children and grandchildren—a legacy, if you will. With my sons, and now my daughter, I have done my best to instill in them the responsibility of stewardship and how to properly take care of Earth and its creatures. I went outside to check the fruit trees in my orchard last week and, as I have for 30 years, marveled at the beauty of the blossoms on the pear, cherry, apple and peach trees. I also had tears in my eyes, because only a few feet away is the pipeline that is going to carry some of the most toxic material found on Earth.

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http://ecowatch.com/2013/america-sacrifice-zone-export-pipeline/

video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=u30m8U6VP3E