Peaceful Protest Underway against Tar Sands Oil Pipeline

[Herm]

Transport by rail will add $3 per barrel to the cost of oil, vs using a pipeline.. Obama can appease the greens and yet the machine will keep on humming.. Everyone wins.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-23/buffett-s-burlington-northern-among-winners-in-obama-rejection-of-pipeline.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"With modest expansion, railroads can handle all new oil produced in western Canada through 2030, according to an analysis of the Keystone proposal by the U.S. State Department."

"Railroads are being used in North Dakota (STOND1), where oil producers have spurred a fivefold increase in output by using intensive drilling practices in the Bakken, a geologic formation that stretches from southern Alberta to the northern U.S. Great Plains. During 2011, rail capacity in the region tripled to almost 300,000 barrels a day as higher production exceeded what pipelines handle, according to the State Department report on Keystone XL.

Shipping oil using tank cars on rail costs about $3 more a barrel than pipeline transport, using prices in North Dakota, a differential “unlikely” to slow the development of oil sands crude if no pipeline is build, the State Department said. The gap is shrinking as larger storage terminals are built, the agency said. "

 

[evnow]

Transport by rail will add $3 per barrel to the cost of oil, vs using a pipeline.. Obama can appease the greens and yet the machine will keep on humming.. Everyone wins.

Yes - it is like the stem cell research decision by Bush.

I think
- Refusal to allow pipeline will not stop tar sands exploitation. But that doesn't mean we should allow it (same way we don't allow drug trafficking)
- Keystone will only benefit certain oil interests. It has no real benefit to grow jobs or "energy independance".

 

[mwalsh]

- Keystone will only benefit certain oil interests. It has no real benefit to grow jobs or "energy independance".

+1

Increasing supply on the World market = OPEC decreasing production to maintain current pricing. Effect on pricing at the pump = maybe a couple of cents cheaper, at best. Effect in decreasing foreign dependence on foreign oil = zero.

 

[AndyH]

To add insult to injury, it appears that current pipelines carry Canadian crude to the Midwest refineries (like those in Illinois just north of St Louis) - and that's keeping gasoline prices low in the Midwest. It appears that diverting all the tarsands syncrude to the Gulf Coast export zone refineries would result in increased fuel prices in the central US.

April 2011 - call for FTC investigation
http://wyden.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=158ffa9a-6380-4c2a-bbec-180c16839018

http://thinkprogress.org/green/2011...e-sends-midwest-oil-prices-surging/?mobile=nc
http://dirtyoilsands.org/midwestgas/iowa

 

[AndyH]

via email, Feb 13, 1035AM CST

Dear friends,

When we started the Keystone fight there were just a few of us, and no one thought we had a chance.

But with hard work and lots of great organizing we scored an unlikely victory when the President eventually rejected the pipeline last month. However, the oil industry’s representatives in Congress are eager to undo that, and it looks like a deal could be coming together in the Senate this week to sabotage that win. It’s time for us to defend our victory.

Beginning at noon today, every environmental group in the nation, not to mention great allies like MoveOn.org and CREDO Action, will come together for the most concentrated burst of environmental advocacy this millennia. We’re aiming to send half a million messages to the Senate in the next 24 hours. And they’ll all have the same message: back the President and make sure this pipeline doesn’t get built.

This is what movements look like. And we need you to play a big part.

1—Send a message right now to the Senate: act.350.org/sign/kxl/

and

2—Make sure that everyone else you know does the same thing.

The arguments by now are clear: This pipeline won’t create jobs (that’s why the biggest labor unions in the country support the President). It puts the heartland of the country at risk from spills -- the kind of leaks that devastated the Yellowstone and Kalamazoo Rivers in the year past. And after the year with the most weather disasters in the nation’s history, and amidst this weird and out-of-kilter winter, the fight against climate change must start here.

The only argument for the pipeline comes from folks like the Koch Brothers—“we can make a lot of money.” It’s not a good argument, but that money buys votes in Congress, unless we stand up.

So: stand up.

Look, this is one battle in the long fight against climate change. There will be others—we’ll doubtless have to call on you to go to jail again, to march and to sit in and to protest. And I have no doubt you’ll be there when it’s needed.

But today—today—the fight is at the keyboards. What you started has spread to become the greatest green fight in years. We’ve got to defend your victory, and we’ve got to do it now.

With deep thanks,

—Bill McKibben for 350.org

 

[Herm]

No risk of spillage if transported by rail, that tar sand bitumen is solid and has to be heated (or diluted) for it to flow.

So after all this was a fight for climate change?.. very naive, that bitumen will get used no matter what. Eventually, as oil declines, we will render polar bear fat.

 

[TomT]

The only real problem is that the rail system in this country is on the far side of decrepit... It is an embarrassment!

No risk of spillage if transported by rail, that tar sand bitumen is solid and has to be heated (or diluted) for it to flow.

 

[Herm]

thats why we have train derailments daily..

 

[AndyH]

From Steve Kretzmann at Oil Change International:

Hey-
Just a quick update at 8:30 pm. We've just passed 506,000 signatures to the Senate to stop the Keystone XL pipeline - and it hasn't even been nine hours yet! If you haven't taken action yet, now is a great time. If you have - thank you! And please help us spread the word!
Best,
Steve

It's about a lot more than 'just' climate change, Herm.

 

[AndyH]

From Josh Fox of Gasland fame at 9:52pm CST:

The Keystone XL Tarsands Pipeline has been resurrected, once again. I'm asking you to join me, Bill McKibben and 350.org, along with an impressive list of coalition partners, as we gather 1,000,000 signatures in 24 Hours. We had originally targeted 500,000 signatures, but since we already received 500,000 in the first 7 hours, we're upping our target.

 

[AndyH]

http://blog.chron.com/texaspolitics...-owners-activists-sound-alarm-on-keystone-xl/

Landowners and property-rights advocates are calling for legislative hearings over the state’s property-condemnation process, voicing complaints about TransCanada’s continuing efforts to acquire land for the Keystone XL pipeline project.

Several activists accused the company of using the eminent domain process “to bully landowners and condemn private property.” A company spokesman said it strives for a good relationship with landowners.

The activists and farmers are drawing heart from a Texas Supreme Court ruling in August that required more hearings on another pipeline project to ensure a company demonstrated its line was for public use, not just a private benefit.

The Keystone XL project, which has stirred controversy over environmental concerns, was blocked by President Obama, but the company plans to re-file its application. In addition, Republicans in Washington are working for a legislative way around Obama’s action.

 

[AndyH]

The latest petition drive ended with just over 777,000 signatures.

No million this time - in spite of bringing-in the Colbert Nation:
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/408218/february-13-2012/bill-mckibben

edit... Just got this from the Center for Biological Diversity:

 

[AndyH]

Texas Protests

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rocky-kistner/keystone-pipeline-protests_b_1287426.html

David Daniel, a landowner near Winnsboro, TX, has been fighting TransCanada for four years over their plans to run the pipeline though his wooded, spring-fed land near Winnsboro, TX. Daniel says he learned about the plan only after the company had already come on to his land and staked out its pipeline route, a route he says will threaten natural springs that communities depend on for drinking water.

The raucous protest included an unusual mix of Tea Party supporters, independents, Democrats, Republicans and even Occupy Dallas protesters. They were all there to support Crawford’s eminent domain court fight with TransCanada, which wants to run the Keystone XL pipeline through her property.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IJn4A68dq8[/youtube]

 

[abasile]

I find abhorrent the use of eminent domain to further private economic activity. Even when used for public purposes, eminent domain should be an absolute last resort.

 

[Herm]

I hate NIMBYs, I wish none lived around me..

 

[AndyH]

I find abhorrent the use of eminent domain to further private economic activity. Even when used for public purposes, eminent domain should be an absolute last resort.

You're not alone. One factor in this is that Trans-Canada is registered in the US as well - they're not just a Canadian corp. I expect they can select from the most favorable laws/processes available to them from either side of the border to move their project along.

Normally ranchers and environmental groups stay on their own sides of the battle lines down here. It's significant that these protesters include both political parties, farmers/ranchers, environmental groups, and folks from Occupy.

 

[AndyH]

This is a follow-up to the July 2010 tar sands pipeline 'leak' in Srn Michigan. They're still trying to clean up after the approx 800,000 gallon spill. This bitumen slurry is not regular crude...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGcJ64q9BaM[/youtube]

Unlike conventional crude, diluted bitumen or "dilbit" is a mixture of unrefined tar that is often heavier than water and "diluent." This is usually a cocktail of volatile solvents like naphtha or natural gas condensate that allows the thick bitumen to be pumped through the pipeline.

The local residents and EPA responders near Kalamazoo quickly learned that bitumen and diluent do not stay together once released into the environment.

Volatile portions of the diluent containing toxic fumes of benzene and toluene began off-gassing in the area, impacting the health of almost 60 per cent of the local population with symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, headaches, coughing and fatigue. Clean-up crews were issued respirators to protect them from toxic fumes.

As the lighter chemicals evaporated into the surrounding area, the bitumen portion began to sink to the bottom and become mixed with river sediments. Conventional clean-up equipment such as skimmers and oil booms proved useless in recovering the large amounts of submerged oil that now covers an area of river bottom estimated to be approximately 200 acres.

"This was the first time the EPA or anyone has done a submerged cleanup of this magnitude," Ralph Dollhopf, the EPA Incident Commander for the Kalamazoo spill told the local media.

"I would never have expected... that we would have spent two or three times longer working on the submerged oil than surface oil. I don't think anyone at the EPA anticipated that, I don't think anyone at the state level anticipated that, I don't think anyone in industry anticipated that."

http://thetyee.ca/News/2012/03/05/Diluted-Bitumen/

 

[AndyH]

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

 

[Stoaty]

Well what do you know...

Study Finds Tar Sands Has Higher CO2 Emissions Than Thought:

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2012/03/13/443245/study-finds-tar-sands-has-higher-co2-emissions-calls-restoration-pledge-greenwashing/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Those damn scientists, using the scientific method to come up with results that most people don't want to hear!

 

[AndyH]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8_53Tz_aAk[/youtube]

http://act.350.org/sign/join-the-fight

I call on Congress to end all subsidies to fossil fuel companies, and invest in green jobs and clean energy instead.

We're gearing up for a major new fight to end the billions of dollars in subsidies the fossil fuel industry receives each year. To move to renewable energy like wind and solar, we're going to need to end the subsidies to an industry that's already making record-breaking profits -- and start investing in a clean energy economy that doesn't destroy our planet.

If you're ready to join this fight, sign on by filling out the form on the right. Over the next month, we'll ramp up the pressure to get every politician to tell us where he or she stands on these subsidies.

For now, we'll use this petition to show Congress how important this issue is -- and when we launch our big push to get every member of Congress on the record, they'll know that we have an army of concerned citizens who have our back.