Pipelines Reborn: They're Back Thanks to Trump

The day after Donald J Trump fired the first salvos in his war against the EPA and others, he delivered on his promise to double down on fossil fuels with the approval of two pipelines. On Tuesday, January 24th, Trump signed Executive Orders that overturn the Obama administration's decision on the Keystone XL (KXL) and the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL). This authorizes TransCanada Pipelines to move forward with the 1,179-mile KXL and Energy Transfer Partners can also proceed with the 1,172-mile DAPL.

This is a blow for environmentalists and indigenous people who had fought hard to shut down the KXL and DAPL. Keystone was killed by President Barack Obama after years of protests and DAPL was stalled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the face of massive protests by indigenous people led by the Standing Rock Sioux.

Partial Summary of Oil Spills in 2016

Fossil fuels are the primary cause of climate change, they are also prone to spills. Such spills are toxic and they have been a consistent part of the fossil fuel industry since its inception. As long as we extract and transport oil and gas spills are a statistical certainty.

In December, Wired reported that there are about 30,000 oil spills in US waters every year. In October, Hurricane Ivan caused dozens of leaks in undersea oil wells and pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico. Some of these spills will leak for decades. The Taylor Energy site will continue to leak between 84 and 1,470 gallons per day for the next hundred years. The oil slick from this spill stretches over eight square miles on an average day. Taylor Energy has gone bankrupt and they just walked away from the mess they created.

Liberal Dualism: Canadian Climate Leadership is at Odds with Ramping Up Fossil Fuels

The ruling federal Liberals have canceled one pipeline and approved two others. It is but the most recent example of Canada's one step forward two steps back approach to climate action.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has the laudable goal of wanting to be a climate champion and an economic leader. However, this balancing act is completely undermined when you add increased fossil fuel production to the equation. Canada was criticized at COP22 for expanding its fossil fuel production and now they have compounded the problem by adding a couple of pipelines to the mix.

Contradictory climate and energy policies

Canadian government energy and environmental policy is a checkerboard of seemingly opposing policy positions. The government announced a carbon tax then followed that up with a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. To further illustrate the two faces of this government, they banned tanker traffic off the coast of northern BC while increasing traffic to the south. Most recently they rejected some pipelines while approving others.

Another Day Another Oil Spill This Time in Alabama (Video)

Although nobody seems to have noticed, between a quarter and a third of a million gallons of gasoline has leaked from a pipeline in the middle of September. The Colonial Pipeline Company reported the spill prompting the governors of Alabama and Georgia to declare states of emergency. The sad fact is that oil and gas spills have become so common that it is no longer construed as newsworthy.

The ecological impact of the spill appears to be secondary to concerns about the interruption of the supply. In Alabama the Pipeline spill triggered a supplier 'Red Alert' and Georgia Gov. Robert Bentley issued an executive order Thursday declaring a state of emergency in Alabama.

New Pipeline Safety Law Followed by Another Oil Spill

Mere hours after President Obama signed the PIPES safety bill into law, a pipeline spilled thousands of gallons of oil. Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 became law on June 22nd. Within hours of the signing an oil pipeline erupted in Ventura County, California. It was first noticed by a local rancher early Thursday morning.
The spill emanated from a ten inch underground pipeline owned by Colorado-based Crimson Pipeline LLC. It sent an estimated 29,400 gallons of crude oil down into an arroyo that flows through the city of Ventura and reaches the ocean near the Ventura Pier. The spill marks Crimson’s 11th such incident in the last ten years.

Second Shell Oil Spill in Less than Two Weeks

For the second time in less than two weeks pipelines belonging to Shell have leaked oil. The most recent spill has leaked 21,000 Gallons (500 barrels) of oil near Tracy in San Joaquin County, California. This time the culprit was the company's underground San Pablo Bay Pipeline which transports crude oil from California’s Central Valley to the San Francisco Bay Area. The spill took place on May 20th but Shell did not report the leak until the evening of Monday May 23.

Summary of Fossil Fuel Spills in 2015 (Videos)

Oil spills continued to be a problem in 2015 with a number of major incidents in North America. These spills contaminated both land and waterways and prompted the evacuation of local citizens. Whether by pipe, ship, rail or truck, there are well founded concerns about the safety of transporting fossil fuels. These concerns add weight to the argument that we need to expedite the shift away from fossil fuels. Many consecutive years with substantial numbers of spills illustrate the dangers associated with transporting fossil fuels.

Keystone XL is Rejected Energy East to Follow

TransCanada's tar sands pipelines are being thwarted at every turn. US President Barack Obama has officially rejected the Keystone XL and the new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to cancel the Energy East.

Ahead of Obama's Rejection TransCanada Fails to Suspend Ruling on KXL

Shortly after President Obama announced that he would decide the fate of the Keystone XL before the end of his term, TransCanada pipelines submitted a request to suspend their application.

With good reason TransCanada believes that Obama will not rule in their favor. Now that the Iran crisis is behind him Obama will likely use the remainder of his term to focus on climate change.

Bernie Sander's Keystone XL Amendment in the Senate

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), has introduced an amendment to the Keystone XL bill that will force Republicans to put their climate ignorance on public display. Republicans are hell-bent on pushing through legislation in support of the Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline even if President Obama has vowed to veto it.

Here is Sander's succinct amendment:

It is the sense of Congress that Congress is in agreement with the opinion of virtually the entire worldwide scientific community that—

(1) climate change is real;

(2) climate change is caused by human activities;

Why the Keystone XL Pipedream Must Die Once and For All

The Republican preoccupation with the passage of the Keystone XL pipeline is emboldened by the Nebraska Supreme Court even though four of seven judges ruled the approval process was unconstitutional. No matter what happens in Congress the President has vowed to veto the legislation. As explained by White House spokesman Josh Earnest, "If the bill passes this Congress, the President won't sign it." Today, Tuesday January 13, a number of environmental groups are taking it one step further by staging rallies across North America to demand that Obama reject the pipeline once and for all.

Video - Sen. Elizabeth Warren on the Keystone XL

In this video Elizabeth Warren destroys the arguments in support of Keystone XL pipeline. Sen. Warren specifically dresses down Republicans who want to push through the pipeline. She explains that its benefits are for lobbyists and big business not the American people.

Related
Republicans trying to Force KXL on the White House
Keystone XL Loses Another Battle but the War Rages On
Republicans Keep Pushing Keystone XL Pipeline
Republican Congress to Push the Keystone XL
Reasons Why the Keystone XL is a Pipedream
Keystone XL will Emit 4 Times More Pollution than Originally Thought
Buying Support for the Keystone XL
A Brief Review of the Keystone XL Saga
The Fate of the Keystone XL: The Ball is in Your Court Mr President
Refuting the Rationale for Approving the Keystone XL
Business Leaders, Scientists, Economists and Ordinary People Reject the Keystone XL
Keystone XL will Fly or Fail Depending on Who you Talk to
Comparison of the Keystone XL and Renewable Energy
How Come the Keystone XL is so Hard to Kill

Republicans trying to Force KXL on the White House

The 114th Republican led Congress begins today and you can be sure that moving forward with the Keystone XL pipeline will be at the top of their agenda.

However, the GOP is starting the year off on the defensive after it was discovered that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise attended a meeting of a white supremacists group founded by David Duke in 2002, Rep. Michael Grimm pleaded guilty to tax evasion and conservatives are trying to depose House Speaker John Boehner.

On Sunday, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) confirmed that a KXL bill will be the first to reach Obama's desk in 2015.

It may not be as easy to advance the KXL as some had hoped. Republicans appear unlikely to secure enough Democrats to get the 60 Senate votes required to override Presidential veto.

Keystone XL Loses Another Battle but the War Rages On

On Tuesday November 18th, the US Senate narrowly rejected a bill (2280) to speed approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. The motion needed 60 votes in favour to pass. The bill failed after 59 senators voted in favour and 41 were against. Predictably, all 45 Senate Republicans voted in favour of the legislation alongside 14 Democrats and Independents. The pipeline was approved last week for the ninth time by the Republican-dominated House of Representatives.

Republicans Keep Pushing Keystone XL Pipeline

Never let it be said that Republicans are not tenacious when it comes to their support for fossil fuels and knee-jerk opposition to President Obama. Republicans in Congress are trying yet again to force the President's hand on the Keystone XL pipeline. A motion was already passed in the House and another is expected today (November 18th) in the Senate.

The House of Representatives passed a measure Friday (November 14) that would force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline with a vote of 252 to 161. Nearly all Republicans voted for the bill, along with 31 Democrats. This is the ninth time the House has tried to push the President on the Keystone XL.

Republican Congress to Push the Keystone XL

Congress is trying to fast track the controversial Keystone XL project. A debate on the pipeline is scheduled to take place today (Friday, November 14)  in both the US House and the Senate. Both houses of the Republican led Congress are expected to approve the bill.

While the President has indicated he will veto the bill, there are steps that could be taken by the GOP to override his decision.

Obama Standing Up to the GOP by Promising to Veto Keystone XL Legislation

President Obama said that he will veto the GOPs efforts to push through the Keystone XL. He sees that the GOP is gunning for him and his climate agenda. Rather than backing down he is standing up to Big Oil and their Republican minions.

By standing up to Republican threats Obama is showing that he is a man of integrity and a true champion of the environment. The move is consistent with the President's promise that he will only allow the pipeline to be built if it, "doesn’t increase climate change."

Reasons Why the Keystone XL is a Pipedream

The reasons why the Keystone XL pipeline will be rejected are increasingly convincing. Although there have been a lot of arguments proposed on both sides of the issue, certain factors have recently come to light that suggest the pipeline may never see the light of day.
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After a seemingly endless succession of arguments for and against the pipeline, some compelling reasons have emerged that suggest the Keystone XL (KXL) may not be completed after all. If it is completed, the KXL would ferry 825,000 barrels of tar sands oil per day from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico.

The combination of protest, legal wrangling, an expired permit, President Obama’s climate initiatives, further regulations, harmful impacts, and market forces are making the road forward for the KXL much more difficult.

Keystone XL will Emit 4 Times More Pollution than Orginally Thought

According to a new study, the Keystone XL will produce four times the amount of carbon emissions predicted in the State Department's controversial report.

The data was published in a study from scientists at the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). It was published on Sunday in the journal Nature Climate Change. The new research suggests that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would increase greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 121 million tons of carbon per year. That is more that four times more that the figure of 30 million tons contained in the State Department report.

Environmental Legislation in Ontario in the Wake of the Liberal Majority

A number of environmental bills have been stalled by the provincial election in Ontario and opposition from the Progressive Conservatives. The June 12 provincial elections saw Ontario dodge a bullet by resisting the Progressive Conservatives. Led by Kathleen Wynne the Liberals managed to win a majority. Wynne assumed the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party in January 2013. She was more progressive and green focused than her scandal laden predecessor Dalton McGuinty. The leader of the Ontario NDP brought down the minority Liberal government due to her refusal to support the budget. While Tim Hudak and the Progressive Conservatives were predictably reluctant to support environmental legislation.