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.

Oil Train Derails and Explodes in Oregon Adjacent to the Columbia River (Video)

An oil train derailment and explosion along the Columbia river in Oregon has once again highlighted the dangers of transporting oil by rail. Around noon on Friday June 2nd, 2016, at least 12 rail cars carrying Bakken oil operated by Union Pacific derailed and caught fire. The wreck occurred in the Columbia River Gorge near the community of Mosier in Oregon which is about about 70 miles east of Portland. The derailment and subsequent fire has forced the evacuation of local schools and nearby homes. The I-84 highway has also been closed to traffic. The fire burned overnight and plumes of black smoke were seen billowing from the scene.

The rail line runs adjacent to the Columbia river which is widely used for both recreation and commerce. Residents of the town of Mosier are being asked to boil their water.

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.

Montana Oil Train Derailment and Spill

On Tuesday July 14th, a train containing 106 oil cars derailed in eastern Montana. A total of 22 cars came off the tracks and at least two of those cars are known to have spilled their load. The derailment took place near Culbertson close to the North Dakota border. In May another oil train derailed and 10 tanker cars caught fire in an incident near Hamberg, North Dakota.

New Charges Against MMA Employees in Lac Mégantic Train Wreck

Several people have been indicted 2 years after the tragic oil train derailment that killed 47 people and decimated the town of Lac Mégantic Quebec. This includes President and CEO of the now defunct Montreal, Maine and Atlantic (MMA) rail company Robert Gindrod, managers and the train's engineer. These people face the possibility of jail terms or fines for violations of the Rail Safety Act and the Fisheries Act.

New Oil Train Rules Do Not Go Far Enough

Over the last few years a spate of exploding oil trains in North America has prompted politicians in the US and Canada to introduce new rules designed to make rail transportation safer. We have seen many more derailments and explosions recently due to the 4,000 percent increase in oil shipments by rail between 2008 to 2014. It is a statistical certainty that derailments increase in proportion to the amount of oil shipped by rail.

The actual number of derailments and explosions have exceeded government predictions by 20 percent. A federal government report predicted an average of 10 oil train derailments each year and at a cost of four and a half billion dollars over the next 20 years. However, in the last year alone there have been 12 oil train derailments and in the past two years there have been almost two dozen such derailments.

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.

The End of Oil Trains?

Early in July, people from across North America and around the world paused to remember the one year anniversary of the Lac-Mégantic oil train disaster. This tragic anniversary and the recent spate of rail accidents has increased calls to reign-in oil trains.

The environmental and emotional legacy of the Lac-Mégantic disaster

On July 6, 2013, a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded killing 47 people and destroying a large part of the little town of Lac-Mégantic. On the anniversary of the disaster, dignitaries joined the people of the town to mourn the tragic events.

Oil Train Derailments: How Many Wake-Up Calls do we Need?

If you need proof of the dangers of transporting oil by rail you need look no further than the spate of accidents that plagued oil trains in the past year. Recent incidence are a statistical outgrowth of the radically increased volume of trains bearing crude.

There have been a number of serious derailments and oil spills, however none were more terrible than the tragic events in Lac Megantic on July 6, 2013.

The growing volume of oil being moved by rail increases the risks from accidents. The equation is simple the more oil that is moved by rail the more risk we incur.

The events in Lac Megantic are but the tip of the iceberg. There have been numerous other oil train incidents in the last year including accidents in:

Tables - Rail Traffic in North America

Curtailing the Transport of Oil by Pipe and Rail

There are a host of benefits associated with decreasing the amount of oil transported by rail. This will not only prevent deaths, injuries and environmental contamination, it will also reduce the amount of oil that makes it to market, which will in turn minimize emissions and drive up the price. Pipelines are the cheapest way to move oil. The cost of moving oil by pipeline is estimated to be between $5 to $10 per barrel of oil compared to $10 to $20 per barrel by train.

Rail industry regulations on the transport of fossil fuels will go a long way to help minimize dangerous accidents. They also have the ancillary benefit of driving up the price of oil which will increase the relative value of renewable sources of energy.