The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

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TRP- Keystone Pipeline

Dew will probably think I'm advocating another conspiracy theory, but you have to wonder about whether our Government plays favorites with industry. TRP proposed the Keystone pipeline extension and submitted all the environmental evaluations over a year ago. A portion of this pipeline is designated to move crude from Cushing OK. to the refineries on the Gulf. Presently there is a huge bottleneck which has led to stop gap measures such as trucking the crude to the Gulf.

The majority of the generals of our military have signed a petition to get the State Department to approve this project since it would secure a long term stable source of oil for this country (i.e., Canada). It would also create thousands of jobs, yet the State Department is held hostage by the left wing opposition such as Dennis Krusinich.

It appears that the government may favor the Enterprise Partners pipeline despite the fact that it is way behind in terms of Env. studies etc. Does anyone know how taxes are levied for pipeline companies. Seems like the taxes on the corporate profits probably outstrip any sales taxes from the Canadian Company. Either way the investment in this infrastructure project could have been creating thousands of much needed construction jobs while reducing our dependency on oil from the Middle East.

I have heard the arguments that oil sands generate more greenhouse gas and that portions of the pipeline would cross the Ogalala Aquifer. However, the oil sands are here to stay since the price of oil will remain in the profitable range. If the oil does not go to the US it will go to China. Investments are being made in the processes which reduce carbon emissions. Pipelines can be built with secondary containment so the leak issue can be resolved through engineering and permit requirements. As such, these arguments do not hold up. I believe, the State Department delays are designed to provide time for competing pipelines (for the Gulf portions of the project) to come to the table. Hate to be suspicious, but this smacks of political insider dealings.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/07/transcanada-idUSN1E7661HO20110707?feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssEnergyNews&rpc=43