"The
first step to putting our country on the path to addressing the climate crisis
is for President Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. His legacy as president will rest squarely on his response,
resolve, and leadership in solving the climate crisis."
Making much the same argument with much greater detail on February 10 on TomDispatch.com, Hampshire College professor Michael Klare analyzes three possible pipeline routes that would enable Alberta tar sands oil to reach world markets. The first is Keystone, first proposed in 2008, which is still at least two years from being operational. The other two go in opposite directions -- west, where resistance is already high, and east, where a substantial amount of pipeline is already in place. Klare analyzes each alternative in detail, arguing that:
""
the only pipeline now under development that would significantly expand
Albertan tar-sands exports is Keystone XL. It is vitally important to the
tar-sands producers because it offers the sole short-term - or possibly even
long-term - option for the export and sale of the crude output now coming on
line at dozens of projects being developed across northern Alberta.
"Without it, these projects will languish and Albertan production will have to be sold at a deep discount - at, that is, a per-barrel price that could fall below production costs, making further investment in tar sands unattractive. In January, Canadian tar-sands oil was already selling for $30-$40 less than West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the standard U.S. blend."
But Klare does not consider the different route to the Atlantic proposed by Girling, a route that could be entirely within Canada, ending at St. John, New Brunswick.
It's Not About Pipelines, It's About Tar
Sands Oil
The shadow play aspects of the public posturing around the Keystone pipeline make it difficult to focus on the underlying reality that matters most: whether exploiting tar sands, not only in Canada, but in the U.S. and other countries, really will mean "game over for the climate," as NASA scientist James Hansen has said. The heart of his argument, as it appeared in the New York Times, was simple:
"GLOBAL warming isn't a prediction. It is happening. That is why I was so
troubled to read a recent interview with President Obama in Rolling Stone in which he said
that Canada would exploit the oil in
its vast tar sands reserves "regardless of what we do.'
"
If Canada proceeds, and we do nothing, it will be game over for the climate."
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
