Filed under: Canada, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Election 2014, Energy, Foreign Policy, History, Politics, Regulation, The United States | Tags: Keystone XL Pipeline, Northern Gateway Pipeline, The Energy East Pipeline
The Obama administration has been holding up for six long years, any real decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline that would bring oil from the oil sands of Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries. Approving the project would have provided 20,000 well-paying construction jobs, boosted the economy and helped to lower the price of oil on the world market, and reduce the influence of Russia and OPEC in world affairs. The whole project was a huge win-win for both the United States and Canada.
Well, Canada has had just about enough. They are in the process of developing alternatives —one of which is a 2,900 mile pipeline that would carry a million barrels of oil a day from the oil sands region to the ice-free port of St. John, New Brunswick on the Bay of Fundy. There it would be refined and then shipped to customers around the world on supertankers. The Energy East Pipeline is a $10+billion (US dollar)project where an existing oil superport and refinery could export that oil to world markets, including India which is hungry for more energy.
Canada has already approved their Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline to Kitimaat British Columbia, a 1177 kilometer pipeline. That one is waiting approval from the many First Nation tribes that it would cross. There is also a 710 mi long Trans Mountain pipeline system operated by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners running from Edmonton, Alberta to terminals and refineries in British Columbia, Vancouver and the Puget Sound region in Washington. Kinder Morgan says expanding the existing pipeline, which they want to do by twelve times, is cheaper than Northern Gateway.
It is hard to over emphasize how annoyed the Canadians are over our failure to proceed on a mutually beneficial project because Obama wants campaign money from wealthy ideologues. Reuters says Canadian crude exports to the United States topped three million barrels per day last week. Much of this oil is moving by rail. Without a pipeline to a refinery and supertanker port, the U.S. is virtually Canada’s only buyer. Canadians are subject to price discounts of as much as $43 a barrel that cost Canada something like $20 billion a year.
The White House’s blockade of the Keystone XL hasn’t stopped domestic Fracking or development of Alberta oil sands. Instead, the industry transports oil and natural gas with 19th century technology — rail. Seven out of every ten barrels from North Dakota’s Baaken shale move by rail, and total carloads of crude have increased 4000% since 2008.
So naturally the president’s regulators are looking at the dangers of trains. The 2003 Lac-Mégantic oil explosion killed 47 people and destroyed parts of the Quebec town, an agency called the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is imposing new rail tank car design standards. Within three years, most of the 334,869 cars in the North American fleet must be retrofitted with thicker steel jackets, heat shields, better brakes and so on. Regulators, of course, claim to be acting in the name of rail safety, but according to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) 99.9977% of potentially dangerous cargo arrives without incident.
Hardening of tank cars might prevent 0.0023% of accidents. Most (88%) of derailments are the result of cracked, split or washed-out tracks and welding. The need is for more track maintenance and inspection. The other major cause of derailment is human error. The real motive seems to be to force tens of thousands of tanker rail cars off the rails and slow the oil and gas development to which the enviros object.
Bloomberg has a long and fascinating article on Canada’s efforts to solve Obama’s intransigence over the Keystone XL, and their own need to bring their mother lode of crude oil to market. With one project, Energy East will give Alberta’s oil sands not only an outlet to eastern Canadian markets, but to global markets. Canadian oil and government interests feel they’re being played by Obama as he sweeps aside a long understood “special relationship” between the world’s two biggest trading partners to score political points with environmental supporters at home. (The Bloomberg piece includes maps that explain the pipelines).
It’s clear that his will be a huge benefit for Canada. The projects span the whole country, uniting Western oilfields with coastal shipping. The Keystone XL may still be built sometime, but failure to deal with our close friend and neighbor to the north in a timely and honest manner has deeply damaged a longstanding relationship and we missed out on jobs and economic growth for the sake of Democrat politics.
Filed under: Africa, Democrat Corruption, Developing Nations, Domestic Policy, Election 2014, Health Care, Immigration, National Security, Science/Technology | Tags: Disgustingly Bad Taste, Preparation for Ebola Crisis, Where is The Ebola Czar?
When the Democrats get desperate, they get pretty disgusting. The Agenda Project, a 501(c)4 organization and liberal dark money group is placing ads in various battleground states is attempting to blame Ebola on the Republicans. According to an email signed by the group’s founder, one Erica Payne, and titled “if you die, blame them,” the group is starting:
a multi-pronged blitzkrieg attack tat lays blame for the Ebola crisis exactly where it belongs — at the feet of the Republican lawmakers. Like rabid dogs in a butcher shop, Republicans have indiscriminately shredded everything in their path, including critical programs that could have dealt with the Ebola crisis before it reached our country.
Their internal polls must really be suggesting a Republican sweep. File this under “Guttersnipes.” Erica Payne has established a reputation for absurd attack broadsides against conservatives and Republicans. In 2010, she was responsible for an ad that accused Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) of killing senior citizens and a campaign to mock Tea Party Americans who engaged in grassroots political activism called “Fuck-Tea.”
The Free Beacon notes that aside from the stupidity of the Ebola ad, it’s simply false. The U.S. Global Health Program budget has increased more than six-fold since 2001 and the Republican-controlled House overwhelmingly approved a budget measure to increase funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by $567 million, an 8.2 percent increase over the previous year.
Ten years ago the federal government created and funded a brand new office in the HHS department specifically to coordinate preparation for and response to public health threats like Ebola. As the Ebola Czar, Dr. Nicole Lurie’s job is to help the country prepare for emergencies and to have the countermeasures , the medicines or vaccines needed for a public health emergency.
Heard of her? Perhaps she is avoiding the public eye because there was a scandal a few years back. In November 2011, a front page expose in the Los Angeles Times described how a company controlled by a longtime political donor got a no-bid contract to supply an experimental remedy for a threat that may not exist. The donor was Ron Pearlman, a controlling shareholder of Siga. The award was controversial in every way, including disputes about need, efficacy and extremely high costs. Even Democrats in tight election races were calling for investigations.
Last month Siga filed for bankruptcy after it was found liable for breaching a licensing contract. The company that fought the no-bid contract was Chimerix, which argued that their drug had far more promise than Siga’s. Chimerix’ Brincidofovir is antiviral medication being developed for smallpox, but also Ebola and adenovirus. Preliminary tests show some promise against Ebola, and the FDA authorized its use on Oct. 6 for use against some Ebola patients. It was given to Thomas Eric Duncan who died from Ebola.
The supposedly underfunded NIH has granted $702,558 for a study on the impact of televisions and gas generators on villages in Vietnam, $175,587 to the University of Kentucky to study the impact of cocaine on the sex drive of Japanese quail. $44.382 to study hookah smoking in Jordan and $592,527 to study why chimpanzees throw objects. Last year there were news reports about a $509,840 grant from NIH for a study that would send text messages in “gay lingo” to meth-heads. Preparation for an Ebola epidemic? Not so much.
And Erica Payne, and her Agenda Project? They have close ties to the Democracy Alliance, the Democrat’s billionaire donor club. Payne is a DA co-founder, and the Agenda Project is one of the groups to which Alliance donors can steer money to satisfy their annual $200,000 giving requirements.
We have had one Ebola death of a man who knew he had been exposed to Ebola, and lied to catch a flight to America. There are so many issues, important issues, facing the country that serious discussions would help to allay fears and to help the public understand why we are doing what we are doing, and if the administration is competent to manage our problems. Instead we get this, and a game of kick-the-can down the road till after the election, so maybe the people won’t find out.
American Elephants 