One would think that the recent postponement of a decision on the Keystone XL would have put that issue to bed, for a while at least. Yes, we all know that the only reason anybody acquiesced on this issue is the aquifer in Nebraska. But, we'll take what we can get and, as has been pointed out elsewhere, TransCanada is losing scads and oodles of money every day the project is delayed. The State Department is currently projecting a finish date of early 2013 for their completed analysis.
Enter Senator Lugar. He's the driving force behind a plan/bill to force Obama to approve the pipeline in 60 days or * gasp * explain why it is not in the national interest. Really, Lugar? You would legislate that Obama submit an essay?
Nearly 40 Republican bill backers pitched their measure as a plan to rev up the nation's ailing economy while weaning the United States off Middle East oil. TransCanada Corp. has estimated that as many as 20,000 jobs could be tied to the construction and operation of its proposed pipeline, although other forecasts put the numbers much lower, around 3,000.
..."With all this talk about jobs, we know there's one major shovel-ready project ready to go - and that's Keystone," McConnell said at a news conference touting the bill. "If the administration would get out of the way, this project would create jobs immediately."
Don't you just love the false dichotomy between fossil fuel jobs and no jobs? Yeah, me neither. Why not put half as much effort into creating jobs in the green sector? Thankfully, the bill really doesn't stand a chance of passage, with only 40 GOP members getting behind it.
But at least this is all keeping the story in the news cycle. The State Department had a presser-like object yesterday and someone asked what was the office's position on Lugar's gambit to do an end-run around the review and delay of the Keystone XL project. This was the response:
Consistent with Executive Order 13337, after consultations with a broad range of stakeholders, we determined it is necessary to specifically assess alternative routes around the environmentally sensitive Nebraska Sand Hills.
The really funny thing in all of this is that Executive Order 13337 came from shrubCo. I can't help but think they never intended the executive order to be used in this way. Yet here we are, with TransCanada sitting on all the pipe they prematurely ordered for a project that may well never come to fruition. And it so warms the cockles of my heart.
I didn't have such a warm and fuzzy feeling after reading that the Keystone XL has pitted labor against environmentalists, though. That is a really, really, really bad thing. Even worse, a handful of labor/trade groups will be represented at a hearing this Friday, appearing on behalf of Republicans and in favor of expediting the Keystone XL pipeline.
Worse still is the fact that no fewer than six labor groups have already signed contracts with TransCanada for work on the pipeline.
Sooooo, how do we bridge this gap between environmental concerns and a focus on jobs, namely that temporary jobs that destroy the environment aren't the kind of jobs we need? I remember this same stupid dynamic during the fight over the spotted owl: jobs versus the environment. And that is a position we should never, ever be in, not ever.
How can anyone not be convinced that the environmental destruction wrought by projects like the Keystone XL is not worth the temporary construction jobs they create. How can anyone pretend with a straight face that this somehow presents a long-term boost to the economy? It's a finite resource, ya jackwagons! How long can any of it last? The damage the pipeline would/could cause in the meantime, however, would certainly have long-term ramifications.
So, where do we go from here, besides calling Lugar and every member of the Energy and Commerce Committee to tell them they had better not expedite anything that keeps us dependent on non-renewables while accomplishing little else but squeezing the last drop of profit out of a dying industry? Anybody have any connections with the trade organizations who are participating on the hearing Friday? Better yet, anybody feel like a protest paying the illustrious Energy and Commerce Committee a visit tomorrow?