Keystone XL Pipeline

I thought Obama has the final decision.
From my link above in answer to your question: (do you not read the links,? I won't bother putting them up there if not.)

"When new U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Friday with Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird in Washington, the talk turned to the fate of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

Kerry said the controversial $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline project would undergo a "fair and transparent review," adding he expects to make a decision "near-term" on whether to move forward with it. The State Department has final say over the pipeline because it traverses international borders. According to a department spokeswoman, a decision is likely at the end of March. But Reutersreported an unidentified U.S. official said the decision could be pushed back until June.
 
I usually read the links but I'm in a hurry today. I thought they already pushed the decision back once. Odd that they'd do it a second time.
 
What impact would the decision have on the elections? Honestly at this point I wouldn't be surprised if a decision was announced during the Labor Day weekend when people are away.
 
What impact would the decision have on the elections? Honestly at this point I wouldn't be surprised if a decision was announced during the Labor Day weekend when people are away.
People are tired of paying high prices for fuel, and thus everything else because the cost of trucking goods is so high.

" In poll after poll after poll, Americans have expressed their support for the project. What is even more pronounced is that support for the project continues to build as evidenced by the June 3, 2013 Harris Interactive poll. This most recent poll by Harris found that 82% of registered voters believe building the Keystone pipeline system is in the national interest. That is an overwhelming majority." http://www.forbes.com/sites/brighammccown/2013/06/07/keystone-approval-rate-reaches-new-high/
 
The decision will be made by Obama and Kerry. I don't understand how this will play any role in the elections since neither will be up for elections soon. As usual, the media has done a very, very poor job explaining the harmful effects the pipeline may have. I'm not surprised about the polls.I haveread that polls show most Americans think farm animals should be treated well, and all polls regarding immigration show most Americans think we should have less immigrants. I hope the government doesn't use the polls as a reason for the pipeline considering they've ignored other polls.
 
The decision will be made by Obama and Kerry. I don't understand how this will play any role in the elections since neither will be up for elections soon. As usual, the media has done a very, very poor job explaining the harmful effects the pipeline may have. I'm not surprised about the polls.I haveread that polls show most Americans think farm animals should be treated well, and all polls regarding immigration show most Americans think we should have less immigrants. I hope the government doesn't use the polls as a reason for the pipeline considering they've ignored other polls.
Lots of congress people are up for re-election. It affects them, and thus the balance of power in the House and Senate.
 
I read today that the company behind the pipeline is officially giving up.

To me that sounds like a very good thing. While oil will still be needed for a long time to come, the energy sector needs to urgently transition towards energy sources that don't destroy our climate and environment. More oil through this pipeline would presumably make oil cheaper, which would make it harder to make that transition.
 
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I read today that the company behind the pipeline is officially giving up.

To me that sounds like a very good thing. While oil will still be needed for a long time to come, the energy sector needs to urgently transition towards energy sources that don't destroy our climate and environment. More oil through this pipeline would presumably make oil cheaper, which would make it harder to make that transition.
I can't believe this thread is 7 years old.
 
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I read today that the company behind the pipeline is officially giving up.

To me that sounds like a very good thing. While oil will still be needed for a long time to come, the energy sector needs to urgently transition towards energy sources that don't destroy our climate and environment. More oil through this pipeline would presumably make oil cheaper, which would make it harder to make that transition.
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Because the United States imported so much petroleum, for such a long time, people assume that the U.S. is still largely dependent on imported petroleum (and that we therefore need Keystone XL). This is no longer true.

Since 2005, the United States' petroleum net imports have steadily dropped.

In 2019, the United States' petroleum net imports reached zero, though small net imports are expected for 2021 and 2022.

Please see this link and chart from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (eia.gov):



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One of the issues is that the tar sands oil was never designated for the U.S. consumer. It was being sent to American refineries for foreign export.

Tar sands is "dirty" refining. The Canadians didn't want to refine it in their country because of the toxic byproducts. The tar refined out of the tar sands oil is so toxic that it is illegal to bury it or process it in any way. The only thing that can done with it is to pile it in huge mountains, and then wet it down to prevent it from poisoning everybody in the area.

The Key stone XL's only purpose was to transport the toxic tar sands byproduct to another country for processing.

Why should Americans be poisoned by refining the Canadian toxic tar sands oil that is for foreign sale.


Oil for Export: Tar Sands Bitumen Cannot be Refined in Eastern Canada​


Last August, the mayor of Detroit ordered the removal of pet coke piles sitting uncovered along the Detroit River. The piles were three-storeys tall. Dust particles containing the toxic heavy metals in pet coke were blowing off the piles and into the air and river.
 
Per Oil Sands Magazine:

"About 10% of the world's oil reserves are located in the Alberta oil sands. These deposits are estimated to hold almost 2 trillion barrels of oil, but less than 10% (about 165 billion barrels) can economically be recovered with current technology. Over 96% of Canada's total oil reserves are contained in the oil sands."

"A typical oil sands deposit in Alberta contains on average about 10% bitumen [heavy petroleum], 5% water and 85% solids, mostly in the form of coarse silica sand. Oil sands also contain fine solids and clays, typically in the range of 10 to 30% by weight."

Link: Oil Sands 101: Process Overview | Oil Sands Magazine


My opinion: Tar sands (aka oil sands) appear to be a very poor source of petroleum. The above-cited trade magazine openly says that tar sands are only 10% petroleum by weight. Gone are the days when oil gushed from the ground. It seems like we are witnessing the end of easy-to-recover oil.
 
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