The Patriot Post® · Keystone Cops Oppose Rail, Too


https://patriotpost.us/articles/21875-keystone-cops-oppose-rail-too-2013-11-25

As we have reported on numerous occasions, the Keystone XL pipeline – meant to transport Canadian oil sands to the U.S. Gulf Coast for refinement – has been stalled by ecofascists who hold sway with the Obama administration. The White House has repeatedly stalled to grant the proper permits for the pipeline, appeasing those ecofascists but displeasing constituent unions who want the thousands of new jobs building and operating the pipeline would create.

We have also recounted how delaying the pipeline won’t accomplish anything but deprive the U.S. of the oil. The Canadians will find a market for their product, most likely in China. In fact, according to The New York Times, “Suncor Energy, Canada’s top petroleum producer, announced on Thursday that it would expand its oil production in 2014 by 10 percent, another sign that the Obama administration’s delays are not holding back growth in the western Canadian oil sands fields.”

The other option for import to the U.S. is rail, which means opponents have a new target. Indeed, they’re pushing for heavy regulation of rail terminal projects in California, Washington state and elsewhere to block import of these oil sands. Of course, pipelines are safer and more efficient than rail, so perhaps it would make sense to relent on building the Keystone pipeline. But that would require leftists to think with their heads.