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Keystone oil sands pipeline rejected

As long as it's in someone elses back yard amirite!

Whose back yard was it in ? Further, just how ruined is Alaska because of 35 years of the Alaska Pipeline ? The liberal leftwad tree-hugging idiots of that generation told us it was going to be an ecological nightmare.

So, where's that pipeline disaster ?
 
Not sure what you think the benefit is. Oil prices are global. It costs the same everywhere. Moving oil from Canada to Louisiana won't change the price of oil noticeably. [...]
The same everywhere? Not even close! have you ever bought gas in Australia? Cause i have, and converting their dollar to ours, it was about twice as much per gallon. ( sold in australia by the liter ). Oil prices are not balanced worldwide just because the whole world needs oil.
I think more humor can be found in your post if you'll explain exactly how much you paid for gasoline in Australia (and when, so that a valid comparison can be made),
and then tell us how much tax is collected on a gallon of gasoline in Australia versus a gallon of gasoline in the U.S.

:popcorn:
 
If America could increase the supply, that would effectively reduce the price here in America. [...]
If you're speaking of crude, only if we increased supply enough to reduce the price globally.

If you're speaking of gasoline, the oil companies will not permit what you suggest (it would cost them money).
 
If you're speaking of crude, only if we increased supply enough to reduce the price globally.

If you're speaking of gasoline, the oil companies will not permit what you suggest (it would cost them money).

How do you explain the drop in oil prices when we remove some oil from our National Strategic Reserve ??
 
If America could increase the supply, that would effectively reduce the price here in America. Forget tax cuts and pay tax holidays. Lower the cost of fuel, and watch our spending go up. It would be a welcome change when I know many people who commute over 45 minutes one way to go to work.

But we already have more than we need and it's not lowering the cost. Why would even more lower costs or decrease foreign dependencies?
 
Whose back yard was it in ? Further, just how ruined is Alaska because of 35 years of the Alaska Pipeline ? The liberal leftwad tree-hugging idiots of that generation told us it was going to be an ecological nightmare.

So, where's that pipeline disaster ?

Yes, and the conservative idiots of this generation are telling us WE NEED THIS PIPELINE OR THE CHINAMAN WILL GET OUR OILZ!

People in Nebraska are not happy with the route. You apparently want to tell them tough ****, that pipe is going through your state as is. Once again, if you didn't want the pipe going through your backyard, you'd be up in arms about the Federal government coming in and forcing the issue. Since it's someone elses backyard, you're fine with it.
 
Yet we are still importing 40% of the unrefined product. Which means we are less an influence on world prices still from the supply side. But more importantly, we are spending mightily contributing to a huge trade imbalance, where too much of the ME can pull the strings on our economy.

That we are refining imported oil and exporting the gas doesn't mean jack-**** in the big picture actually.

We are sitting on possibly the largest oil reserve in the world ... why do you think we're still importing as much as we are?
 
Yes, and the conservative idiots of this generation are telling us WE NEED THIS PIPELINE OR THE CHINAMAN WILL GET OUR OILZ!

People in Nebraska are not happy with the route. You apparently want to tell them tough ****, that pipe is going through your state as is. Once again, if you didn't want the pipe going through your backyard, you'd be up in arms about the Federal government coming in and forcing the issue. Since it's someone elses backyard, you're fine with it.

Once the pipeline is built, no one will even know that it is there.

Wrong........most people in Nebraska are very happy with the pipeline and support it.

Nebraska's Republican Gov. Dave Heineman, whose state is a key part of the Keystone XL oil pipeline debate, expressed his disappointment with the final decision the Obama administration made yesterday to kill the project.

"I want to say I'm very disappointed," Heineman told POLITICO. "I think the president made a mistake."

"Really what he was saying in denying the permit was 'no' to American jobs and 'yes' to a greater dependence on Middle Eastern oil," he said. "We want to put America back to work."

The White House has used Heineman as political cover in the fight, pointing to the fact that the original route approved by the State Department was opposed by Heineman for ecological reasons. He said that his Legislature and his administration were working to get the final approvals in place and that the State Department should have approved conditionally while Nebraska worked out the final route. The company seeking to build the pipeline, TransCanada, was perfectly willing to begin construction at either end and finish in Nebraska, according to Heineman.
Nebraska governor: 'The president made a mistake' - POLITICO.com
 
U.S. exports of oil are miniscule compared to our imports.

So? That has nothing to do with the point that we have an abundance of oil, we don't need the Keystone pipeline.
 
We are sitting on possibly the largest oil reserve in the world ... why do you think we're still importing as much as we are?


Simple. We are prevented from getting at it over concerns of the spotted snail sloth.

j-mac
 
But we already have more than we need and it's not lowering the cost. Why would even more lower costs or decrease foreign dependencies?

The supply and demand for oil directly affect our prices at the pump. If the market has so much excess, than why haven't gas prices gone down? Everytime the supply chain gets even the smallest threat (ie. Lybia, Strait of Hormuz, Hurricane in the gulf) prices go up. That does not show that we have more than we need, in fact it shows that the actual supply chain is extremely fragile and we are living on the edge of consumption. Why do we have to go ask OPEC to product more Barrels per day? Because the market price is going up due to lack of supply.
 
Wrong........most people in Nebraska are very happy with the pipeline and support it.

They do not like the route proposed. They want the route changed. Which is why Obama cancelled the proposal. The governor is repeating Republican talking points...but you notice he still wants the route changed! He wants more time to propose a new route.
 
We are sitting on possibly the largest oil reserve in the world ... why do you think we're still importing as much as we are?

Strategically, it is a great idea. It is cheaper now to buy someone else's oil while there is a large global supply. As the global supply goes down, it will then increase the value of our reserves. It is like longing oil if you are into investments.
 
Simple. We are prevented from getting at it over concerns of the spotted snail sloth.

j-mac

Damn, I was hoping to get a real answer, not some blind rightwing talking point.

Oh well, c'est la vie.
 
So? That has nothing to do with the point that we have an abundance of oil, we don't need the Keystone pipeline.

The pipeline makes it easier for Canadian oil to reach the gulf for processing. Sounds like win, not only for the Canadian oil companies, but for the US based refineries in the gulf.
 
I think more humor can be found in your post if you'll explain exactly how much you paid for gasoline in Australia (and when, so that a valid comparison can be made),
and then tell us how much tax is collected on a gallon of gasoline in Australia versus a gallon of gasoline in the U.S.

:popcorn:

?? Its been a few years since i was in Australia, but regardless, its an easy matter to find the cost... Its aprox $1.72 American per liter. That equals $6.40 per US gallon. And the amount of taxes that comes out of that is immaterial because it doesnt change the out of pocket amount. Feel free to check my facts before you start rambling about strawmen.
 
Oil pipelines are regularly inspected and maintained. A forest fire ???? Are you kidding?? You don know the pipe will be buried 4 feet underground don't you? It's buried that deep so freeze/thaw won't affect.

I would think that a lot of it may be underground but it is not going to be possible to put all of it underground. There will be pipe bridges over valleys and ravines and possibly over some water courses. So of course there are possibilities for natural disasters but the damaged sections of the pipeline can be isolated and pumping stopped to minimize the loss. The last thing the company wants to do is lose some of their precious comodity.
 
The supply and demand for oil directly affect our prices at the pump. If the market has so much excess, than why haven't gas prices gone down? Everytime the supply chain gets even the smallest threat (ie. Lybia, Strait of Hormuz, Hurricane in the gulf) prices go up. That does not show that we have more than we need, in fact it shows that the actual supply chain is extremely fragile and we are living on the edge of consumption. Why do we have to go ask OPEC to product more Barrels per day? Because the market price is going up due to lack of supply.

Supply is being controlled by the oil conglomerates. We have an abundance now but rather than sell it in the U.S. markets where your point of supply and demand would lower the costs, they are exporting oil and gas surpluses to keep prices artificially high. Increasing the supply is, for the most part, only going to increase exports. Sure, the price at the pump may decline a bit, but for the most part, all the Keystone pipeline will do is generate even more profit for the oil companies.
 
Strategically, it is a great idea. It is cheaper now to buy someone else's oil while there is a large global supply. As the global supply goes down, it will then increase the value of our reserves. It is like longing oil if you are into investments.
Bingo!

(And thank you for posting a rational explanation instead of partisan talking points)
 
Gill said:
Wrong........most people in Nebraska are very happy with the pipeline and support it.
....Oh?....

Back in 2007, before the first Keystone Pipeline was built in Nebraska, your representatives told Nebraska citizens that the first Keystone pipeline would generate over $5.5 million dollars in property tax revenues in our state in the first year of operation. Now that the pipeline has been operating for more than a year, and the first year’s taxes have been billed

[...]

I obtained these numbers from the county clerks in each of the Nebraska counties listed above. I find it disappointing that these figures are less than half of what your company told Nebraskans before the pipeline was built, which is even more relevant to us now that you are still wanting to build the Keystone Export pipeline from Alberta to Texas.

Dear TransCanada, Nebraskans Want Facts

Randy Thompson, a landowner in the current path of the pipeline
"Our future generations will thank the President and hopefully will thank our state senators if they do the job they were elected to do for citizens not big corporations."

[...]

Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska reacted, "President Obama is making the right and tough decision for our land and water. The announcement contradicts those in Nebraska that say it’s too late to put regulations in place." Kleeb continued, "Now, more than ever, the Legislature needs to take action on behalf of the citizens of Nebraska. They have run out of excuses."

[...]

President Nebraska Farmers Union John Hansen
"Nebraska must use this welcome window of opportunity to claim its routing and siting authority so that the interests of our water, soil, and especially our landowners can be protected. We do not want our state to continue to be dependent on either the political whims of the State Department or the selfish economic interests of oil pipeline companies."

Nebraskans React to Obama's Keystone XL Delay

Nebraskans with generations of passion for their land stand up to Big Oil in fight to preserve their natural treasure

Keystone XL: Nebraskans take pipeline issue all the way to the White House | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Ordinarily, this is a program that a state like Nebraska, which last voted for a Democratic presidential candidate in 1964, could easily get its arms around. But the pipeline's proposed route across the fragile Sandhills and the Ogallala aquifer — an underground basin the size of Lake Erie that provides water to much of Nebraska and seven other states — has caused normally conservative farmers and ranchers to take up protest banners and write hate mail to their Republican legislators.

Keystone XL oil pipeline project hotly debated at hearings - latimes.com
 
Damn, I was hoping to get a real answer, not some blind rightwing talking point.

Oh well, c'est la vie.


Just the fact....That's what they call me....

This is from about a year ago, but little has changed for the better since.

1. Gas Prices Are Skyrocketing Under President Obama: The oil futures market is just that, a futures market. The price-per-barrel spikes in oil this week have not affected the domestic market yet. In fact, former Shell Oil President John Hofmeister made the prediction in December 2010 that America would face $5/gallon gasoline by 2012, a full month before the revolution in Egypt began. At the end of President George W. Bush’s two terms in office, prices were 9% lower than when he took office (adjusted for inflation). The day before President Obama was inaugurated; the average price of a gallon of gas was $1.83. Today, that average is $3.14.
2. President Obama Has Crippled Domestic Oil Exploration: Putting aside calls from some who want to increase domestic exploration to areas in Alaska and elsewhere, President Obama has completely shut down the existing oil drilling infrastructure in the U.S. At least 103 permits are awaiting review by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. The federal government has not approved a single new exploratory drilling plan in the Gulf of Mexico since Obama “lifted” his deepwater drilling moratorium in October 2010. Obama also reversed an earlier decision by his administration to open access to coastal waters for exploration, instead placing a seven-year ban on drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts and Eastern Gulf of Mexico as part of the government’s 2012-2017 Outer Continental Shelf Program.
3. The Obama Permitorium is Costing the Government Much-Needed Revenue: The Gulf accounts for more than 25 percent of domestic oil production. With production in the Gulf expected to drop in 2011 by 220,000 barrels per day, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates the U.S. will suffer $3.7 million in lost revenue per day as a result of lost royalties. If that holds, the federal government would lose more than $1.35 billion from royalty payments, just this year.
4. The Obama Administration Has Been Held in Contempt of Court: Federal District Court Judge Martin Feldman held the Obama Interior Department in contempt of court on February 2, 2011, for dismissively ignoring his ruling to cease the drilling moratorium which the judge had previously struck down as “arbitrary and capricious.” Judge Feldman has since given the Administration 30 days to act on permits it has needlessly and purposefully delayed saying inaction was “not a lawful option.”
5. Jobs Are Being Killed by Obama’s Oil Policies: As a direct result of Obama’s oil policies, companies that help supply our domestic energy needs are going out of business. Most recently, Houston-based Seahawk Drilling filed for bankruptcy. The Chief Operating Officer of the offshore drilling company, Randy Stilley, stated: “The decision by regulators to arbitrarily construct unnecessary barriers to obtaining permits they had traditionally authorized has had an adverse impact not only on Seahawk, but on the sector as a whole.”
6. And More Jobs Are Being Killed: Vendors, suppliers, even restaurants and retailers are losing ground or going out of business as a result of the economically crippling policies Obama has unilaterally imposed. According to Reuters, many of the thirty-plus deepwater rigs in the Gulf have moved to other markets. Each rig directly employs approximately 200 people, but that doesn’t even count the ripple effect across the nation. One industry official told CNBC that the industry was on “life support.” But President Obama is spending billions to finance offshore jobs…in Brazil. The Obama Administration committed at least $2 billion in 2009 towards Petrobras, one of the largest offshore oil drilling companies in the world.
7. Decreasing Our Domestic Supply Increases Foreign Dependence: Even Energy Secretary Steven Chu admits that “any disruption in the Middle East means a partial disruption in the oil we import. It’s a world market and [a disruption] could actually have real harm of the price.” If this is the case, then cutting our domestic supply hardly seems like an appropriate response. Rather than face this reality, Secretary Chu ridiculously called for an increase in renewable energy investments, which is a complete non-sequitur.
8. Renewable Energy Is Not the Answer to Mideast Turmoil: According to the EIA, petroleum accounts for less than one percent of electricity production. So wind and solar, which do not produce transportation fuel even if Obama’s $40,000 Chevy Volt quadruples production, can only replace coal and natural gas, of which America has an abundant supply. As for biomass, over 40 percent of domestic corn consumption goes to ethanol, which provides less than 10 percent of our transportation fuel and causes food prices to increase. Three large production platforms in the Gulf could provide an amount equivalent to all of the biofuels produced in the U.S.
9. Regulations and Delays: The Obama EPA has added costly new regulations to refineries in the name of global warming, while the Obama Interior Department issues new rules that make it much harder to develop natural resources on government land. The EPA is also denying approval of the Keystone pipeline which would increase the amount of oil the U.S. receives from our friendly neighbor Canada by over a million barrels per day.
10. The Middle East Is Not the Sole Cause of Rising Oil Prices: Global oil prices have been rising steadily for months based on variety of factors including those listed above and as the world economy pulls out of a recession. In fact, Egypt is not a major producer of petroleum, and only 2-3 percent of the world’s supply moves through the Suez Canal. Certain spikes are not abnormal and can be more easily weathered with a smarter domestic energy strategy.

10 Things You Need to Know About High Gas Prices


j-mac
 
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