A day after President Obama vowed an aggressive global war on global
warming, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman delivered a political hot potato to
the White House in the form of state approval of a re-routed Keystone
XL pipeline.
Given the pressing domestic need for a) more reliable sources of oil
and b) thousands of long-delayed, good-paying jobs, you might think
federal approval of the endeavor with our closest neighbor and best
friend is a gimme.
Ah, but we are just three days past the middle of the 2,922-day Obama era. So, it’s much more complicated.
The 1,700-mile long pipeline is designed to carry 700,000 barrels a
day of Canadian heavy crude oil from Alberta tar sands excavations to
Gulf Coast refineries. The project would create thousands of
construction jobs and reduce U.S. dependence on unreliable foreign oil
sources, often cited by both American political parties as a good thing.
Heineman, a Republican, had rejected Trans-Canada’s original route
through important aquifers and the state’s fragile Sand Hills region, a
step the Obama crowd cited for its initial parallel rejection of the
facility. A new study by the State Department, which must approve
pipelines crossing international borders, isn’t due until late March at
the earliest.
By that time, of course, the Obama administration will have a new
secretary of State in the form of John Kerry. The about-to-be-former
senator has fallen hook, line and sailboat for the global warming
bunkum, making approval appear iffy.
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