Pipeline Politics

So it has come down to this: denied the Keystone extension,  Canada will look elsewhere for customers.

Does the average anti-pipeline environmentalist truly believe that this is a good thing? Looking past the short-term lack of job creation, it ultimately means that Americans will be paying a higher price for oil coming from such environmentally-conscious areas such as Venezuela, Nigeria, Mexico... This price increase will not touch the 1 percent, it probably will not even touch the 10 or 15 percent. But it will hit a lot of people who cannot afford the extra 1-2k per year. People who live in cold areas: New England, for example. People who commute via car or bus to work. True enough, the population is shifting to warmer climates - Texas, Arizona to name but two - but that move brings other problems with it. Water use, for example. And as far as living more than a bike ride or a walk away from work... is it realistic to shut down the suburbs?

It is far too facile to think that raised prices of fossil fuel will shift demand to alternative energy sources - even in the long-term. Think of France where high energy prices are a de-facto way of life and have been for over two decades. Public transportation used to be a way of life. Today, and for the last 10 years, investment in train transportation has diminished in every area but one: the long-haul TGV. Yes, people drive diesel-engine cars - but that does not mean that they are particularly environmentally friendly. Nearly the only way that France is independent of oil is in the energy sector: over 90 percent of electricity is provided by nuclear power. Given that there are no plans for nuclear plant production in the US, it's a no-brainer to see that our economy will not be weaned from fossil fuels in the near future, if at all.

This desire on the part of a vocal, wealthy minority to avoid potential environmental damage in the US only pushes development into other areas of the world where skill and infrastructure are not as highly developed in the US. It increases the potential for environmental damage. Is that truly what is desired - or are the vocal few simply NIMBYs?

Update: Cuba is now in the process of developing their deep-water capacity in the Gulf of Mexico. We get the pollution - who gets the energy?  http://gcaptain.com/billion-barrels-undiscovered-oil/?30418