Obama's Disgraceful Choice of Carbon-Intense Conflict Oil from Our Greatest Enemy in the Western Hemisphere Over Ethical Oil from Canada
Here's how one Canadian, Toronto Sun columnist Ezra Lavant, views Obama's "Keystone Cop-out":
"U.S. President Barack Obama made a choice last week: He chose Venezuela over Canada.
That’s what he did when he rejected the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that would have taken oilsands oil from Alberta to the Gulf Coast of Texas.
That pipeline would have delivered 700,000 barrels of oil every day from Canada (and from a new oilfield called Bakken that straddles the North Dakota-Saskatchewan border). Which is almost precisely the amount of oil Venezuela now ships to the United States, to those same refineries in Texas.
With one fell swoop, Obama could have replaced conflict oil, from a belligerent, authoritarian OPEC regime, with ethical oil from Canada. But he didn’t.
Venezuela sells an enormous amount of oil to the U.S. About 800,000 barrels a day. At a hundred bucks a barrel, that’s $80 million a day. That’s about $30 billion a year America pays to its greatest enemy in the western hemisphere.
It’s not just conflict oil, though. Venezuelan oil is some of the most carbon-intense oil in the world — even more so than Canada’s oilsands. So by replacing Venezuelan imports with Keystone XL oilsands oil, not only would Obama have been doing the right thing geopolitically, it would have reduced America’s carbon footprint — which Obama claims to care about
Obama’s decision is a disgrace, but it’s America’s business. So now our business is to sell our oil to Asia. Not just for our economic success, but to prove we are an independent country.
That pipeline would have delivered 700,000 barrels of oil every day from Canada (and from a new oilfield called Bakken that straddles the North Dakota-Saskatchewan border). Which is almost precisely the amount of oil Venezuela now ships to the United States, to those same refineries in Texas.
With one fell swoop, Obama could have replaced conflict oil, from a belligerent, authoritarian OPEC regime, with ethical oil from Canada. But he didn’t.
Venezuela sells an enormous amount of oil to the U.S. About 800,000 barrels a day. At a hundred bucks a barrel, that’s $80 million a day. That’s about $30 billion a year America pays to its greatest enemy in the western hemisphere.
It’s not just conflict oil, though. Venezuelan oil is some of the most carbon-intense oil in the world — even more so than Canada’s oilsands. So by replacing Venezuelan imports with Keystone XL oilsands oil, not only would Obama have been doing the right thing geopolitically, it would have reduced America’s carbon footprint — which Obama claims to care about
Obama’s decision is a disgrace, but it’s America’s business. So now our business is to sell our oil to Asia. Not just for our economic success, but to prove we are an independent country.
If Obama doesn’t want our oil, well, the rest of the world does."
36 Comments:
Thank the hypocritical Aspen environmentalists for killing this one. It's fine if they have oil for their SUV's and jets as long as everyone else has to go with glorified "green" golfcarts.
sethstorm: They should have to fly electric powered jets. ;-)
Tom E. Snyder said...
About every time it comes up, they just pay into an "carbon offset" fund.
Yep. Do what you need to do Canada. Obama will probably continue as Prez for four more.
"U.S. President Barack Obama made a choice last week: He chose Venezuela over Canada.
Of course he did. Stephen Harper is more or less a conservative. Hugo Chavez is a hero among the anti-American, academic douchebag circle Obama traveled in. Look at the thousand-watt grin and fist bump Obama gave him at the Summit of the Americas. You can't tell me that isn't genuine affection coming from a man who usually shows contempt for our actual allies.
What a load of BS, folks like you keep tell the American public that Venezuela is our enemy, but that does not make it so. Your BS article is disgraceful even if it was written in ignorance, but more likely you know full well that Venezuela is ruled by a democratically elected leader. Twice the US tried to support a coup and failed and so now they hire dirt bags to spread misinformation. Dirt bag.
Obama has the support of the real one percenterss...
Oil is a commodity. Whatever we product e here lowers the price e to our enemies as much as to us.
Should I replace my cheap clothing made in other countries with ethical clothing from the US?
Oil is a commodity. Whatever we produce here lowers the price to our enemies as much as to us.
hypocritical Aspen environmentalists for killing this one. It's fine if they have oil for their SUV's and jets as long as everyone else has to go with glorified "green" golfcarts.
=================================
I never heard an environmentalist claim that they should be allowed to consume more than others.
This seems to me to be a spurious claim.
"Venezuelan oil is some of the most carbon-intense oil in the world"
___________________________
I believe the problem is a high sulfur content, rather than a high carbon content.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
With regard to the substance of the issue, this is one of Obama's most idiotic decisions so far.
However, the average J6P will decide who to vote for on the basis of a few soundbites. This won't hurt him.
Organosulfur compounds present in "sour" crude oil:
http://bit.ly/x6nnu4
http://bit.ly/yjoYTU
there is no reason to hurry to complete this pipeline now; we've crapped up enough of this country (& the planet) already without rushing helter skelter headlong into a 1700 mile pipeline across the some of the most sensitive landscape in the country... make no mistake, every drop of oil from the alberta tar sands will eventually be exploited, and this pipeline &/or others from alberta will be built, & the oil will be more valuable at that time...
what is the point of a "drain america first" energy policy? our future energy security is best served by leaving what oil we have in the ground...since oil will become scarcer & more difficult & expensive to extract, as long as this country can get relatively cheap oil shipped to us from overseas in exchange for our fiat currency we should do so, the oil we have within our borders is better than money in the bank, because it will only become more valuable as easy to exploit fields are depleted...
does anyone think that venezuela wouldnt be able to sell their oil if we didnt buy it?
this is not about the pipeline... it's about coming up with reasons to oust this President...
nothing more...
the fact that most of this oil will be exported makes a mockery of the claim that this will reduce our dependence on "unfriendly" oil.
Note - that no proponent every makes the claim that the pipeline will reduce our need to import oil much less give a number for how much oil we no longer will need to import.
what is disgraceful IMHO is MP joining the ranks of the demagogues.
"I never heard an environmentalist claim that they should be allowed to consume more than others."
Of course. They would have to have a sense of shame first. I forget who said an environmentalist is a guy who bought his cabin in the woods last year. A developer is a guy who wants to build one this year.
" Of course. They would have to have a sense of shame first. I forget who said an environmentalist is a guy who bought his cabin in the woods last year. A developer is a guy who wants to build one this year. "
I know this is going to come as a shock on this particular thought, but I agree 100%.
The refrain I hear often in a county that grew from 15K to 130K is " when I first came here this was a nice rural area and NOW.. it's "ruined" and I am leaving.
to which I say "good riddance", go play human locust someplace else.
"this is not about the pipeline... it's about coming up with reasons to oust this President..."
Aww, look at Larry do damage control for the worst President since FDR.For Larry, this is about coming up with reasons to vote for this idiot again.
"nothing more..."
Nonsense. It's also about jobs that won't cost the taxpayer a cent. This is a real treat in the era of Obama economic squalor. And don't forget the high paying refining jobs down in Houston.
"the fact that most of this oil will be exported makes a mockery of the claim that this will reduce our dependence on "unfriendly" oil."
Not according to TransCanada and Valero, the largest oil refiner in the United States. I'll take their word over whatever enviro-nutjob website you got that from.
"They would have to have a sense of shame first."
Ok, I realize that doesn't make sense. I was thinking "self aware." I just woke up...
not really defending the PRez... just point out the demagoguery and outright lies...
if this project was in the strategic national interest of the US (the reason for the State Dept approval)...
then that argument could have been easily made by saying that all the oil would be sold in the US.
Instead, they play this hide and peek disingenuous game of saying that the oil "will help the US reduce dependence of oil from places like Venezuela without every supply numbers that they will commit to.
It's clearly a pipeline to export fuels...
using this fallacious argument to tar the President is just more partisan polarization.
you can bet when this eventually gets debated that the President is going to ask his opponent how much of that oil was going to be kept in the US and how much would be exported and what will Romney/Gingrich say?
hell they don't even know ... but more important.. they don't want to know.. because it's not really about the oil.. it's about proxy arguments against this President.
and no..he is NOT my guy.. he will stand or fall based on his performance as judged by many others....and these little proxy arguments are going to be recognized by many for what they are.
If this guy is the worst Prez since FDR - how come he's polling in the 50% range against the challengers even before he debates them.
If I were an anti-Obama zealot I'd be worried and coming up with as many spurious illegitimate, irrelevant proxy arguments that I could.. in a desperate attempt to continue the "anti" drumbeat..
BINGO!
:-)
". just point out the demagoguery and outright lies.."
And yet you have yet to do that. I notice you had nothing to say about the extra jobs, because really what can you say? Stop pretending you aren't shilling for Obama.
"It's clearly a pipeline to export fuels..."
It is? And this is based on your expert analysis even though Valero and TransCanada say otherwise?
"Instead, they play this hide and peek disingenuous game of saying that the oil "will help the US reduce dependence of oil from places like Venezuela without every supply numbers that they will commit to."
They can't. The oil all gets mixed in with other oils at the refiner. Some of it will get exported, some of it will stay here. All of it will be good for jobs in the US and our friends in Canada.
"If this guy is the worst Prez since FDR - how come he's polling in the 50% range against the challengers even before he debates them."
A)There are alot of idiots and free loaders in the US.
B)GOP has a weak field. Still better than Obama, but the GOP is held to a higher standard than Democrats.
C)The media loves and protects Obama. No GOP politician could get away with Obama's record.
Yet another well deserved BS flag gets tossed at rjs for this silliness: "we've crapped up enough of this country (& the planet)"...
Heck! I know we can crap better than we have, technology isn't static...
"does anyone think that venezuela wouldnt be able to sell their oil if we didnt buy it?"...
Hmmm, I get the sense (and I may be in error here) that rjs doesn't particularly mind if Venezuela craps up their corner of the world...
". just point out the demagoguery and outright lies.."
And yet you have yet to do that. I notice you had nothing to say about the extra jobs, because really what can you say? Stop pretending you aren't shilling for Obama.
mixing lies with facts is a favorite tactic of the right wing echo chamber these days.
some jobs, yes.. not as many as claimed.. more lies.
"It's clearly a pipeline to export fuels..."
It is? And this is based on your expert analysis even though Valero and TransCanada say otherwise?
can you show me a cite? Why would the folks who propose the pipeline not say that and leave it to refiners?
do you think the refiners could say something about the pipeline that was not true?
yup.
"Instead, they play this hide and peek disingenuous game of saying that the oil "will help the US reduce dependence of oil from places like Venezuela without every supply numbers that they will commit to."
They can't. The oil all gets mixed in with other oils at the refiner. Some of it will get exported, some of it will stay here. All of it will be good for jobs in the US and our friends in Canada.
nice try but no dice.
they can make the claim and as they make it point out what you say but assert that the subsequent import numbers will clearly show reduced dependence on foreign oil.
they're not doing that.
they're playing games .. disingenuous games with words and outright demagoguery egged on by the GOP goofs.
"If this guy is the worst Prez since FDR - how come he's polling in the 50% range against the challengers even before he debates them."
A)There are alot of idiots and free loaders in the US.
B)GOP has a weak field. Still better than Obama, but the GOP is held to a higher standard than Democrats.
C)The media loves and protects Obama. No GOP politician could get away with Obama's record.
If the PRez is so bad how come there is a "weak" field?
Wouldn't ANY opponent poll better if what you say is true?
the media? ha ha ha... you mean like those idiots over at FAUX News that has more viewers than CNN/MSN/ALL ......COMBINED?
Bush got away with a worse record.
Bush totally and royally screwed the country up and not a peep from the folks who are on Obama now...eh?
;-0
BTW there is some good news when it comes 'crapping up this country...
From Ed Dolan's Econoblog: Court’s Latest Stay of Clean Air Regulations Shows the Best Can Be the Enemy of the Good
On December 30, The U.S. Court of Appeals for Washington, D.C. stayed implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), which was to take effect on January 1, 2012. The EPA maintains that CSAPR would save 13,000 to 34,000 premature deaths annually, as well as lead to improvements in visibility in national and state parks, and increased protection for sensitive ecosystems including Adirondack lakes and Appalachian streams, coastal waters and estuaries, and forests. The stay was the latest in a long series of setbacks to EPA efforts to regulate a family of air pollutants from coal-fired power plants and other sources, including sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), ozone, and fine particulates...
Just remember boys and girls when something says EPA on it you know you're getting a load of junk science...
"mixing lies with facts is a favorite tactic of the right wing echo chamber these days."
And you haven't exposes a single one.
"can you show me a cite? Why would the folks who propose the pipeline not say that and leave it to refiners?"
No, kiss my ass. You are always asking other people to look on Google for you. I'm busy, go look up Valero and Keystone pipeline.
"Why would the folks who propose the pipeline not say that.."
They say alot of the oil will probably stay here, but they don't make it any guarantees because it's a world market for oil, and again, how can they?
"they're playing games .. disingenuous games with words and outright demagoguery egged on by the GOP goofs."
You present not a shred of evidence for this.
"If the PRez is so bad how come there is a "weak" field?"
That's the way things rolled this year. OTOH, the GOP's "B" team may be the greatest ever.
"Wouldn't ANY opponent poll better if what you say is true?"
Not for the reasons I already listed.
"the media? ha ha ha... you mean like those idiots over at FAUX News that has more viewers than CNN/MSN/ALL ......COMBINED?"
Fox averaged 1.8 million viewers a day in 2011. See if you can figure out the population of the United States. And you forgot to count most newspapers and opinion magazines, John Stewart and Stephen Colbert, and almost the entire entertainment industry(most important.)
"Bush got away with a worse record."
Bush wasn't great, but he had a better record than Obama.
"mixing lies with facts is a favorite tactic of the right wing echo chamber these day"...
Geez! Don't you have enough imagination to make up your own slogan instead lifting someone else's up and changing a couple of words?
"you can bet when this eventually gets debated that the President is going to ask his opponent how much of that oil was going to be kept in the US and how much would be exported and what will Romney/Gingrich say?"...
Which will prove yet again that Obama has no idea on how the world works, markets work, and balance of payments work...
Good point larry g!...
"If the PRez is so bad how come there is a "weak" field?"...
What?!?!
What does one have to do with the other?
"Bush got away with a worse record.
Bush totally and royally screwed the country up and not a peep from the folks who are on Obama now...eh?"...
Really?!?!
Well maybe you should read this Joseph Curl piece in the Washington Times: CURL: The truly dismal state of the union
(1st two paragraphs)
There is one person — one American among the 300 million of us — who is not to blame for the state of the union. Everyone else, each of you, in some small or large way, bears some share of the blame, but not this guy. Not one little bit.
This guy is Barack Obama. He is not the least bit to blame for the dismal state of the U.S. economy. George W. Bush is, for sure, and that evil Dick Cheney, oh, no doubt. House Speaker John A. Boehner — evil, too — is, of course, to blame. But guess what? So is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, and every Democrat in the House and Senate.
given a chance to vote between Obama and a neo-con geezer with the idiot ex-Gov of Alaska it was not a good choice - agreed.
but this seemed to be the best that the GOP could challenge with.
I chose the lesser of the two evils and waited to see what the idiot GOP would do for challengers this time around.. and guess what?
they made the same exact mistake they did before!
go figure!
I had zero problems not voting for a neocon geezer... he would have been a worst disaster than Bush and if he had croaked... we would have gone from the frying pan into the fire.
Now..4 years later we have an encore performance of the clown show.
geeze.
Thanks for the substance-free reply, Larry.
Don't worry, Canada. By next year Obama should be gone and we'll have a Canadian friendly president again.
"...idiot ex-Gov of Alaska..."...
Well it seems that unlike the meat puppet you supported larry g Palin who had at least some experience in the big chair could not have done worse...
I don't think she would've been killing jobs and bowing and scraping to supporters of islamic terrorism either...
Now McCain on the other hand....
Well that's a whole different can of worms for sure...
I knew it was all over for McCain right out of the chute when McCain started whining about Cunningham...
people should thank their lucky stars that we're not looking at 3years worth of McCain/Palin.
Obama was clearly the lesser of the two evils.
If Obama had lost, we'd be in 5 countries right now spending 5 trillion a year more that we don't have.
"Obama was clearly the lesser of the two evils."
What a load of shit. I don't like McCain, but there's no comparison between the war hero with a career of fiscal rectitude, and the socialist community organizer who thinks food stamps and unemployment checks create jobs.
Regarding Palin, she correctly predicted the epic failure of Obama. That's more than you can say, Larry. Also, it's always amusing the way Obama supporting morons forget to mention his half-wit sidekick Joe Biden when they're attacking Palins intelligence.
"If Obama had lost, we'd be in 5 countries right now spending 5 trillion a year more that we don't have."
5 trillion? Seriously? Is this some RAND study you are citing, or did you pull that number out the same place you used for candidate analysis in 2008?
"Obama was clearly the lesser of the two evils"...
Outstanding! larry g screaming in the face of reality...
I'm guessing you either didn't read Curl's column or per your usual style, stick with wikipedia...
That's right, no Curl in wikipedia...
How about a dose of Krugman or Stiglitz to tide you over?
Yep. Do what you need to do Canada. Obama will probably continue as Prez for four more.
First, it is up to the producers and the pipeline companies to figure out what to do because it is their property. Second, it does not matter if the next President is Newt, Gingrich, Mitt, Santorum, or Obama. The US will still be doomed because there isn't really as much of a difference between them. They are all big government politicians who would spend big and run huge deficits until the bond market said no.
McCain is a war hero and a Patriot but he is also a neocon geezer.
Palin is just an idiot with a gift of gab.
If she had been good at Gov..she would have stuck with it and finished her elected duty.
Biden could be Sec of State.. Palin would be a disaster as anything other than a PR lackey.
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