LET THE SPIGOTS OPEN AND THE MONEY RUN!

(Washington Post, Stikeman-Elliott)

(Neela Banerjee, McClatchy Tribune, Thomas Bachand)

(Friends of the Earth, New York Times)

(Beth Bucznski, Frazer Chronicle)

 

You gotta give those former politicians and their staffers credit; they sure as hell know how to milk the system. Whenever I hear about some of the slick moves that these people make, I’m a little envious…..well, okay, actually I’m alot envious.

 

During my working career, although spotty (I did things my own way), it’s probably the reason that I was never privy to any of these post employment sweetheart positions. I’d already pissed off my former employer, and of course his job review of me suffered. I did understand that possibility, and at the time was willing to live with it…..however, hindsight being 20-20, I’d have changed a few things…..quite a few things. Oh well, that’s for a different time and blog.

 

Five former Obama White House aides saw the Keystone Pipeline XL controversy a whole hell of a lot different than the president, or Congress, or the House, to them it was a business opportunity, and a lucrative one at that.

 

Four…..Bill Burton, Stephanie Cutter, Jim Papa, and Paul Tewes work as consultants for opponents of the project, which would carry heavy crude oil from Canada to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries. Another, former White House communications director, Anita Dunn is taking on at least one new client in her law firm, TransCanada.

 

Do you think that these people have inside information about impending employment opportunities before the news hits the normal avenues of help wanted agencies, it makes at least me wonder…..and I’m not even looking for work…..at the present time.

 

It’s not that these five people favor one side or the other in this controversial project to lay a huge pipeline down from above the U.S. and Canadian border down to Port Arthur, Texas. The amount of haggling that has transpired from this project has rang through the halls of government from the Dakotas to Cushing, Oklahoma, Houston, Texas and to the White House.

 

And through all of the questions, the obvious danger of pollution, and possible degradation to natural water aquifers, formations were we get our potable water…..only a PROPOSED map of the pipeline route is available to me, or you…..and the UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT!

 

How can that be…..you ask, well let me count the ways, are you ready…..here we go, $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Money, for the potential work force that will be necessary to construct the approximately 1,200, to 2,000 miles of the 3’ pipe that will carry the highly corrosive sludge. Ya that’s right, TransCanada, the contractor on the project can’t even get the number of miles of pipeline straight, oh they know they just haven’t shared the info…..at this time!

 

Money for the spin-off business that will be created by the effort of the project to all the whistle stop towns and villages that would be on the final route of the pipeline. Gas stations, motels, restaurants, medical clinics and the occasional Wal-Mart would surely boost local economies, but would these jobs be top of the line paying jobs, hardly.

 

AND YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT THE TREE HUGGING WACKO’S

To me the environmentalists don’t even need to waste their collective halitosis breaths, I’m personally not interested; these people cause their own kind of sensationalist news that I don’t think the issue needs. And TransCanada…..save the effort, you are not earth friendly, you are dangerous and reckless, ingredients for disaster.

 

What we need here is low toned fact based conversation about the possibility of creating a 2,000 mile pipeline to transport a sand and tar, or technically, bituminous sands, the reserves of which, in Canada amount to an astounding 176.8 billion barrels…..more than half of the world’s supply, mostly in Alberta, Canada.

 

This type of oil is a brand new threat, one that few advocates understand…..on either side, and for sure…..I’m not qualified to expound on. But there better be somebody really quickly that can come forward and speak intelligently on this oil sand, or tar sand, or whatever it is that people will eventually call this gorilla in the bathroom, the ramifications are way too important.

 

Nobody, and I mean nobody, can be trusted with regards to this product, how it is eventually mined, transported and refined. Of course there are obvious drawbacks to bituminous sand extraction, and how humans can incorporate its use into everyday life. Mining wet gooey sand can pose huge problems that the industry is tackling as they expand operations.

 

Before anybody jumps on board with regards to the mining, transporting, and refining for the use in combustion engines, cooler heads absolutely need to come to the table…..and yes, money should be the last motivator.

 

A WHOLE NEW INDUSTRY AND NEW HORIZONES

Life can be so easy, like the man said, “the truth shall set you free,” TransCanada already is coming to the table with their guns drawn, and their bag of tricks. The United States and its political maneuverings and trade-offs is ready, willing and able as hell to wheel and deal with the Canadian company.

 

Sweetheart deals are just around the corner on either side of the question, some people are going to get very, very rich, and conversely, some rich people are going to get…..well you know, richererer. It always moves mountains as well as heaven and earth…..its money.

 

Sure, down at the bottom of the effort, a useful product will be created…..gasoline for use in cars, trucks and in our everyday lives around the home, and in the business community. However, how petroleum products are derived from the beginning of the process…..Oil Sand or Tar Sand, we as a world population need to know what it is we’re dealing with.

 

I would assume huge amounts of water, energy and technology will be necessary before we get really good at extracting petroleum products from this thick dirty gooey stuff. As I’ve mentioned many times in the past, “I do not care what I leave behind, I’ve had to deal with what the generation left me, let the next generation deal with what I’ve left.

 

But here we have a chance to make things right…..to do the right thing, and in the process make the world a safer and better place to live. Now all we have to do is monitor those oil people with money, they sure can be a greedy bunch.

 

I can’t believe that I’m blogging this way, anybody who reads my blog regularly knows that I’m a part owner in a petroleum well in Michigan, and I pray every night for it to start producing…..with any kind of technology possible, the environment be damned. Guess all I can say is (read between the lines) there is a subliminal meaning somewhere in there.

 

HAVE A NICE DAY!