Environmentalists have won this round on the Keystone Pipelinebut the fight is not over
President Obama has made his decision on the Keystone Pipeline after years of delay and countless research and analysis. He has decided to disapprove of the construction for this pipeline in support or along with the decision by Secretary of State John Kerry. This decision is not the final say. Adding the pipeline through our country has seen many challenges and those challenges have been faced and addressed some through state legislatures. There are concerns about environmental issues and some say it will damage the water table but the data being presented on the side of support for this rejection ignores all the facts.
The number of billions of barrels of oil within our borders keeps growing as more energy reserves are discovered. In the past the available technology was not available to retrieve this resource but today innovative technology made this resource a viable option. Utilizing this energy supply is needed if we are ever to become energy independent but environmentalists have has attempted to stop this at every turn and today they have won the battle but the battle is not over. It is a known fact that the quantity of oil within our borders would supply this type of energy needs for years to come but the influx of this supply has been delayed. The decision to reject the pipeline will hurt our economy at a time when jobs are desperately needed. Thousands of high paying jobs have already been created where the new technology has been implemented. This means more tax revenue for the government which it would hope the government would want given our current deficit.
Some states have taken it upon themselves to utilize the resource within their borders and their economies are doing great. An influx of tax dollars are boosting the state economy with little or no impact on what environmentalists have said would occur. Even the government has run environmental studies which have come to the conclusion that this pipeline will not hurt the environment but this data has been ignored.
Examples of the success to retrieve this energy supply using the technology developed to retrieve it include such states as Texas and North Dakota. In North Dakota there have been reports that they do not have enough workers to meet the demand and even jobs outside of the oil industry have seen a rise of pay. I am not criticizing the decision to reject the pipeline only the incomplete data used to support the decision. It is also not my intention to criticize individuals who have a passion to protect the environment but they need to look at the whole picture and make their decisions based on all the facts not part of them.
Environmental incidents will occur it is a fact of life. Oil companies have heard the concerns of environmentalists and have taken measures to do everything humanly possible to protect the environment. While there have been some environmental issues the claims that the technology being used is the cause have not been supported by the facts. Environmental issues regarding the path of the pipeline in one state was resolved by changing the path of the pipeline thereby addressing the concern raised. Another point raised is that the pipeline would impact the principle of global warming and make it worse, not better.
The President, the Executive Departments and Congress work for us not the lobbyists. The facts being presented by some of the media are one-sided at best. True coverage by the media of all the facts is needed. Granted the Keystone Pipeline construction is a controversial one and both sides have their points some supported by the facts while others are strictly opinion. Opinion should not be part of the decision making process. Decisions should be based on the facts. If studies have been made which support the conclusion that the Keystone Pipeline would have no impact on the environment and there have been the pipeline should be approved not rejected.
Arguments against the pipeline are not going to go away and individuals and groups have a right to their opinion but so do the supporters. With all the years of research which has taken place the pipeline would be a positive addition to our economy and our need for energy supply. One point to make is that data being presented can be skewed to present an outcome which was already decided but if all the data is utilized a good decision can be made.
