The politics of pipelines

I’ve never seen a more noble cause packed to the brim with so many ill-informed people.

The environmental movement has become such a mixed bag of idiocy that it has begun to turn me against the crucial issue of environmental protection.

All the arguments opposing the Northern Gateway, Keystone XL, and Energy East pipelines are either ridiculous, shortsighted or both.

First of all, let’s explore the project that’s generating the most controversy now: Northern Gateway pipeline. This Enbridge pipeline would carry Canadian oil to the coast of British Colombia and allow us to export it to the world.

Right now the United States is the only country we can sell our oil to and because of that, they buy it at a discount. In fact, we lose $18 billion a year because of this discount. That’s money that could be going to infrastructure, healthcare and education.

Once we begin exporting oil around the globe, we can charge the U.S. appropriate rates and begin profiting even more, thereby effectively strengthening our economy. But the environmentalists don’t want that.

They have been deceiving the public into believing it will destroy the environment. But that’s a myth.

An independent environmental review panel has ruled that the pipeline will be safe if the 209 environmental regulations they have laid out are met, and that’s exactly what’s happening.

All the environmental regulations are being met in the development of this pipeline.

This is hardly the apocalyptic tale we’ve been fed by these activists.

Secondly, there’s the case of the Keystone XL pipeline, which has by now become the most studied pipeline in the history of mankind. Everything about this pipeline has been approved as safe for both citizens and the environment.

The only thing blocking it is President Obama’s lack of will power, guided predominantly by more activists.

By delaying it constantly, the president is able to pander to his base while not actually scrapping the project.

Lastly, we have the Energy East pipeline whose opposition is probably the most ludicrous of the bunch. More protesters have been shouting to cancel this project on the grounds that they don’t want oil flowing between Alberta and the East Coast.

There’s just one problem: there’s already oil in the pipeline.

Energy East isn’t a new pipeline being built; it’s just a reversal. Instead of Canada spending money and bringing Saudi Arabian oil from east the west, the reversal will bring oil sands oil from the west to the east.

There is already oil in this pipeline, so the opposition is just campaigning against Canadian economic prosperity

I think Canadians need to remember that pipelines aren’t some new, untested technology.

We have thousands of pipelines in the ground today, safely moving everything from oil to sewage to natural gas.

What these conflicts really come down to are environmental extremists who will do everything they can to stop Canadian energy development.

The environmentalists aren’t really against pipelines at all, they are against the oil sands, which they view as a cancer in Canada instead of a blessing.

Of course, this sort of dogmatic, ridged opposition to the oil sands didn’t just happen suddenly. There has been a continuous and rigorous campaign to discredit and demonize the good that comes from our oil extraction, and industry as a whole.

The reason I said that opposition is shortsighted is because an analysis of the facts shows how crucial the oil sands are to both Canada and the world. The oil sands are approximately 1/1000 of global carbon emissions, but they are our largest economic assets.

Therefore, stopping the oil sands will cripple us as a nation, and do virtually nothing to save the planet.

So instead of going after the “evil” Stephen Harper, it’s time Canada turned on those who are actually trying to hurt us. Let’s fight for Canadian prosperity and against the misleading protesters. It’s in our nation’s best interest.