The shrill GOP defenders of the Keystone XL pipeline say they are interested in getting that Tar Sands oil to Texas in order to fill gas tanks in the US with cheaper oil, but they are lying. The fact that the Keystone XL pipeline is being built across a major MidWest aquifer to transport the tarsands oil to the Gulf Coast proves that the resultant gas will be used for the world market not the US.
There are plenty of refineries in the upper MidWest in with which to refine the tar sands oil and some of them wanted that chance so badly that they were willing to undertake extensive expansion for the chance, which would create 10 times more permanent jobs in the Great Lakes region than the pipeline will.
Most of the jobs for the Keystone XL pipeline heading for Texas will instead be temporary ones, and once the tar sands oil reaches it's destination on the Gulf Coast, the resultant product can be dumped onto ships and taken through the Panama canal to Asia keeping gasoline prices just as high as always home.
And that's the reason the world wants the US to endanger the underground water supply (Ogallala aquifer) for a major portion of the MidWest. Tainted drinking water, anyone?
At least, the GOP should allow enough time for a real analysis of the ability to safely build and maintain that pipeline to be completed, but the Republicans want to posture about the pipeline for the 2012 political race. and can't wait for safety evaluations. A spill could be incredibly damaging to the upper plains region.
But many interested parties don't like to think about problems that could develop in the future. That's how Japan ended up with a major disaster from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Is that how we should do things in our nation?
Not if we want to protect the environment and especially regional families' health and well being. The MidWest shouldn't be held hostage under the threat of public safety crisis to the world gas market.
We need to do the environmental review, do it right and select the proper route for the tar sands oil.
The GOP should stop posturing. The gas isn't for us. It won't help us. So we need to look out for ourselves first and take the time to figure out how to do the job safely.
