Canadian and US oil pipelines.

From the AP.org:

Keystone XL oil pipeline clears significant hurdle

By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared a major hurdle toward approval Friday, a serious blow to environmentalists’ hopes that President Barack Obama will block the controversial project running more than 1,000 miles from Canada through the heart of the U.S.

I must admit: I hadn’t anticipated this turn of events.

Republicans and business and labor groups have urged Obama to approve the pipeline to create thousands of jobs and move further toward North American energy independence. The pipeline is also strongly supported by Democrats in oil and gas-producing states, including Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Mark Begich of Alaska and Mark Pryor of Arkansas. All face re-election this year and could be politically damaged by rejection of the pipeline. Republican Mitt Romney carried all three states in the 2012 presidential election.

For years America has provided mere lip music to the concept of an energy-independent nation.  We sit on some of the largest fields of yet-untapped natural gas.  We sit on the Bakken oil fields.  Oddly enough, our largest export these days is refined fuel — but not the unrefined oil.

We will not achieve any form of so-called “energy independence” if we continue to rely upon what I term “Conflict Oil” from nation-states that primarily dislike the United States intensely, such as ME countries, Venezuela, Nigeria, Angola and Iraq.

There is no perfect solution to oil, and neglecting to make a logical, cogent and smooth transition to other forms of energy is ridiculous.  Leftists and Mr Obama expect and want that oil shall be immediately dismissed and shunted aside.  That simply cannot be done, because the other forms of energy and much more unreliable.

Wind turbines are high pressure/low pressure dependent, and kill birds.  Solar eats valuable land and must be cleaned regularly with water — a problem in desert areas.  Powerhouses charged by water flow require reservoirs with penstocks and are dependent upon a constant flow via rain.  No Leftist will ever consider nuclear energy again.  No Leftist will consider coal or oil — Mr Obama has made it quite clear that he will do his best to kill coal and oil-fired electrical generation stations.

So what’s left?  Progressives on a bicycle with a chain connected to a generator?  They may be sadly disappointed in its inability to recharge their iPad, iPhone, iPod, iPid, iPiss and iSwear that Leftists make very little sense to me.

Step one.

BZ