On Feb. 11, the House of Representatives formally passed a bill to approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, laying the foundation for a veto shootout between the new Republican-controlled Congress and President Obama.
The current media firestorm over the pipeline is considerably over-exaggerated. Despite both partisan arguments for and against the construction of the pipeline, Keystone XL is of little significance to the United States and to the world.
Originating from the left side of the aisle we have a boisterous environmental argument. Many climate-change enthusiasts and liberals are claiming that the Keystone XL pipeline is the next “carbon bomb.”
However, this is far from reality. If the pipeline is constructed and operates at full capacity for 100 years uninterrupted, the overall consumption (burning) of the oil would contribute less than 1/100th of a degree towards global warming.
Furthermore, the State Department’s official report proves that the purported impacts on air, water and the surrounding landscape will be minimal. The report goes on to state that the probability of the pipeline affecting water quality in the four aquifers it will traverse is “very unlikely.”
Admittedly, the State Department issued these claims primarily because oil from the Canadian tar sands will still be extracted and consumed, regardless of whether the pipeline is built or not—this is inevitable. In fact, blocking construction of the pipeline will be more damaging to the environment because the oil will then be transported by thousands of diesel-fueled trucks and trains, emitting vastly more amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than transportation via pipeline. Environmentalists must choose the lesser of two evils.
From the right side of the aisle, we have the Republican crowd significantly overselling Keystone XL’s impact on job creation. Although the claim that the pipeline will create tens of thousands of jobs is correct, it leaves out the key fact that these jobs are merely temporary construction jobs—the same GOP-criticized, “shovel-ready” jobs that Obama championed for the last 8 years. In reality, the pipeline will sustain about 50 permanent maintenance jobs, according to studies conducted by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Another boastful prediction that Republicans enjoy asserting is that the Keystone XL pipeline will keep gas prices low. Global markets determine the price of oil, and the Keystone XL pipeline is but a trickle in the overall picture of international oil and gas. In fact, some reports predict that the pipeline will even raise gas prices for Americans.
Nevertheless, an operation as large as Keystone XL that only requires 50 permanent jobs to sustain its productivity is undeniably efficient. Not only does this free up thousands of Americans to be more productive elsewhere in the economy, but it also generates billions of dollars in tax revenue for the states that the pipeline will span. Unfortunately, the wasteful media spending regarding the Keystone project eclipses theses benefits.
The Keystone XL pipeline is of little importance in regards to tangible assets, including gas prices, job creation and environmental impact. Keystone XL is simply another political symbol. Blocking the construction of it represents devotion to environmentalism from the Left, and allowing construction of the pipeline represents a triumph over government interference from the Right. Both parties have invested large amounts of taxpayer dollars to defend their arguments, but to what extent?
Instead of wasting money on what is realistically a minor project, Congressional Republicans should have used this opportunity to compromise with President Obama and perhaps achieve some other policy measure that would have far more extensive and tangible impacts for our country.
