Published this month in the Journal of the Blindingly Obvious: Pipelines pose fewer risks for workers and less spills compared to transporting oil by rail or truck.
Published this month in the Journal of the Blindingly Obvious: Pipelines pose fewer risks for workers and less spills compared to transporting oil by rail or truck.
CBC will report this as “From the right wing think tank at the Fraser Institute…” and you can bet that some drone infotainment presenter (I refuse to call any of them reporters any more) will let us know how big oil funded the study.
Dang, they went to the trouble of choosing ‘fewer’ on the risks question, but then blew it by using ‘less’ on the spills question.
That’s the part of this debate that interests me most. The rest of it is ideological horse crap. Build the damned things!
Why is it that the blatantly obvious is so contentious to the Marxist tree hugging faction?
Because to the MTHF, it’s a psuedo-religious belief,based in anti-capitalism,accompanied with a “get back to the garden” mentality.
I’ve walked miles and miles on CN’s mainline in Northern B.C.,and the track maintenance is so bad that whenever a train comes along I get uphill as far away as possible,just in case. Half the ties are rotten and loose spikes are evident on almost every tie.
Before they would be able to ship massive trains of oil on that line,they would have to spend about two years rebuilding the tracks for several hundred miles, at a staggering cost to the company. btw, Bill Gates is the majority shareholder in CN.
It seems the people in authority never trust the ordinary worker who spends his life in any industry,whenever an issue arises,they have to conduct a “study”, done by our “betters” to determine what we workers had been telling them for years.
Common sense is never a factor,the elite has to confirm the word of the peasants, or it doesn’t count for much.
Because to the MTHF, it’s a psuedo-religious belief,based in anti-capitalism,accompanied with a “get back to the garden” mentality.
I’ve walked miles and miles on CN’s mainline in Northern B.C.,and the track maintenance is so bad that whenever a train comes along I get uphill as far away as possible,just in case. Half the ties are rotten and loose spikes are evident on almost every tie.
Before they would be able to ship massive trains of oil on that line,they would have to spend about two years rebuilding the tracks for several hundred miles, at a staggering cost to the company. btw, Bill Gates is the majority shareholder in CN.
It seems the people in authority never trust the ordinary worker who spends his life in any industry,whenever an issue arises,they have to conduct a “study”, done by our “betters” to determine what we workers had been telling them for years.
Common sense is never a factor,the elite has to confirm the word of the peasants, or it doesn’t count for much.
Sigh. I, as a veteran and inveterate rail, decry pipelines. Did I want the Keystone to go through in principle? Yes, but, that’s another narrative.
and today, Greenpeace is doing a blockade of a pipeline at Vancouver harbor.
Just let the trains roll and blame GreenSleeze for any problems that happen.
Barney Fife has a big expose, Harper spent government money in the US promoting Keystone XL. Outrageous – using government money to support Canadian industry. Does anyone else know why Barney Fife sees this as bad?? The guy is a bit of a prick.
Scar;
Do you not see any national security implications of not being able to ship oil via pipeline into the USA?
I can agree that it is probably more important that Northern Gateway or the Transmountain upgrade be done, all three would be nice.
It took a study to determine that ? Duh.
CT – throw in the line east and that makes four. Obviously Obama would prefer that young Americans keep butchering Arabs to maintain oil supplies. U.S. national security is infinitely enhanced by North American energy self-sufficiency but I suspect Obama is simply too stupid to see it.
Don;
Gates is not a majority shareholder in CN Rail, there isn’t one. He currently owns about 12% of the company and is the largest single shareholder. His buddy Warren Buffet does own all Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) through Berkshire Hathaway. CNR is the premier line in North America with access across Canada and down south to the Gulf of Mexico. BNSF is similar in a east-west lines and a southern route more to the west of CNR. I have not heard whether Gates or Buffet have a eco ax to grind.
I cannot comment on the current state of CNR line into Rupert. When last I read their corporate update they talked about running 17 (100+ car) trains a day across Canada. I am assuming much of this is containers out of Rupert. As far as line maintenance goes it is a sight to see modern railroaders at work. Of course it is all automated today. The track is lifted, old ties removed and new ones placed, all by machine. From what little I saw it would appear one crew could do several miles a day.
My biggest fear if I was a railroader or rail customer would be a after the fact change in shipping regulations. I believe there are currently + 30,000 crude cars on order with a 30,000 gallon capacity each. No idea how long it takes to build this many. When I was in the oil business most cars were 17,000 gallons. I know of at least 3 different rail loading facilities under construction in Alberta which will come on stream this year and next. They have a capacity to load one or two 100 car trains a day.
If one of your pals (cronies is such a harsh word!) owns a railway like Burlington Northern cough*Warren*Buffet*cough then pipelines are Evil(tm) and must be stopped. Save the Environment! No Pipes for Oil!
Why isn’t it blaringly obvious to watermelons that pipelines are the safest way to transport crude? Because that’s not the point for them – they could care less if crude is transported more safely this or that way – they don’t want the oil exploited or transported in the first place, because it’s sooooo “dirty.” It must all stay in the ground to save their phony baloney jobs, er, the earth. Plus, they are totally against tanker traffic on the west coast. No amount of safety (double hulls, ships piloted by experienced operators) will get them past that. Oh, and BTW, no nuclear reactors (Candu reactor safest and most reliable in world, uses spent fuel rods from older light water reactors as its fuel – IOW it recycles nuclear waste), and no refineries anywhere, anytime.
Here’s some more blaringly obvious reasons why watermelons hate the oil sands:
– Canada is a low risk whipping boy for the watermelons – look what happened to Greenpeace when they tried a stunt on the Russians.
– Stopping the oil sands would be their greatest victory.
– Many, many of its wealthy opponents work for Saudi Arabian oil interests – Al Gore for instance, but not limited to him.
– Hated Harper likes them.
In short, this debate has nothing whatever to do with safety – the watermelon’s goal is to shut down any pipelines/transport and thus the oil sands, period. They have, in effect drawn their line in the sand here. The good part is they will lose – there is too much money to be made by oil and pipeline companies, by government and by aboriginal interests.
If I’m wrong, then what’s going on the US right will pale in comparison. If the watermelons can shut down the oil sands, then their next target will be oil production elsewhere, then mining and resource development elsewhere. Then we can all be their subjects (peasants/serfs) in the new, and much poorer and unstable socialist enviro state of Canada. But the watermelons would do just fine in their new taxpayer funded overlord positions where they can control how we live, have kids, sort our garbage and, of course, pay lots of taxes.
all the green huff-puffery aint gonna stop albertans (or them temp workers, newfies we call em) from digging up bitchumen, cooking it and piping the stuff wherever someone wants it.
it all pie-in-de-sky
obumbles time will come to an end, the next potus will approve and the bankers will be happy.
anyone see the open letter to potus with 165 CEO’s in favour of keystone? not just petrol execs.
“He currently owns about 12% of the company and is the largest single shareholder.”
Yes,thanks,CT, I worded that poorly,knew he was the largest shareholder, not “majority owner”.
The CN track maintenance crews CAN do a lot of track in a day,all automated as you say, but I don’t think they have many crews.A CN contractor friend who inspects the rails for them says the loads now are way bigger and heavier than the rails were built for and wear will be a serious issue.He didn’t know if they’d be able to keep up.
The tracks can get badly in need of replacing before the crews get to them,and if they are transporting the amount of tank cars needed to ship oil,along with all their current business,I see trouble ahead.
Better to build the pipelines.
A link is always nice.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/top-business-leaders-sign-letter-urging-obama-to-approve-keystone-xl-pipeline-1.1493242
I had a chance to inspect the CPR mainline near Field BC this summer, and I thought it looked pretty strong and well maintained.
CPR Mainline
Test
Shamrock, you’re dead on regarding the endgame of environmentalists. It’s anti-capitalism wrapped in virtuous platitude.
I’d urge fellow SDA’ers to get a copy of Elizabeth Nickson’s book ‘Eco-Fascists’, available at your local library. It’s a fascinating read about the vast tentacles of the eco community and how it has decimated the middle class in developed countries, while locking the undeveloped countries into penury and misery.
In addition, their ‘works’ have decimated the ecology – rather than enhancing Mother Gaia, their ill conceived ideas have damaged forests, prairie and wetlands, while throwing the balance of predator and prey and natural and introduced species completely out of whack.
As with everything ‘progressives’ touch, the result is exactly contrary to what they claim their objectives to be.
Over Thanksgiving I tried to discuss this with my 38 yr old daughter (Masters Degree, Social Work) and she of course thinks it’s all bunk, perpetrated by shills of the oil industry and “all my friends feel that way”. She believes the world is rapidly deteriorating because of western consumption.
Today I sent her the data from the EPA showing that the air is cleaner today than 30 years ago, that emissions and all forms of pollutants have been reduced, even while GDP (and C02) are rapidly rising. I also sent her the graph showing all the IPCC computer predictions vs. the actual observed temperature increases.
My point to her is that only successful, prosperous countries have the means to create and maintain a healthy environment – turning back the clock to a less prosperous society is not the answer.
Do I think she will eventually get it? No.
No Guff, you are probably right as they started to brainwash her in public school.
Three out of my four children do not believe in this eco bunk. The fourth, the oldest at 43, has swallowed it but does not practice what she preaches and does not see her hypocrisy in many areas.
No Guff;
I still stand by my international conspiracy theory about the real reason that pipelines to deliver Canadian crude are being objected too. The eco nuts are really convenient tools to be used by more sinister forces who do not want the competition of increased Canadian crude production. OPEC, Russia and a significant USA faction do not want Canada exporting 5 – 6 mbpd of crude.
The implications of a very rich Canada cannot be very appealing to those who would have their own oil revenue reduced or a rich Canada that would have the financial strength to actually say no to deals where in the past Canada had to say yes. I find Canadians very naïve about real world, hard ball, politics. The real international issue in 20 years will NOT be oil it will be water. Who has it and who needs it? Think it through!