Another effort to push approval for the XL crude oil pipeline was squashed in the Senate by Democrats last Thursday, despite support from 11 Democrats. The amendment to the Senate transportation bill won a solid 56-42 majority, falling only four short of the 60 votes needed to pass any controversial legislation.
The pipeline would bring Canadian oil sands production down to the refineries in Texas that can process the heavy crude.
Supporters — almost all of them Republicans — say building the pipeline would create 10,000 jobs and bring gas prices down. One good argument; one strictly political. Yes, a hefty number of temporary high-wage pipeline jobs would be created. No, it would not bring gas prices down for years. It will take two years to build the thing, maybe another two years before the increased production would affect the market.
Predicting oil prices four years into the future is only easy for Republican senators seeking to elect a Republican president this fall.
Building the pipeline is still a sound project. The U.S. will need oil into the indefinite future. The more we can buy from friendly neighbors, the better. Processing the heavy oil sand crude will keep our Gulf Coast refineries geared up to handle the heavy crude Venezuela produces.
Oil sand crude is dirty stuff that pollutes as it is being mined and pollutes again as it is processed and used. But that pollution will occur whether it is processed here or in China, with the same effect on the world’s atmosphere. The solution is to move faster and more completely to clean energy. That transition will be made, but not quickly. In the interim, trucks must move, electricity must be generated and homes must be heated.
The case for the XL is too strong to resist much past November.
— Emerson Lynn, jr.
