This page was last updated on March 24, 2012.
Pipeline not good idea; Philip S. Dedig; Beaver County Times; March 22, 2011.
Mr. Dedig has written at least 18 letters since February 2008. Among those letters, Mr. Dedig supported the proposed federal gasoline tax holiday, Hillary Clinton for President, complained about “business as usual” (“Business as usual in D.C.,” 6/17/08) in Washington, DC, regarding energy, opposed offshore drilling, said Democrat voters deserve better candidates (“Local Democratic voters merit better,” 8/22/08), supported “bailing out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae” (“Fed, Treasury had to move”, 9/30/08), told us we had “No choice but to help auto makers,” told us “College costs must be made affordable,” supported the $787 billion “stimulus” package (here and here), told us “U.S. can afford health care for all,” and claimed “U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire is a Republican in sheep’s clothing.” Mr. Dedig’s most recent previous letters were “Energy policy long overdue” and “Obama caves in far too easily.” If it’s a leftist position, Mr. Dedig supports it.
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“The plan to build the Keystone XL Pipeline is not a good idea and not in the best interest of the nation.”
[RWC] I don’t know Mr. Dedig, but my experience is letters like this tend to be red herrings and are really about the religion of manmade global warming. Knowing the manmade global warming myth is increasingly falling on deaf ears, followers of this faith now try to use safety, water quality, etc. as backdoors to stop drilling and production of oil, Marcellus natural gas, et cetera. This is at least the third Dedig letter on this general issue. You can find other examples here, here, here, here, and here.
“Seventy-five percent of the Earth is composed of water, but only 1 percent is drinkable water.”
[RWC] Not exactly. The Earth’s composition is not 75% water. According to the USGS, “About 70% of the Earth’s SURFACE is water-covered.”
“The pipeline would be constructed over the largest aquafer [sic] in the nation from the Dakotas to Texas. A major oil spill would deprive some of the residents of the Midwest of scarce drinkable water.”
[RWC] “A major oil spill would deprive some of the residents of __________ of scarce __________” is the standard lefty position on any pipeline. This is the same type of boilerplate argument we heard before the construction of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System over 35 years ago.
“The oil lobby says the pipeline would create 10,000 jobs. This might be true, but almost all these jobs would disappear once the pipeline is completed.”
[RWC] All construction jobs “disappear” once a project is complete. Does anyone want to bet Mr. Dedig would not argue against road/bridge construction/repair jobs because “almost all these jobs would disappear once the pipeline is construction/repairs is/are completed?”
“The pipeline would go from Alberta, Canada, to Texas. Canada is a foreign country and the United States is not obligated to provide space for a pipeline to carry its heavy-duty oil for export from Port Arthur, Texas.”
[RWC] In “Don’t take the risk on offshore drilling,” Mr. Dedig opposed offshore drilling “because of concerns about security.” If Mr. Dedig was sincere when he wrote this, why would he oppose an alternative with fewer security issues? It goes back to my comments at the beginning of this piece.
As a reminder, Canada is already our largest foreign supplier of crude oil by a wide margin and most (all?) of it comes via pipeline.
Finally, there is no such thing as “heavy-duty [crude] oil.” When crude is referred to as “heavy,” it’s in reference to its API gravity. Heavier crudes produce fewer light products like gasoline, jet fuel, et cetera.
“Oil is not a fuel of the future. And it would be wise for the United States not to permit this pipeline to be built.”
[RWC] Hmm, in “Energy policy long overdue,” Mr. Dedig wrote, “We will still need oil and its byproducts even after we develop alternative energies.” Which is it, Mr. Dedig?
© 2004-2012 Robert W. Cox, all rights reserved.