America has built the equivalent of 10 Keystone pipelines since 2010 — and nobody said anything

[joshcryer]

While TransCanada Corp. has been cooling its heels on its Keystone XL proposal for the past six years, the oil pipeline business has been booming in the United States.

Crude oil pipeline mileage rose 9.1 per cent last year alone to reach 66,649 miles, according to data from the Washington, D.C.-based Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL) set to be released soon.

Between 2009 and 2013, more than 8,000 miles of oil transmission pipelines have been built in the past five years in the U.S., AOPL spokesperson John Stoody said, compared to the 875 miles TransCanada wants to lay in the states of Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska for its 830,000-bpd project. By last year, the U.S. had built 12,000 miles of pipe since 2010.

...

But the opposition has done little to stop the surge of Alberta crude flowing through the U.S. pipeline systems: Canadian crude oil exports to the U.S. soared to 3.4 million barrels per day in August – a new record.

http://business.financialpost.com/news/energy/america-has-built-the-equivalent-of-10-keystone-pipelines-since-2010-and-no-one-said-anything

Keystone was smoke and mirrors. Throw up one as the sacrificial lamb, the rest get built.

It did help that the Saudi's ramped up production which caused logistic problems for part of Keystone XL, but that is more because its true purpose was tapping Bakken oil, subsidized by TransCanada.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Did any of the other pipelines carry the tar sands crap?

I believe that was a factor in denying the pipeline's building.

[Agschmid]

2. Yes.

But oil in general is just a much of a problem if it spills.

[moondust]

3. Over large farmland aquifers? n/t

[joshcryer]

5. Sure thing:

edit: unclear on the new 10x pipelines in OP, but people protested Keystone even with the alternative route proposal (that avoided the aquifer).

Keystone was, imo, a distraction.

[moondust]

6. "All Commodities"

Wonder how much of that is toxic sludge? Ewww.

[Lancero]

10. Here's a link to a more in-depth map

http://www.pipeline101.org/where-are-pipelines-located

They praise pipelines a bit much, but they do provide a comprehensive map of pipelines in the US.

[joshcryer]

4. Yeah, that's why production has gone up.

Keystone had an added benefit that it would've helped Bakken oil ramp up production. TransCanada was also going to get transport fees for a lot of US oil.

[B Calm]

15. Google Kalamazoo tar sands pipeline spill.

[djean111]

7. I believe that the veto on Keystone is designed to draw attention away from the TPP and also to

earn some sort of forbearance from those who objected to both.

Yes, it is smoke and mirrors. Looks like the TPP will actually enable weakening the environmental regulations on all of the existing pipelines.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

8. Agree n/t

[joshcryer]

11. I'm not saying it was some conspiracy, mind you.

I'm saying the outrage about Keystone was not directed toward a given resource but it was just used as something that the groups could use to pander to their supporters. It just so happened that the government could then use it as a fig leaf when all was said and done. So the panders got pandered to whilst the real pipelines got built and the resource got stretched.

It's the more odious side of civics vs politics, imo. The special interests on either side can only focus on one or two major issues at once. Keystone got to be the sacrificial lamb because it was the big daddy of them all and because it was a company in a foreign country proposing it.

TPP is a really great example of some kind of policy that pits everyone against each other. There's not one single goal or item in it that can result in massive protest. OK, so you're against ISDS, there are plenty of dispute resolution people who love that crap, since it favors the US and the US has never lost a case. OK, so you're against the copyright extension stuff, well there are plenty of left wing Hollywood types who actually back that copyright stuff (a lot of Hollywood unions backed SOPA, they'll back that). OK so you're against the IP stuff, same thing, Silicon Valley loves its IP and there are a lot of liberals there.

[djean111]

12. Politics as usual. And this is why Obama demanded Fast Track.

Nothing can be changed. Up or down.

Well, the fact that I will not vote for anyone who enables this in any way cannot be changed, either. This is not a single-issue thing, for me. It hurts people in so many ways. Hopefully, the protests in other countries will have some effect.

[dreamnightwind]

9. That's no reason to support it

Good to draw attention to other battles we need to fight, if that is what you are doing. We need to leave it all in the ground and work with insane urgency to bring carbon-free replacements online, with conservation filling in any shortages in the process.

[quaker bill]

13. Pretty much normal

As an Environmental Scientist working for a regulatory agency, this is normal for all sorts of activism. Activists do not have the resources ($ and volunteer time) to oppose everything like any one particular project. There are simply too many balls in the air to catch them all, or even a representative sample.

In fact, one way industry ducks activism is to break projects up into a number of independently reviewed pieces. Each would then have to be challenged by legal action separately. This keeps an uncountable number of balls in the air all the time.

Activists counter by selecting hallmark projects and work them in an attempt to grow support for their cause and perhaps make new law if they win.

This is why activists will oppose a new Wal-Mart for environmental impacts, but let a Home Depot with very similar impacts a mile down the street pass by un-noticed. People will donate and volunteer to oppose a Wal-Mart, not so much a Home Depot...

[joshcryer]

14. Yup.

[Brickbat]

16. This is important to remember.

[1939]

17. Pipeline, railroad tankcar, over-the-road tanker truck

If it is economically valuable, it will move. You take your choice.

XL surprised me because I thought one of the Obama inner circle was a big Trans Canada share holder.

[Sunlei]

18. It's because I think the President approves the international connection. If that wasn't so we would

be refining filthy sludge into kerosene in Texas and tanker shipping it to China by now.