The Obama administration has been tightening the grip around the collective necks of the fossil fuel industry. The goal is of course to kill it and nowhere is this more self evident than with oil exploration.
The most recent example is the studying to death of the Keystone pipeline. Allegedly, the Obama administration needs more time to determine the feasibility of such an undertaking. It is not as if we do not have tens of thousands of miles of pipeline in this nation, this one needs to be studied over and over. As we know, the review is an attempt to kill the project through delay.
In battling the fossil fuel industry, the Obama administration is employing a tactic that is usually used by unions in disputes with their employers – the rule book slowdown. The concept of a rule book slowdown is simple; follow the rules as exactly written, down to the last detail, and by doing so one’s work cannot be performed in a timely and efficient manner. It is in the nature of bureaucracies to micromanage every detail of work and if you literally follow the rules as written, you cannot perform your job; thus using the rules as a weapon. That following rules can be used as a job action is an indictment of our society in general but it is nothing new on the labor front. What is new is our government adopting this tactic as a weapon against a segment of our economy, which in the end will not only destroy the industry but hurt us all. The assault on the Keystone pipeline is just building upon the template employed against deep water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
Deep water drilling was stopped by the Obama administration in the wake of the BP oil disaster. A moratorium was declared which was subsequently challenged in court. Although the courts rescinded the ban, the Obama administration in response instituted a rule book slowdown. A six month moratorium has turned into nearly two years, with no end in sight.
Prior to the BP disaster, the government approved approximately seven deep water permits a month. Now, it is down to two and just getting a permit does not guarantee that a platform will be up and running any time soon as more rules must be complied with. Our bureaucracy is being used as a weapon. Byzantium has nothing on us.
Since President Obama has taken office, the price of a gallon of gasoline has nearly doubled. However, our loss in treasure is not limited to the cost of gasoline. His assault on oil is costing us jobs. Job loss estimates for the Keystone pipeline have been bantered about in the neighborhood of fifty thousand. This number is dwarfed by the losses in the Gulf, upwards of 160,000. Along with losing jobs, capital investment has also declined. In the Gulf, investment in deep water drilling has declined by $24 billion and capital being capital; it will always find a home. Where did this money go? Well, eleven of our deep water rigs (representing a $21 billion investment) have ended up in Brazil, Egypt and Angola; you can kiss that money goodbye.
We have an administration that is bent on changing our nation from our individual freedoms to how we live our day to day lives. It will employ any tactic to see its mission through. We are slowly being strangled and if we do not fight back now, we will not have any breath later to do so.
The following articles have been used for the factual references about the state of oil drilling in the Gulf. They are a good read in their own right:
Deepwater drilling moratorium has created ‘hidden victims,’ study says
Gulf Oil Drilling Moratorium, ‘Permitorium’ to Cost Nation $24B, Industry Says
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Comments
The “rulebook slowdown” is always followed by a “lawsuit slowdown”, which sometimes will turn into a “lawsuit cave” if the government thinks it can get a “good” judgement.
The nuclear industry is quite familiar with this routine.
A large minority, or perhaps a slight majority, of Americans maintain an irrational fear of nuclear processes. A smaller minority in the public, commercial, and non-profit sectors have exploited that opportunity for their personal gain.
Nuclear Power in the World Today
There are now over 440 commercial nuclear power reactors operating in 30 countries, with 377,000 MWe of total capacity.
There are so many ready-made issues for the GOP candidates. Use them!!! Someone!!
Listen to Newt:
https://legalinsurrection.com/2012/02/cpac-candidate-speeches/
ExExZonie –Joy is right. Listen to this speech.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2012/02/cpac-candidate-speeches/
And listen again, until you start to get the plan. Your ideas are needed by the American campaign newt is going to run.
This is example number 10,002 that the Masters and Doctorate “geniuses” in the Obama administration with little or no experience outside academia and government are either not that bright, or are purposefully trying to run this country into the ground.
Killing America’s ability to produce and distribute fossil fuels merely gives the rest of the world a leg up to perpetuate and dominate their control. The environmental consequences both real and imagined are still going to be with us. It just means the good things fossil fuels provide will be enjoyed by China, India and others. I would further posit that by transferring dominance of fossil fuels outside our borders to producers and users with corrupt governments increases environmental damage. It does not reduce it.
Unless and until a more efficient and cost effective energy source is found, the countries that can produce, distribute and control fossil fuels will have a tremendous economic and strategic advantage over the United States if the Obamatards are successful in their attack.
It is time that environmentalist ideologues wake up and realize that it is not enough just to have good intentions. You have to plan for, allow for and address the unintended detrimental consequences such grand plans inevitably cause.
In the grand scheme of things, good intentions by themselves mean little. There must be measurable good results and the intellectual honesty to require them.
It is ironic how often the term “useful idiot” should be placed after MS or PhD.
I used the term “Useful Idiot” yesterday on my own blog in talking about Obamacare and who hoisted this abomination upon us:
http://obpopulus.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/you-can-thank-the-useful-idiot/
There is a major LCRA powerplant about 20 miles from my home. For three years they spent millions retrofitting the coal fired plant to a clean coal fired plant. It reduced emmitions by 98%.
The greenweenies out of Austin decided to protest at the plant, demanding that the plant stop pouring pollution into the air. They were too stupid to know that the white smoke coming from the stacks was steam. Water vapor. Clean.
If I didn’t know better, I would think that Obama wants to make us even more dependant on ME oil. Nah, he wouldn’t do that, right? (snarc) Meanwhile, Cuba sells its oil contracts to China so that China can drill just 40 miles off the Key West coast line (thank you, Jimmy Carter). But I am sure that China will take all environmental precautions. Right? (snarc)
I’ve read some stories (sorry no links) that the Keystone XL pipeline will begin construction of the vast majority of the pipeline, Montana to Texas, as this portion doesn’t require any additional federal government approvals.
The part that Obama refused to approve is the link across the US-Canada border, which must be approved by the State Department.
So, the Canadians should tunnel under the US-Canada border to run the pipeline – just like the the drug runners tunnel under the US-Mexico border.
The irony is this industry may end up saving him (as the Glenn Reynolds’ link at the end of this post points out.
I see evilbloggerlady is here now trying to build traffic for her own blog.
Tell us, EBL, how many blogs do you link back to your own blog on?
Germany is in turmoil about the Climate and Solar/Wind Energy
02/06/12 – Watts Up With That
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(1) Climate Skepticism has risen into the mainstream, as Germany’s Top Environmentalist Turns Climate Sceptic, saying “I couldn’t take it any more. I had to write this book.”
Doubt came two years ago when he was an expert reviewer of an IPCC report on renewable energy. “I discovered numerous errors and asked myself if the other IPCC reports on climate were similarly sloppy.”
(2) The other major story is on the failure of solar and wind power in Germany. [ Green power is impoverishing Germany. ]
=== ===
We need to dispense with the “fossil” qualifier. There is both terrestrial and extraterrestrial evidence that hydrocarbons are formed principally through abiogenic, subterranean processes. The existence of other sources is either due to contamination or a minority process. The real concern with hydrocarbon fuels should be economic accessibility; otherwise, they are supremely suited for certain applications, including petroleum for mobile applications.
Our resolve to exploit foreign resource recovery and development has controlled our foreign policy to our detriment. We need to overcome the out-of-sight and out-of-mind mentality. If people desire to purchase indulgences, then let them join a religion or cult and participate voluntarily.
So far as Keystone goes? Ill be curious to see what the administration does in light of this: http://www.transcanada.com/5941.html
And it still wouldnt surprise me to see Obama wait until he needs a boost in the polls to suddenly find the project beneficial.
I googled it we have 2 million plus miles of pipelines in the U.S. that tract of land they are arguing about probably has thousands of miles of pipe under it now and this is what the government site says about pipelines
Pipeline systems are the safest means to move these products. The federal government rededicated itself to pipeline safety in 2006 when the PIPES Act was signed. It mandates new methods and makes commitments for new technologies to manage the integrity of the nation’s pipelines and raise the bar on pipeline safety.
http://phmsa.dot.gov/portal/site/PHMSA/menuitem.ebdc7a8a7e39f2e55cf2031050248a0c/?vgnextoid=a62924cc45ea4110VgnVCM1000009ed07898RCRD&vgnextchannel=f7280665b91ac010VgnVCM1000008049a8c0RCRD&vgnextfmt=print
Here we see a map of the proposed pipeline (red dots)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/map-pipeline/
It’s not that hard to parse Obama’s motives. Follow the money.
He owed Arab oil interests and environmentalist for his election.
His donor list reads like a Muslim phone book.
To H3!! with the American economy and taxpayer.
Please recall Obama’s words during the 2008 campaign, he made promises regarding his approach to energy production. Coal companies would go bankrupt when erecting new coal electric production plants! Nuclear energy would be knocked down a peg or three (My words but clearly his intent!). Clean energy was supposed to be the way of the future he foresaw. Can anyone spell Solyndra, anyone?
His campaign did have certain promises that would never be kept, like the ones regarding health care and your right to your doctor and to your health insurance.
But all in all, Obama has kept his word, kind of, to his base, especially those of the hard left, like Pelosi and Reid.
All we can do is to strive and work to get Conservatives elected. But, please Romney is not conservative, he’s a wannbe!
Going by what I read early last year it seems that deepwater drilling is only banned for Americans:
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/03/18/Petrobras-gets-permit-for-US-deep-waters/UPI-87891300453143/
” WASHINGTON, March 18 (UPI) — Washington has given Petrobras America Inc. permission to start oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, a regulator said.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement gave Petrobras approval to use a floating production storage offloading facility at its Cascade-Chinook project in the Gulf of Mexico.
The approval marks the first time FPSO technology will be used in U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The oil and gas project is about 165 miles off the coast of Louisiana in 8,200 feet of water. The FPSO has a production capacity of 80,000 barrels of oil and 16 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. ”
Is that because Soros has interests in Petrobras?
[…] “…Since President Obama has taken office, the price of a gallon of gasoline has nearly doubled. However, our loss in treasure is not limited to the cost of gasoline. His assault on oil is costing us jobs. Job loss estimates for the Keystone pipeline have been bantered about in the neighborhood of fifty thousand. This number is dwarfed by the losses in the Gulf, upwards of 160,000. Along with losing jobs, capital investment has also declined. In the Gulf, investment in deep water drilling has declined by $24 billion and capital being capital; it will always find a home. Where did this money go? Well, eleven of our deep water rigs (representing a $21 billion investment) have ended up in Brazil, Egypt and Angola; you can kiss that money goodbye. […]