Is it starting

<$BlogMetaData$>December 15th, 2010


Is it starting?

Just when you think everything is looking good, up jumps the snake. TransCanada and Hyperion are in the news again. TransCanada discovered some ‘anomalies’ (I just love that word don’t you?)in the pipeline to Cushing. It seems as though there are 47 spots on the keystone pipeline that is causing some concern. The newspaper account reports that there are portions of the pipe that are expanding beyond allowable limits. DUH! Who woulda thunk?

The pipeline hasn’t even been in operation for 6 months, and they have 47 anomalies on the pipeline. The pipeline is only pumping 250,000 barrels of crude a day which is half of the capacity it is capable of. It is still pumping at 1900 PSI. It seems the steel is bulging and if not repaired or whatever it will burst and oil will start leaking. TransCanada is being criticized that the walls are too thin and the tensile strength is not strong enough. When Hyperion was asked about this, all they could say is that it is going to build its own ‘bullet’ line. Woo-Hoo what a doozie. Now if that doesn’t scare the c**p (I’ve been told to cut out the swear words) out of you, nothing will?

Here is a parody that should put this in proper perspective. The beginning of the mining facility is your heart and the pipelines are the arteries. Keystone is the left artery and Keystone XL is the right. As long as they keep pumping the oil, everything is ok but if there is an ‘anomaly’, and the artery bursts, we have problems. If they don’t do a bypass soon enough, the heart will die or at least pump fluid into the body until it can’t handle anymore either. Now how many times can you do a bypass before nothing more can be done? In this case just one artery has 47 aneurisms. This baby is 6 months old and is only half grown. How much more can it handle? What is going to happen if there are more aneurisms down in Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma? I think they need to be put into intensive care.

TransCanada replied that it is only responding to the needs of the market and that is why it is only pumping 250,000 barrels of crude. With oil now at $100 a barrel, demand is still low? I guess I don’t understand the commodities market. The pipes in question were manufactured in India, and there are concerns that they may be defective. This is a heck of a time to find out pipes are defective. They already cover 2800 miles and who knows how many welds. They are proving our fears.

When Plains Justice in Vermillion inquired into the pipeline under the freedom of information act, they were told that fears of the tensile strength of the pipelines were unfounded. TransCanada told them they actually built the pipelines to exceed the standard.

The environmental extremists are shouting from the rooftops that this is a catastrophe waiting to happen. My friends this is not a case of if it happens, it is a case of when it happens, and the way things are going already, it isn’t going to be very long. Trust me, It will happen.

I’m sure I’ve said this before, but it is worth repeating. I used to have a sign on my desk that everyone could see when they came into my office. “There is always an excuse for stupidity; however, there is never an excuse for incompetence.” (Military mindset) I firmly believe this pipeline/refinery is both stupid and is being done by incompetents. The really sad part is the public relations folks say “aw shucks, nothing’s going to happen.” To prove their beliefs, crude deliveries will not be interrupted while they make the inspections. DUMB! Or should I say stoopid.

Another issue coming out is that American Petroleum Industries (API) is going to launch a full blown campaign in January touting the benefits of using refined Tar Sands for fuel. I guess they feel we aren’t convinced the tar sands are a good deal so they will try to convince us we are wrong. The ads will focus on jobs, national security and economic potential. Why can’t they spend dollars explaining the harmful effects of refining tar sands? Then let us make up our minds whether or not we should let this happen. I don’t think that is asking too much, do you? I wonder what part of this is going to kill us don’t they understand.

An API spokesman cited an October 2009 Canadian Energy Research Institute study that said Canadian oil-sands development could spur the creation of 342,000 jobs in the United States between 2011 and 2015. Schild said the jobs would come from the “goods and services” required to support increased oil-sands imports.

What is it about tar sands that makes API have to spend a great deal of money convincing people that this is good? How about spending money stating this is bad? Of course they won’t do that because that is against their nature. How about them explaining why they are against preserving the environment and the world we live in. you can’t eat oil, and you can’t take it with you.

This is going to take a concerted effort on our part to keep the people informed about this issue. We need to concentrate on the harm it will do to our environment and the world in general. API is saying that with only sending down half the amount they can, it is preserving the environment. Oh come on now, we are in the country, but we aren’t that stupid to believe that garbage.

In this day and age when everyone else is concerned about reducing the amount of carbon dioxide is being emitted, why does South Dakota want to be so contrary? (To be continued)