I submitted this op-ed to the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper today:
President Obama made the right decision in rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline application. This is a terrible project and for every argument made for the pipeline, a better alternative exists.
For example, let’s talk about jobs. The only independent jobs study, by Cornell University, found that the pipeline would create from 2,500 to 4,650 temporary jobs and several hundred permanent jobs. TransCanada, the oil company behind the pipeline, has been downright deceptive in its job projections in trying to get the project approved. Many other opportunities in the energy sector could create thousands of long-term, well-paying positions that would lead us to a clean energy economy. Obama has already enacted two such policies - mercury emissions rules and Energy Department loan guarantees for wind and solar projects - that will create 113,000 jobs.
Do we really want to continue investing in infrastructure that keeps us locked in to a fuel source that is finite, extremely polluting, and comes with continually rising prices through the basic forces of supply and demand? In contrast, by investing in renewable, infinite energy sources - such as wind and solar - we are transitioning our economy to energy independence and returning our world to a stable climate.
Our energy security would not improve by building this pipeline. No one involved in this project is claiming the US would get a significant percentage of oil from the tar sands just because it would be piped through our country. Once pumped from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, the tar sands would be refined and sold to the highest bidder just like any global commodity. As long as we remain addicted to fossil fuels, we will still need to get a large percentage of our oil from volatile regions like the Middle East - and we will still be susceptible to threats of cutting off our oil supply by the likes of Iran’s Ahmadinejad, as he has been threatening to do in the last few weeks.
We can facilitate the transition to a clean energy economy by placing a price on carbon. Through the carbon fee and dividend model, as proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives’ Save Our Climate Act (H.R. 3242), fossil fuel companies are taxed for each ton of carbon dioxide their fuel will generate and that money is then returned to American citizens in the form of a monthly check. This will eventually make renewable energy cheaper than fossil fuels, thereby creating clear and predictable pricing signals for the business and investment sectors. This market-based approach encourages robust investment in clean energy businesses and technologies, creating millions of jobs. If you want Wisconsin, and our nation, to move forward, call your representatives and tell them that you support a price on carbon. And Obama needs to hear from us that we don’t want the Keystone XL built along any route, at any time. We want investment in the future, not the past.
For example, let’s talk about jobs. The only independent jobs study, by Cornell University, found that the pipeline would create from 2,500 to 4,650 temporary jobs and several hundred permanent jobs. TransCanada, the oil company behind the pipeline, has been downright deceptive in its job projections in trying to get the project approved. Many other opportunities in the energy sector could create thousands of long-term, well-paying positions that would lead us to a clean energy economy. Obama has already enacted two such policies - mercury emissions rules and Energy Department loan guarantees for wind and solar projects - that will create 113,000 jobs.
Do we really want to continue investing in infrastructure that keeps us locked in to a fuel source that is finite, extremely polluting, and comes with continually rising prices through the basic forces of supply and demand? In contrast, by investing in renewable, infinite energy sources - such as wind and solar - we are transitioning our economy to energy independence and returning our world to a stable climate.
Our energy security would not improve by building this pipeline. No one involved in this project is claiming the US would get a significant percentage of oil from the tar sands just because it would be piped through our country. Once pumped from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, the tar sands would be refined and sold to the highest bidder just like any global commodity. As long as we remain addicted to fossil fuels, we will still need to get a large percentage of our oil from volatile regions like the Middle East - and we will still be susceptible to threats of cutting off our oil supply by the likes of Iran’s Ahmadinejad, as he has been threatening to do in the last few weeks.
We can facilitate the transition to a clean energy economy by placing a price on carbon. Through the carbon fee and dividend model, as proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives’ Save Our Climate Act (H.R. 3242), fossil fuel companies are taxed for each ton of carbon dioxide their fuel will generate and that money is then returned to American citizens in the form of a monthly check. This will eventually make renewable energy cheaper than fossil fuels, thereby creating clear and predictable pricing signals for the business and investment sectors. This market-based approach encourages robust investment in clean energy businesses and technologies, creating millions of jobs. If you want Wisconsin, and our nation, to move forward, call your representatives and tell them that you support a price on carbon. And Obama needs to hear from us that we don’t want the Keystone XL built along any route, at any time. We want investment in the future, not the past.
