The Environment Nuts Would Rather have Blood Oil

Why does every Tom, Dick, and Robert (as in Redford) pick on Alberta's oil sands?  Robert Redford is the latest celebrity to jump on the "bash the oil sands" bandwagon.  Is it because it is an easy target, being Canada?

The Keystone XL, a proposed pipeline to be built by TransCanada Corp., would carry oil from the Alberta oil sands to a Texas refinery in a reasonably safe manner.  However, President Obama has chickened out on giving the go-ahead for the pipeline.  Every indication pointed to it being approved and then suddenly the decision was put on hold until after the election in 2012, to appease the environmentalists.  It would be interesting to hear what big labour unions are saying about the delay/cancellation of this project because of the much needed jobs it would provide.

TransCanada then agreed to reroute the pipeline around Nebraska's Sandhills area and Ogallala aquifer, which, of course, makes sense because this area supplies water to Nebraska and seven other states.  In today's political climate, I don't understand why they wouldn't have done that in the first place.  Having said that though, if it wasn't this issue, it would certainly be something else.  This movement simply does not want this pipeline built.

I'm curious though, the people who are protesting this pipeline, do they ever ask themselves the question "What then?" "What if the piepline is never built?"  The U.S. still relies heavily on oil and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future.  With the proposed pipeline they could greatly lessen their reliance on oil from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, etc. and having to have it shipped by sea in tankers, which can and certainly have leaked.  With a pipeline, if there is an accident, the flow can be stopped by turning off a valve to stop the flow, just like they do with the approximately 55,000 miles of oil pipelines already crisscrossing the country.  But it seems they would rather have "blood oil" from countries that treat their women like slaves, killing them if they disobey, and beheading anyone who is discovered to be gay.  It certainly doesn't make one lick of sense.

In addition, the U.S. burns coal for their electricity.  They have coal-fired power plants across the country which produce enormous amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.  The mining of coal is another huge environmental hazard that destroys the land around it.  So why this constant picking on the oil sands?

Mr. Redford, you are much more likable in the movies.