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Title: Canada’s liberal Trudeau may weigh in against fossil fuels (Keystone pipeline)
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URL Source: http://www.onenewsnow.com/business/ ... -weigh-in-against-fossil-fuels
Published: Oct 22, 2015
Author: Chris Woodward
Post Date: 2015-10-22 21:06:18 by HAPPY2BME-4UM
Keywords: None
Views: 40
Comments: 2
Trudeau is on record as supporting Keystone XL, but Trudeau is also urging action to combat climate change, and environmentalists argue that production from Canadian tar sands would contribute to what they call climate change or global warming. News outlets are reporting skepticism as to whether Trudeau will fight environmentalists and other groups over the pipeline. Mark Cooper, spokesman for TransCanada, tells OneNewsNow the company is already set to progress with further developing the pipeline. "[We are] 100 percent looking to move forward with Keystone,” he says. “We have an existing Keystone pipeline system that's already transported more than a billion barrels of crude oil from Canada and the United States to refineries." The northern leg of Keystone XL that would run from Western Canada across the United States is what lacks approval from the U.S. government. President Obama has visited the southern part of Keystone XL, which runs from Oklahoma to the Texas Gulf Coast, and even said in 2012 that it will help with domestic energy needs. Since that time, the president has expressed doubts on whether the Keystone XL pipeline would have any affect on gas prices and jobs, while at the same time expressing concern about Keystone's potential impact on the climate. Supporters of Keystone XL say the president has it wrong, and his opposition or skepticism is driven by ideology. Cooper says TransCanada is looking into the possibility of a future for renewable energies, but the best currently available source is from fossil fuels. "We have a wide portfolio of assets that includes about five billion dollars that we've invested into renewables, solar, hydro projects,” he explains. “So we recognize that eventually the world needs to transition to less carbon-based fuels, but in the meantime, every analyst out there indicates that the lion's share of energy for the next many, many decades is going to still come from carbon-based fuels." TransCanada also believes a completed Keystone XL pipeline would be "the least greenhouse gas (GHG) intensive way of transporting this needed oil." “It's been proven by the State Department,” Cooper adds. “So, anybody who is trying to make a climate legacy from denying a pipeline is doing just the opposite. They're incenting more oil to be transported by higher greenhouse gas emission efforts such as rail and barge and truck and that kind of thing." Despite these facts, many are looking to Trudeau to participate with other world leaders in forming a global accord to take action on climate change. David Kreutzer, Ph.D., is a senior research fellow in energy economics and climate change at the Heritage Foundation. He says it's not certain that leaders who meet in Paris this year will make an agreement to curb emissions from fossil fuels that are contributing to what they consider global warming. "I don't think there is any certainty whatsoever that they're going to get a meaningful agreement,” he tells OneNewsNow. “They always come up with something to sign at the end. Go back to the Copenhagen event, they had greater expectations for what they would term success than they achieved, and it seemed even more certain than Paris. So, I don't think there is any certainty that they will come up with something with teeth to it, but they may. We can only hope they don't." The Heritage Foundation, along with many other center-right think tanks warn against regulations on fossil fuels and emissions, saying fossil fuels are cheap, abundant and affordable energy sources. Even if nations do agree on ways to clamp down on emissions, Kreutzer says it won't have much impact, absent restrictions on developing countries. "So, I'm not sure that they're going to get anything of significance out of this meeting,” he says. In the last year, the U.S. and Chinese governments made a joint announcement on a plan to cap emissions. Kreutzer says not only is the jury out on whether China will actually abide by that agreement, the caps India reportedly agreed to "aren't even binding."
In the wake of liberal Justin Trudeau's election as Canadian prime minister, TransCanada is still committed to finishing the Keystone XL project. 
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#1. To: HAPPY2BME-4UM (#0)
Harper was always for big business. He even gave the GO for transgenic salmon egg production and stifled scientists who came out with studies that showed adverse effects on the environment. Not to mention the studies that Trans Canada has by far the worst record when it came to leaky pipelines, from faulty valves to full on oil spills. We are stuck with this new prime, hopefully he will take the greener initiative. TransCanada also believes a completed Keystone XL pipeline would be "the least greenhouse gas (GHG) intensive way of transporting this needed oil." “It's been proven by the State Department,” Cooper adds. “So, anybody who is trying to make a climate legacy from denying a pipeline is doing just the opposite. They're incenting more oil to be transported by higher greenhouse gas emission efforts such as rail and barge and truck and that kind of thing." In what universe? What causes more damage to the environment in the long term, greenhouse gas or oil spills. The person who made that statement deserves the cracker jack prize.
=============================================== I don't plan on being here in 100 years to find out. I was in AK when the Exxon Valdez wrecked, and the damage there can still be found. Exxon pulled out of AK last year. LoL
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#2. To: SilverStorm (#1)
What causes more damage to the environment in the long term, greenhouse gas or oil spills.
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