Last fall, actress (and we use that term loosely) Daryl Hannah was arrested for the second time for protesting the Keystone XL pipeline. She showed up in Winnsboro, Texas, and stood in front of heavy equipment in an attempt to halt construction of the pipeline.
We can only assume that Hannah, whose energy industry intellect is comparable to her acting ability, shirked the private jet and limo in favour of her bicycle and pedaled her way to Texas from Hollywood to protest the pipeline. After all, that’s what true, clean energy environmentalists would do.
We’re equally certain that U.S. President Barack Obama, who runs a country that ranks only behind China as the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitter, is seriously thinking about putting solar panels on top of the entire U.S. Army’s tank fleet. Either that, or Obama’s content with the status quo, which involves importing oil from countries like Angola, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, whose human rights and environmental track records make Alberta’s oilsands look like the poster boy for clean energy activists.
Obama’s been busy holding his finger in the air to determine which way the political winds are blowing, and his stalling on Keystone XL might mean the pipeline won’t ever be built by TransCanada, and that’s just fine with them and the rest of Canada. Refusing to be beholden to the Americans and their clean energy hypocrisy, TransCanada said it will forge ahead with its Energy East project and build a deep water port at Saint John, N.B. The $12 billion project will be capable of moving 1.1 million barrels a day from Alberta to refineries in Quebec and New Brunswick. The benefits of this pipeline go well beyond the creation of well paying Canadian jobs. Eastern Canadian consumers would benefit because higher-cost oil imports would be replaced with cheaper Western Canadian oil. In fact, some 700,000 barrels per day of imports tied to the higher priced Brent Oil would be displaced by Alberta oil. That alone will have a major positive impact on Alberta’s economy.
The Energy East pipeline would allow Canada to become a truly independent energy powerhouse on the world stage – producing, refining and shipping a finished product all over the world, particularly to the huge markets in India and China. No longer will Canada be reliant on the U.S. as its major customer, nor will it have to deal with their sanctimonious politics.
Perhaps best of all, the Energy East project has a great shot of success because most of the pipeline is already in the ground. The 3,000 km gas pipeline between Alberta and Quebec would be converted to oil service, with the remaining 1,400 km of new pipeline to be built from Quebec to the port in New Brunswick. In essence, the Energy East project has already cleared hurdles that the Northern Gateway project may never clear – dealing with sensitive First Nations land claims.
The Energy East project gives Canada the opportunity to finally control its own energy fate. No longer will we have to endure the lunacy south of the border. Perhaps we should send Hannah the first barrel of oil to come out of this project. She could use it to oil her bicycle chain.
