Ditching the Pipeline, For Now

PRESIDENT OBAMA, after thinking about it for seven years, finally deep sixed the Keystone pipeline project, much to the jubilation of environmental new age hippie types, and the enduring consternation of profit seeking, conservative republican suit and tie type guys. The president probably had decided the issue by the time he got out of first grade, but withheld his announcement until very late in his presidential term of service to avoid years of vilification by the mainstream American conservative media. But he can avoid it no more, and here it comes! Should be fun, and interesting. American presidents seem to fall prey to a certain mental disorder wherein they discover courage and truth quite late in their terms. We learned, for instance, that we are all puppets of the corporate state only on Eisenhower's last day in office. Thus Obama's environmental legacy seems assured, if not his pro business legacy. Ironically, the earth will probably suffer more damage by shipping the "dirty" oil using trucks and trains, instead of through the never to be built pipeline. Whether the Keystone pipeline ever came into existence is entirely moot, notwithstanding the huge fuss both sides of the issue have made over the issue. When a republican becomes president, which may be soon, look for the pipeline proliferation to resume. Numerous oil pipelines already line the fruited plain, with more to come. Homo sapiens is going to suck every last drop of fossil fuel out of the ground and burn it, environment be damned. Obama missed a golden opportunity to make a bargain with republicans, conservatives, and corporations. He could have blackmailed them all, probably, into issuing passionate, unconditional statements of acceptance of climate change, in exchange for the pipeline. You can build your pipeline if you agree to invest heavily in solar energy! Besides, the next republican president to come along will doubtless resuscitate the pipeline project.