Vortex Tools looks at President Obama’s decision today to reject the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline project and what this means for environmentalists and the oil and gas industry. The short answer: Everything went as expected and nothing has changed.
With President Obama rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline project, let’s take a look at how we got here:
For years, TransCanada Corp. has tried to get the Keystone XL pipeline built. Since the proposed 1,980-mile-long pipeline would move heavy Canadian crude oil from Alberta’s oil sands through Nebraska and to the U.S. Gulf Coast, this required a permit from the State Department (to cross the U.S.-Canada border). In November 2011, President Obama delayed his final decision until after the 2012 election, citing the need for more review.
Okay, let’s hit the pause button here: If it isn’t obvious, President Obama’s main reason for delaying making a decision until after his reelection year was (mostly) to avoid alienating voters. This isn’t a tactic specific to any politician or party; it’s standard fare with any hot-button issue where you’re going to lose voters no matter what you do (especially in this case where the unions are for the project and environmentalists are opposed — splitting two key Democratic voting groups). Though I understand the tactic, it’s one more reminder that the skeleton of political integrity has long since been pecked clean by vultures.
Protests against the Keystone XL Pipeline
Thus proponents of the pipeline (with their supporters in a Republican-led Congress) forced President Obama to make a decision via GOP provisions in December’s payroll tax cut extension deal. That decision was made today, and, as expected, President Obama rejected the pipeline deal based on the “arbitrary” deadline, not the merits of the project itself. It’s that annoying circular logic where the President cites being forced to decide too fast as the reason for the rejection and Congress cites his inability to decide as the reason for forcing his hand. In the end, the average voter just sees the circular nature of politicians having their heads bent around and shoved up you-know-where.
Both sides released statements where they could score points: House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said, “President Obama is destroying tens of thousands of American jobs and shipping American energy security to the Chinese. (He’s) selling out American jobs for politics.” TransCanada Corp predicted 13,000 jobs from constructing the estimated $13 billion pipeline, 7,000 manufacturing jobs and “the 118,000 spin-off jobs Keystone XL will create through increased business for local goods and service providers.” Since the pipeline would go through Nebraska, naturally a large chunk of those jobs would benefit that state.
(Score one point for job growth in a poor economy.)
President Obama said, “In the months ahead, we will continue to look for new ways to partner with the oil and gas industry to increase our energy security – including the potential development of an oil pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma to the Gulf of Mexico – even as we set higher efficiency standards for cars and trucks and invest in alternatives like biofuels and natural gas. And we will do so in a way that benefits American workers and businesses without risking the health and safety of the American people and the environment.” One of the main concerns with the Keystone XL project is how to avoid the scenic and sensitive Sand Hills area.
(Score one point for environmentalism while maintaining the potential for job growth.)
Unlike Republicans backing the oil and gas industry and Democrats backing environmentalists, there are actually some things that are debatable in this project:
- Since it’s presently difficult to transport, Canadian crude is, on average $25/barrel less than most oil in U.S. markets. If you increase the ease of its availability and transportation via a pipeline, the value of Canadian crude oil could easily go up by $3/barrel, bringing up the price of gasoline by 7 cents/gallon. Meanwhile, others argue that the overall increased availability will benefit the U.S.
- Many label the Keystone XL pipeline as an export line (for Europe and Latin America), arguing this Canadian crude oil doesn’t benefit the U.S. (and its dependency on foreign oil) nearly as much as it should.
- When you’re talking about projected jobs and costs, both of those numbers are highly subject to change (especially those 118,000 spin-off jobs that make up the meat of the job growth).
- Environmental impact is tough to predict, but another 500,000 barrels/day chugging down the landscape will continue to be sternly opposed by environmentalists.
Alas, these issues are buried beneath all the minutiae of what will affect the next election.
So what’s changed then? Nothing really. Oil stocks and Canadian crude values will likely take a hit in the coming days, both sides will continue to try to find ways to bring up the issue in the next election cycle, and the decision will inevitably be made based on the party in charge and the voting groups they appease. Sounds like every political issue ever.
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Colin McKay Miller is the Marketing Manager for the SpiroFlo Holdings group of companies:
-SpiroFlo for residential hot water savings (delivered 35% faster with up to a 5% volume savings on every hot water outlet in the home) and industrial water purification (biofilm removal).
-Vortex Tools for extending the life of oil and gas wells (recovering up to 10 times more NGLs, reducing flowback startup times, replacing VRUs, eliminating paraffin and freezing in winter, etc.).
-Ecotech for cost-effective non-thermal drying (for biosolids, sugar beets, etc.)
Buzzwords: Ecotechnology
February 22, 2012 by spirofloblog
Ecotech Systems analyzes the terms that make up the environmental world—the cliché, the misunderstood, and the “don’t tell your mama” variety—and how they play in today’s society. Today’s buzzword didn’t mean much when Ecotech Systems first went in to business, yet it’s now left their name in a crowd all touting some term: ecotechnology.
“Back in 1990, no one knew what Ecotech meant. We got called Ekka-tech all the time.”
This is Alan Miller, President of Ecotechnology, Ltd. talking. He first joined Ecotech (short for ecological technologies) in 1990. “You know who the biggest, public green supporter was at the time? McDonald’s. They about changed the packaging industry overnight when they went with non-CFC cups and boxes.”
Granted, he admits, McDonald’s were forced into the change, as the grassroots McToxics campaign pressured them to move away from chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) styrofoam packaging to what they use today. Back when the ozone layer was a common buzzword, CFCs were criticized for ozone depletion, so when a national powerhouse like McDonald’s made the switch, other fast food companies soon followed.
“We believed that green was going to be huge. For the longest time, it seemed that green small businesses had no chance, but we thought this was changing — that ecological and economical did not have to be opposed anymore. So we went with Ecotechnology.”
Little did Ecotechnology, Ltd. know that the ecotech term was about to become popular in the 5-10 years following. “Ecotech didn’t mean anything to most people back then; same as green.” These days, Ecotech is tied to institutions and a number of green technologies. The terms “ecotech” and “green” still have little meaning today, although this is more due to the fact that businesses can shape them to mean whatever they want.
An Ecotech System on site
“Systems” was later added to the name to set Ecotechnology, Ltd. apart from all the other Ecotechs. Swimming against the tide in Google searches, the Ecotech system specializes in the cost-effective, nonthermal drying of biosolids (and a myriad of granular materials) by adding a low-grade heat (150 degrees F). These Ecotech systems can also move and sort materials — soda ash, potash, crumb rubber, copper fines, sugar beets, etc. — with minimal degradation and pipe wear. The applications for moving potash are the number one selling application for the Ecotech system.
Using the patented EcoVeyor, the Ecotech system conveys over long-distances and through significant (even vertical) changes in elevation, no moving parts for minimal maintenance, positive environmental effects through its closed-loop design, and boosted value from lower product attrition and lower line wear for longer pipe life.
Maybe in another twenty years, the ecotech term will be unpopular again. Ecotechnology, Ltd. hopes to still sell systems then.
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Colin McKay Miller is the Marketing Manager for the SpiroFlo Holdings group of companies:
-SpiroFlo for residential hot water savings (delivered 35% faster with up to a 5% volume savings on every hot water outlet in the home) and industrial water purification (biofilm removal).
-Vortex Tools for extending the life of oil and gas wells (recovering up to 10 times more NGLs, reducing flowback startup times, replacing VRUs, eliminating paraffin and freezing in winter, etc.).
-Ecotech for cost-effective non-thermal drying (for biosolids, sugar beets, etc.) and safe movement of materials (including potash and soda ash).
Posted in biosolids, Buzzwords, Ecotech, Green Commentary, Green Savings, Industrial | Tagged biosolids, Ecotech, envrionmentalism, green, Green Commentary, Green Savings, green technology, Industrial, potash, soda ash | Leave a Comment »