Oil Be Darned

 How about those crazy Yanks, huh?

They arrested Daryl Hannah? And not, as you might suppose, for crimes against acting. (OK, Splash was good, but Clan Of The Cave Bear? really?) No, they arrested her for failure to obey a lawful order. What was the order? "Move your butt, lady!"  Because the ravishing Ms. Hannah was part of a group of protesters, protesting outside The White House against the proposed extension of an oil pipeline that currently runs from Canada to Oklahoma. What's that you say, Jeff? Isn't that an awful long way? You bet your sweet bippy it's a long damn way. And they want to extend it? Where to?  All the way to the Gulf of Mexico, mes amis. Sixteen hundred miles. For a thumping good read about all the technical details and environmental impacts of the project, go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/23/tar-sands-keystone-xl-climate.

The Trans Canada Corp pipeline we are referring to is called Keystone XL, and it currently runs all the way from Alberta to Oklahoma. It has had 12 spills in the last year. That's one a month, Einstein. It runs from the Athabasca tar sands in Alberta, through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma and would end up at refineries on the Texas coast. It runs through family farms, through ranches and over the Ogallala fresh water aquifer that supplies water for 20 million people and for a third of the nation's most rich farm lands and ranch lands. And here's the crazy thing. Those nice adorable lovely politicians, namely Senator Hillary (Big Legs) Clinton and some dude named Obama who just happens to be the flippin' PRESIDENT are going to allow this. You know why? Because of all the jobs that will be created. The Prez cannot be seen to be against the creation of jobs, and so even though we all know that he knows, and he knows we know he knows, that this is probably one of the worst things for the planet, for the USA and for his reputation, he has to do it because of pressure from the big oil companies who for too long have had the government in the palm of their hand, and pressure from the State Department who will remind him of his campaign promises to make a brighter future for all (i.e. more jobs). He knows it's bullshit, and he will just have to bow to that pressure and OK it. So am I saying that the President, who promised change, hope, clean energy etc. is a sellout? Well, sure I am, but only in the context that ALL politicians are sellouts. If there was one lawmaker out there who could just outlaw lobbyists, we'd be a whole lot better off. But until that day, one palm will grease another, and another and another ad infinitum and no real change will occur. So am I saying Obama is a bad man? Not at all. He's just another hapless idealist that suddenly realised that he wasn't going to achieve much despite his lofty ideals because he didn't understand going into it just what he was going to be up against. So now he shifts focus away from tighter environmental controls and towards jobs and job creation, because this is what his aides assure him is going to be key in getting him re-elected.

And don't get me started on the Canadians. It's their oil we are talking about, and it's not like normal sploshy oil either. It's viscous goo mixed with dirt and they have to use millions of gallons of water to separate the two. Like I said, read the article at http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/23/tar-sands-keystone-xl-climate and it'll give you a picture of what's happening.

Tomorrow: More crap that bothers me.