Addressing the B.S. about Climate Change

            Due to the cold weather that has been gripping the U.S. recently, some media sources have been trying to debunk "global warming". Their logic is that global warming couldn't possibly be true because of the recently colder then average temperatures. Jon Stewart recently had a segment on his show where he parodied their opinions and poked holes at their logic. Fox News was calling into question the legitimacy of global warming because they considered the salaries of the scientists doing the research too high to be unbaised. Meaning to say they thought scientists were stretching or lying about their data in order to receive more federal funding and continue having a job. One news anchor made an allusion to the scientists laughing at us while vacationing in their lavish boats in the Arctic. Thankfully, in his segment Jon Stewart poked fun at this point by showing a picture of the "lavish" research boats scientists are using. Another comedic aspect of the logic of Fox News was the input of Donald Trump, a business man, not a scientist on the show. Trump's rationality for the falseness of global warming was that he's freezing and airports are being closed. Facts. Love me some good ol' Trump bonafide facts.
             As Jon Stewart pointed out in his covering of Fox New's coverage of global warming, trends in science are not opinions. I would also like to point out that the term "global warming" is going extinct and that "climate change" is taking its place. I prefer the term climate change because climate is the study of the temperature over a long period of time, and although temperatures are rising there are other effects caused by greenhouse gases. Fox News anchors are looking at weather (the temperature of one day) and claiming that it debunks climate change (the temperature over a long period of time). If that was everyone's logic then twice a year people would change their opinion on global warming. In the winter they would believe it was false, and in the hot & humid summers they would believe in global warming. That is why Fox News needs to look at scientific trends and not their own opinions to determine if climate change is happening.

This is a video the NYTimes released about the influence climate change has had on storms.
Time Magazine two weeks ago released an article about the upcoming El Niño, a phenomena that has increased due to climate change (sadly I couldn't find a link to it).
This is another Time Magazine article that directly addresses the colder temperatures, but still makes the case that climate change exists.

Cons of Keystone XL Pipeline

This blog post is dedicated to exploring the cons of the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Encourages Nonrenewable Resources: Crude oil is not a renewable resource. There is a limited amount of it on Earth and it will eventually run out. If the production of crude oil increases, it will become cheaper and will discourage the use of more sustainable energy like solar or thermal. Cheaper crude oil encourages people to invest in that, instead of devoting resources to renewable resources. This slows down the development in making renewable resources on a grander scale and therefore cheaper.

This Leads to Green House Gas Emissions and Climate Change: When tar sands are refined into petroleum it releases Carbon Dioxide when it is burned, about 20 pounds per 1 gallon. This carbon dioxide gets stuck in the atmosphere and blocks solar rays from escaping, thus warming the planet at an unprecedented rate. The construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline will encourage the extraction of crude oil and therefore more of it will be burned resulting in more green house gas emissions and climate change.

Damaging to Water Resources: The proposed Keystone XL Pipeline will be transferring tar sands, a messy resource to extract. It requires three more barrels of water to extract just one barrel of tar sands. The water will most likely come from aquifers which take thousands of years to refill. After the water has been used to extract tar sands it is usually so contaminated that it must live the rest of its life in "tail ponds".

Habitat Degradation: The transportation of tar sands will inevitably lead to more of it being drilled and therefore more habitat degradation. The tar sands in Canada are located in Alberta under the Boreal forests. Forests play a huge role in maintaining the temperature of the earth because they are carbon sinks. A carbon sink is something that absorbs carbon dioxide, a carbon source is something that releases carbon dioxide. Humans would be an example of a carbon source and plants an example of a carbon sink. The destruction of the forest for tar sands means an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, along with less space for the animals who occupy the Boreal forests to live. Less space for animals means more competition for resources such as food and water and may lead to their extinction. Below is a picture of a caribou, an endangered species that lives in the Boreal forests.

Target for Terrorists: Some people speculate that the pipeline will become a target for terrorists.

Counter Arguments to Pros:
Creates Jobs - However these new jobs will be short-lived after the construction of the pipeline is complete and the extracting of the tar sands is complete
Cheaper Energy - The price of energy will be cheaper, what price will we pay down the road when the effects of climate change grip the planet?

Some Anti-Keystone XL Pipeline Posters:

More Information: http://www.foe.org/projects/climate-and-energy/tar-sands/keystone-xl-pipeline

Pros of Keystone XL Pipeline

             TransCanada along with other companies in the U.S.  have been pushing for the Keystone XL Pipeline. In order to help their cause and gain popular support they have developed websites to showcase the pros of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Below are some of their main points along with my annotations.

Cheaper Energy: The Keystone XL Pipeline would be a more direct pathway from the source of crude oil in Canada to the refineries in the U.S. A shorter travel time means a faster input of crude oil and therefore a faster output of oil that can be sold. Cheaper energy makes it more affordable for families to heat/cool their homes and for small businesses to make a profit.

Creates American Jobs: Although it is a Canadian company that is proposing the pipeline, it is expected that thousands of American jobs will be created by this construction project. Even after the shovel jobs are complete, there will be the ongoing employment of people to maintain the pipes. Jobs will also be created in the refineries that will need to hire more people to process the influx in crude oil.

Improves Economy: If energy is cheaper people will spend more money on energy (longer, hotter showers will be encouraged because of the cheaper energy to heat water and leaving the lights on when one leaves the room will be less of a taboo). When people spend less money on energy they will have more money to buy other things. Also when businesses spend less money buying energy they can sell their products at a more competitive price. It is predicted that the Keystone XL Pipeline will pour billions of dollars into the economy.

Greater Energy Security: America tends to make enemies by entering other countries to export their energy. A more locally and cooperative source of energy would be better for foreign relations. In particular America would become less dependent on Argentina and the Middle East by up to 40%. The predicted number of barrels imported for day in the pipeline is 830,000. America uses the most energy per capita then any other country and if we could get energy from a closer source from a country we have friendlier relations with, our energy imports would be more reliable.


The video below gives the following three reasons for why Obama should go ahead and approve the pipeline: 1. The oil isn't going to stay buried, 2. the pipeline isn't a disaster waiting to happen, 3. It will help the economy.

Here's a blog post that further discusses the pros for the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Explanation of the Keystone XL Pipeline

              There has been a proposal for a a 1,179 mile, 36-inch-diameter crude oil pipeline. As the map below shows it will begin in Hardisty, Alberta, and extend to Steele City Nebraska. The pipeline has been designed to transport 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day to Gulf Coast and Midwest refineries. The proposal also includes extending the Southern part of the already existing Keystone Pipeline called the Gulf Coast Pipeline Project. There is currently a pipeline, the Keystone Pipeline, that transports crude oil* from Canada to the U.S., but this pipeline would be more direct. The purpose of this pipeline is to reduce dependency for foreign oil, strengthen security for energy and strengthen the American economy.
              TransCanada has been the company facilitating the proposals for the Keystone XL Pipeline. The Governor of Nebraska, Dave Heineman approved the Nebraska portion of the pipeline in January 2013. The U.S. Department of State reviewed the plans for the pipeline and in March, 2013 released a Draft Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement, which found that "there would be no significant impacts to most resources along the proposed Project route". In 2012 Obama postponed the approval for the project because he felt there wasn't enough time to review the proposal fully and make an informed decision. Although the Congressional Republicans were pushing for it's quick approval, the Secretary of State recommended the application be denied to evaluate how it would affect the health and safety of the American people and the environment. Obama is not against the idea of the pipeline and is supportive of American energy that creates jobs. The projected, provided it is approved, is expected to be completed in 2015.
              Currently the Keystone XL pipeline has connected pipeline from Oklahoma to Texas and the first barrels of crude oil have already been transported. The Northern part of the Keystone XL Pipeline is still awaiting presidential approval; it is currently being held up by environmental groups and private landowners.

*Crude Oil: a naturally occurring, unrefined petroleum composed of hydrocarbon deposits.

Resources:
http://www.transcanada.com/keystone.html
http://keystone-xl.com/about/the-project/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/01/18/statement-president-keystone-xl-pipeline
http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2013/12/09/keystone-xl-pipeline-gets-its-first-barrels-of-oil-in-texas/