Weekly Conservation Bulletin
01/23/2012
President Obama says "no" to a major greenhouse gas escalator, plus more news, this week in CIB:
Washington Watch: Obama Nixes Tar Sands Pipeline
Resisting pressure from Congressional Republicans and some allies, President Obama last week rejected the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to transport tar-sands petroleum from Canada to the Gulf Coast. Faced with an arbitrary legislative deadline for ruling on the pipeline, the Obama Administration rejected the project, declaring that the short deadline left inadequate time for needed environmental reviews.
Rejection of this permit request from the TransCanada corporation for the pipeline's construction does not permanently dispose of the issue. TransCanada has already said that it will resubmit a permit request and seek expedited review. Congressional supporters of the project are also expected to try again to incorporate pipeline approval language into unrelated key bills, as occurred with the payroll tax break extension bill in December.
National and international environmental groups view the Keystone XL pipeline dispute as a key case in both climate change and habitat protection. Scientists estimate that production of oil from tar sands deposits generates three times the greenhouse gas emissions produced by conventional oil production, on a barrel by barrel basis. In addition, the Canadian boreal forest environment in which the tar sands deposits are found is strip-mined and effectively destroyed as natural habitat by the production process. That forest is both a major carbon sink and key habitat for migratory species.
While denial of the cross-U.S. pipeline project would not halt tar sands mining altogether, it would constrain transportation outlets and thereby impede development of the production fields. The pipeline itself also raises serious domestic environmental issues in the areas it would cross, from construction itself and from the potential for oil spill damage from breaks. The pipeline's proposed route is controversial for a number of reasons, including its potential threat to major water supply aquifers and American wildlife areas.
Politically, however, the pipeline project has many powerful supporters. The oil industry, of course, invariably favors lucrative new development opportunities. Because the pipeline would boost Canadian oil production significantly, it is a priority for Canada's current Conservative Party government. Since construction of the pipeline would create several thousand temporary construction jobs in the states it would cross to reach Gulf Coast refineries, it is supported by union interests which are among the Obama Administration's usual allies. Finally, in this presidential election year, Congressional Republicans, GOP presidential candidates, and their supportive interest groups view the pipeline project as an ideal opportunity to promote their "drill everywhere" and "oil creates jobs" messages and attack Obama.
Look for the Keystone XL pipeline debate to be replayed endlessly in the 2012 Congressional and national campaign debates. For more information on the tar sands pipeline issue, sources include these:
- Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), http://www.savebiogems.org/stop-the-tar-sands-pipeline/
- The Climate Post, http://climatepost.org/
- Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), http://www.edf.org/president-obama-says-no-keystone-pipeline
Nuclear Update: Duke Presses for Lee Plant
Duke Energy's proposed new Lee nuclear plant was alternately enthusiastically supported and vigorously attacked at a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) public hearing in Gaffney, South Carolina, last week. The plant would be built near the town, about 50 miles southwest of Charlotte.
The Lee plant is a reincarnation of Duke's proposed Cherokee nuclear plant of a generation ago. The Cherokee plant proposal died a lingering death in the 1980's due to skyrocketing construction costs and the collapse of inflated projections for growth in demand for electricity. Armed today with massive new government loan guarantees and forced ratepayer subsidies, Duke is back again pushing its dream/nightmare of a new round of nuclear power construction.
As usual, the plant proposal drew strong support from local business sources which would benefit from the infusion of temporary construction work, and local political figures who crave the added tax base and jobs for a region with continued high unemployment. Opponents hit hard on the long-term potential for accidents and radioactivity releases. They also decried the fact that the plant in routine operation would suck in for cooling water nearly half the base flow volume of the nearby Broad River. Nuclear reactors are extraordinary consumers of water resources.
Historically, the NRC has often been a rubber stamp for new nuclear construction proposals, and the NRC staff has already recommended approval of Duke's application for construction of the proposed two nuclear reactors at this location. The last generation of nuclear overconstruction in the 1970's and '80's was cut off only when affordable financing dried up for the power companies' building spree.
However, licensing debates before the NRC and state-level regulatory commissions have been used as effective public education opportunities on nuclear risks and the preferability of investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy alternatives. The NRC record on Duke's Lee plant proposal will remain open for written public comments until March 6. Information on the comment process and background on the proposed plant are available through the Clean Water for NC website: http://www.cwfnc.org/water-and-energy/duke-nuke-hearing-2012/
Education & Resources: Clean Energy Connections
The N.C. Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) has announced a statewide series of educational events on clean energy alternatives in 2012, called Clean Energy Connections. The events are designed to inform the public on topics such as financing alternatives for clean energy projects, and to promote networking among supporters of renewable energy.
Events will kick off on January 24 at the Solar Center in Raleigh, and continue on February 21 at UNC-Chapel Hill. More information is available at http://energync.org/calendar/ncsea-events/2012/01/24/clean-energy-connections-clean-energy-financing-101/
