The "Key" to oil independence?

What goes up must come down--unless your talking about gas prices. A proposal for an oil pipeline running from Canada to Texas may be a small boost for a sick economy and hurting wallets.

The Keystone XL pipeline is designed to transport crude oil from Canada to the Texan gulf coast to be refined. Before the end of the year, the State Department will decide whether or not to allow Keystone's construction.

Barry Smitherman of the Texas Railroad Commission advocates the pipeline in an opinion piece entitled "Texas Needs the Keystone Pipeline." Published in the Austin American Statesman yesterday, Smitherman's article seeks to persuade citizens, as well as the state, of the benefits of building the pipeline. There is a 30 day public comment period in effect right now, so Smitherman focuses on convincing citizens and state officials to speak out in favor of the pipeline.

Smitherman does a great job of covering the issues. He points out that the Keystone program has been under an extensive three-year federal review (set to continue for a few more months), which has shown the program would generate about 50,300 person-years of employments, billions in revenue, and energy security. He also responds to concerns about the pipeline.

First, the question that's been haunting all politicians recently: where's the money coming from? Smitherman points out the pipeline is not government funded, but is actually privately financed. Another large issue adressed in the article is the environment. The author points to the government reviews that have repeatedly stated there wouldn't be significant environmental impacts.

There are a number of things I would have liked Smitherman to do differently. Firstly, I think he could addressed national security more fully. He asserted that skeptic's opinions where not based on fact, but did not tell what facts upon which it should be based. Also, Smitherman does not specify how much oil will be supplied by the pipeline; which begs the question: will this actually help with energy independence that much?  In addition, I think he should have addressed more fully the concerns of states this pipeline will run through. He did mention the tax revenue they will receive, but left us wondering whether a large pipe will be running through people's back yards. Though this is an extreme example, it would have--in my opinion--strengthened his article to address these other concerns as well.

However, as a whole, this article is very solid and does a good job of presenting well reasoned, convincing arguments.

Power Struggle

Protection--the government tries so hard to employ safety regulation. But does it actually help?

A recent requirement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will mandate the 47% reduction of emissions from Texan power plants by 2012. As Claire Cardona reported in The Texas Tribune on Tuesday, the EPA's rule has angered many in the power industry.

A major objection to the requirement is the manner it was put in place. Texas was not originally part of the rule, so other states (such as Kansas and Oklahoma) where informed of the requirements a year before Texas. Lack of time is what makes compliance so hard for Texan power companies. In fact, a major power producer has filed suit against the EPA because they fear the time limit may force them to lay off hundreds. Though the regulations seem sudden, the article points out that companies should have expected regulations of this sort.

Will this turn out as another state vs. federal boxing match? All we can do is wait and watch these events unfold.