Obama expected to approve tar sands pipeline?

In a classic showdown between jobs and the environment, it appears Obama is on the side of the jobs. The current controversy concerns the construction of a pipeline bisecting the U.S. from Canada to Texas designed to transport Canadian "tar sands" to refineries in Texas. Supporters say the pipeline will create 20,000 jobs. Opponents say the environmental risk is too great.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) - Just before the threat of Hurricane Irene drove visitors out of Washington D.C., nearly 300 protestors gathered before the White House last week, to oppose the pipeline project. Obama is expected to approve construction. 

Typically, Democrats are criticized as being environmentalists, at the expense of all else, but the economy is weighing heavily on Obama's mind and he almost can't help approving the project with its anticipated  20,000 "shovel ready" jobs. Being promoted by TransCanada, critics are being reassured that it will have up-to-date safety technology designed to detect spills as soon as they occur, making the pipeline one of the safest in the world. But not everyone's buying it. 

Several Republicans in congress have raised concerns about environmental safety. Pipes tend to leak and oil spills regularly occur on land. Since the pipeline will cross over the critical Ogallala Aquifer, it is of particular interest to environmentalists. The most recently built pipeline, the Keystone Pipeline, has been operational for a year and has already had 11 spills equaling almost 500 barrels of oil. And with Americans still nervous following the BP Gulf disaster, it's a tough decision for the Obama administration.

Making the project particularly controversial is the nature of the tar sands and their oil. Tar sands are thick, gooey substances, as much more sand than they are oil. Tar sands are not pumped, but rather they are mined. A single gallon of tar sands requires three gallons of water to extract and creates three times more greenhouse gasses than conventionally pumped oil. The sands are so thick, they must be mixed with chemicals simply to make them flow through the pipeline. A spill doesn't just mean oil contamination, but other chemicals as well. 

While environmentalists oppose mining tar sands and piping them to Texas, TransCanada will have a customer regardless. China, rapidly growing and hungry for oil imports has offered to buy the oil from Canada if the U.S. won't take it.

Strategic considerations are also weighing on the President. As the U.S. blames foreign oil consumption for its involvement in middle-eastern instability, the Obama administration is deeply interested in any programs that promote energy independence. And although the U.S. would still be importing oil, it would be coming from Canada, a close, stable ally and free trading partner. 
The U.S. has long viewed oil as a valuable strategic resource and has always done as much as possible to ensure a steady and reliable flow. However, the CIA and military officials have also recently started to indentify global warming as a threat to national security. Naturally, if fossil fuel production and consumption promotes climate change, which in turn promotes global instability and resource shortages, the long view is that such activity could affect future U.S. security. 

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Despite all concerns and protests however, the stagnant economy, likely to be the top concern before voters in 2012, virtually ensures that Obama will approve the pipeline. President Obama has until November 1 to announce his final decision.

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