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Keystone XL a key to energy independence |
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By Thomas Terrio |
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Afterthoughts |
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Oil prices have certainly become a threat for the world economy. |
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Approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let's not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emission standards from man-made sources. |
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Independence is something no one should take for granted. It takes courage, hard work, and determination to be independent. With independence being such a valuable quality, specifically energy independence, why is President Barack Obama hesitating on approving the Keystone XL pipeline? For decades, the Middle East has been a political nightmare for every president from Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan i.e. the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis and the 1983 Beirut bombing attack that killed 299 American and French service members. Like most journalists who follow global politics, I suffer from Middle East fatigue; the never-ending saga of Jews and Muslims who fail to live together in peace; the consequence of religious dogma and obstinacy that has never translated into a brighter future for either religious denomination. This is why the Keystone XL pipeline is so important. Because it’s the beginning-of-the-end of dependency on Middle East oil. The fear is this will jeopardize the existence of the State of Israel by turning the West away from its focus on energy and dependency in the region. And that, in my view, is the reason why Canada and the U.S. have no independent energy policy that will rid us all of our dependency on OPEC and Middle East oil. Why would a self-professed Christian nation like the U.S., which claims to be the most Christian of all nations, import 1.5 million barrels of oil per day from one of the most oppressive regimes on Earth, Saudi Arabia? Saudi Arabia, where the Holy Bible is banned, where Christians cannot travel to Mecca or Medina, and women are basically prisoners in their own home? It’s time to take a step back, time to develop a secure North American energy policy to ease environmental regulations that are making it impossible to satisfy our own energy needs. Furthermore, to challenge Obama on what he has campaigned on, “Change,” because change is not happening. North America needs to build more oil refineries and develop safe nuclear technology. After forty-five years of environmental stagnation, it’s time to send the environmentalists packing; they have contributed nothing to the future of modern Western civilization. Oil companies and gas-filled automobiles are not going anywhere. Solar, wind and wave technologies are seventy-five to one hundred years off into the future, before they will have any significant impact on oil consumption. I believe we can find a clean balance between developing energy and protecting the environment. The new super power China and challenger to the West is moving forward with its own agenda and development of totalitarian capitalism. Everything China does is solely for the purpose of developing itself and moving forward with its own political and economic agenda, nothing more. The West could learn much from its example. The delay in the Keystone XL Pipeline is nothing more than a shining example of Western stagnation and indecision that in the end will leave the largest economy on Earth still dependant on Middle East oil. What is sad is the added cost Americans pay in lives and capital with frequent military interventions required to secure its oil supply from the Middle East. Canada can offer the U.S. a safe and secure supply of energy, be it LNG, nuclear energy, or oil. With Iranian mobs attacking the British embassy this week in Tehran, and the Iranian government threatening to block the Strait of Hormuz if its nuclear program is halted by an air strike, it's time to get busy and put into place a secure North American energy policy; this, for the sake of our own future economic well being and stability. Nothing could be more urgent, unless of course, you are an environmentalist who in the end will never be satisfied with whatever decision the U.S. government makes. |
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Environmental lobbyists have contributed nothing to modern civilization |
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November 1, 2011 |
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Edition no. 84 Nov. 1, 2011 |
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Edition no. 85 December 1, 2011 |
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Page design by Thomas Terrio www.viewfromthewest.ca ©2011 All rights reserved |
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View from the West |
