PiPe dreams? Jobs Gained, Jobs Lost by the ConstruCtion of Keystone XL

[cvictorg]

http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/globallaborinstitute/research/upload/GLI_KeystoneXL_Reportpdf-2.pdf

the main points in this briefing paper can be summarized as follows:

» The industry’s US jobs claims are linked to a $7 billion KXL project budget.
However, the budget for KXL that will have a bearing on US jobs figures is
dramatically lower—only around $3 to $4 billion. A lower project budget means
fewer jobs.

» The project will create no more than 2,500-4,650 temporary direct construction
jobs for two years, according to TransCanada’s own data supplied to the State
Department.

» The company’s claim that KXL will create 20,000 direct construction and
manufacturing jobs in the U.S is not substantiated.

» There is strong evidence to suggest that a large portion of the primary material
input for KXL—steel pipe—will not even be produced in the United States. A
substantial amount of pipe has already been manufactured in advance of pipeline
permit issuance.

» The industry’s claim that KXL will create 119,000 total jobs (direct, indirect, and
induced) is based on a flawed and poorly documented study commissioned by
TransCanada (The Perryman Group study). Perryman wrongly includes over $1
billion in spending and over 10,000 person-years of employment for a section
of the Keystone project in Kansas and Oklahoma that is not part of KXL and has
already been built.

» KXL will not be a major source of US jobs, nor will it play any substantial role at
all in putting Americans back to work. Even if the Perryman figures were accurate,
and all of the workers for the next phase of the project were hired immediately, the
US seasonally adjusted unemployment rate would remain at 9.1%—exactly where it
is now.
» KXL will divert Tar Sands oil now supplying Midwest refineries, so it can be sold at
higher prices to the Gulf Coast and export markets. As a result, consumers in the
Midwest could be paying 10 to 20 cents more per gallon for gasoline and diesel
fuel. These additional costs (estimated to total $2–4 billion) will suppress other
spending and will therefore cost jobs.

» Pipeline spills incur costs and therefore kill jobs. Clean-up operations and permanent
pipeline spill damage will divert public and private funds away from productive
economic activity. In 2010 US pipeline spills and explosions killed 22 people, released
over 170,000 barrels of petroleum into the environment, and caused $1 billion dollars
worth of damage in the United States.

» Rising carbon emissions and other pollutants from the heavy crude transported
by Keystone XL will also incur increased health care costs. Emissions also increase
both the risk and costs of further climate instability.

» By helping to lock in US dependence on fossil fuels, Keystone XL will impede
progress toward green and sustainable economic renewal and will have a chilling
effect on green investments and green jobs creation. The green economy has
already generated 2.7 million jobs in the US and could generate many more.

 

[Michael Scally MD]

Will Canada’s Proposed Tar Sands Oil Pipeline Muck Up Its Pacific Coast?
Will Canada’s Proposed Tar Sands Oil Pipeline Muck Up Its Pacific Coast?: Scientific American

As controversy continues around the Keystone XL Pipeline that would snake through the U.S., a similar drama plays out north of the border. Canadian officials are deciding whether to green-light a pipeline that would carry a semiliquid hydrocarbon mix for 1,172 kilometers from Alberta's tar sands over the Canadian Rockies to the Pacific coast of British Columbia. Near its proposed terminus, the proposal has met with public outcry and fierce opposition from the Coastal First Nations, a coalition of indigenous tribes.

Calgary, Alberta–based energy company Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline would cross over 1,000 fish-bearing streams and bring 255 oil supertankers each year to the coastline, making the issue highly contentious in Canada's famously outdoor-loving province. Of 1,161 British Columbians to give oral statements as part of the pipeline's federal review process, only two were in favor of the project.

What's more, the pipeline would be carrying an oil product that no one knows much about: diluted bitumen, or dilbit. University and government scientists emphasize an urgent need to fill the knowledge gaps surrounding what diluted bitumen is made of, how it reacts in the environment when spilled, and what its long-term biological effects are.