By the time 159 million Americans cast their ballots in the 2020 presidential election, it was clear where President-Elect Joe Biden stood when it came to the nation’s oil and gas industry. From banning fracking to imposing new regulations in the name of environmental justice, America’s historic achievement of energy independence could come under threat over the next two to four years. With reports that Biden will cancel the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in the White House, has the incoming Biden administration declared war on the fossil fuel energy sector?
Article by Andrew Moran originally published at Liberty Nation.
Will 46 86 Keystone?
A briefing note from the Biden transition team contains a list of executive actions scheduled for the incoming president’s first day. One item consists of the words “Rescind Keystone XL pipeline permit,” according to the state-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
A lengthier version of the list has already been released by Biden’s Chief of Staff Ronald Klain. This did not include the Keystone XL decision, but Klain noted that it was not a complete list of planned decisions. If the reports are accurate, Biden would keep his pledge of ripping up Keystone approval if he won the 2020 election, effectively reversing President Donald Trump’s actions.
In a statement last spring, Stef Feldman, Biden’s policy director, said of the $9 billion pipeline project:
“Biden strongly opposed the Keystone pipeline in the last administration, stood alongside President Obama and Secretary [John] Kerry to reject it in 2015, and will proudly stand in the Roosevelt Room again as President and stop it for good by rescinding the Keystone XL pipeline permit.”
On Inauguration Day, will it be a promise made and a promise kept?
Keystone XL: A Primer
In 2008, TransCanada Energy and the province of Alberta proposed and commissioned the Keystone Pipeline System. This oil pipeline runs from Alberta’s Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin to refineries in Illinois and Texas, as well as tank farms and distribution centers in Cushing, OK. The 2.6 million miles of oil and gas pipelines are estimated to ship approximately 830,000 barrels per day from the Canadian tar sands to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Keystone XL has been a contentious project, facing environmental protests and legislative hurdles in the United States and Canada. In November 2015, Obama accepted Kerry’s recommendation and rejected a permit for the oil pipeline. However, a few days after his inauguration, President Trump reversed the decision and approved the pipeline.
Proponents championed that Keystone XL was going to be the cleanest pipeline project ever constructed while creating thousands of high-paying jobs. TC Energy partnered with four labor unions that would have generated $2 billion in earnings for U.S. workers. Plus, the company worked with five First Nations groups regarding equity. Supporters averred that this initiative balanced economic benefits with environmental concerns.
Opponents argued that KXL would exacerbate climate change. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) recently tweeted:
“The Keystone pipeline is & always has been a disaster. I’m delighted that Joe Biden will cancel the Keystone permit on his first day in office. With all of the major crises facing America, we must never lose sight of the most existential threat facing our planet: climate change.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed that he pressed Biden on Keystone following the November election. Despite greenhouse gas emissions falling about one-third over the last 20 years, and the Liberal government slapping a national carbon tax on Canadians, it appears that Trudeau’s pleas were not enough to convince the Biden camp. Oil and gas continue to be the Great White North’s largest exports, and its biggest trading partner is its neighbor to the south. For a fragile economy and recovery – both nationally and provincially – this could be devastating news.
But if this is a black eye to the Trudeau government, it will be a more significant blow for Alberta’s United Conservative Party Premier Jason Kenney. He invested $1.5 billion of taxpayer dollars in the project, plus about $6 billion in loan guarantees, to ensure KXL would be completed.
War On Energy?
The proverbial shots have been fired at the U.S. oil and gas industry. Is this the peak of Biden’s war on energy, or is there more to come? Despite paying lip service to environmentalists and adding to federal regulations for eight years, even Obama realized the importance of crude to the broader economy and American households by removing a ban on crude oil exports, allowing output to soar during his reign. Perhaps Biden will appeal to his moderate instincts, something the country may have seen as he reversed his fracking ban stance. Or, as many conservatives warned since Biden’s nomination, will he serve as the Manchurian candidate for the radical left, doing the bidding of the fringe elements within the Democratic Party?
~
Read more from Andrew Moran.
COVID-19 lockdowns are taking down an independent news outlet
Nobody said running a media site would be easy. We could use some help keeping this site afloat.
Colleagues have called me the worst fundraiser ever. My skills are squarely rooted on the journalistic side of running a news outlet. Paying the bills has never been my forte, but we’ve survived. We have ads on the site that help, but since the site’s inception this has been a labor of love that otherwise doesn’t bring in the level of revenue necessary to justify it.
When I left a nice, corporate career in 2017, I did so knowing I wouldn’t make nearly as much money. But what we do at NOQ Report to deliver the truth and fight the progressive mainstream media narrative that has plagued this nation is too important for me to sacrifice it for the sake of wealth. We know we’ll never make a ton of money this way, and we’re okay with that.
Things have become harder with the coronavirus lockdowns. Both ad money and donations that have kept us afloat for a while have dropped dramatically. We thought we could weather the storm, but the resurgence of lockdowns that mainstream media and Democrats are pushing has put our prospects in jeopardy. In short, we are now in desperate need of financial assistance.
The best way NOQ Report readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We need approximately $17,300 to stay afloat through March when we hope the economy will be more open, but more would be wonderful and any amount that brings us closer to our goal is greatly appreciated.
The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. This shouldn’t be the case as our traffic the last year has been going up dramatically. June, 2018, we had 11,678 visitors. A year later in June, 2019, we were up to 116,194. In June, 2020, we had 614,192. In November, 2020, we hit 1.2 million visitors.
We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.
American Conservative Movement
Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism. The coronavirus crisis has prompted many, even some conservatives, to promote authoritarianism. It’s understandable to some extent now, but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life. We currently have 8000+ patriots with us in a very short time. If you are interested, please join us to receive updates.
[yikes-mailchimp form=”1″]
We Often Feel Like David Taking on Giants
Today’s Goliath is the Mainstream Media Industrial Complex that brainwashes the masses.
Our mission is very straightforward: To counter the false narratives and nefarious agendas destroying America today. It isn’t easy for obvious reasons; despite incredible growth over the last year we are still a very tiny fish in a huge media pond. But we’re fighting and we will continue to do so, Lord willing, for as long as we possibly can. The battle for America’s present and future is too important for us to back down to the giants that stand in our way.
We need help. I don’t want to say “desperately,” but the need is definitely great. If you have the means, please donate through our GivingFuel page, PayPal, or our brand new GiveSendGo page. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to get the truth to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.
Thank you, and God Bless!
JD Rucker
