Do Bears Shit in the Woods?

That answer to the rhetorical question is just as obvious as the following: “Does authorizing passage of the Keystone XL pipeline work against the interests of mankind?” The answer to both questions is a resounding YES. Which brings me to our satirist Mark Twain who said, “There is no distinctly native American criminal class save Congress,” and “Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.”

To fathom this seeming complexity (which is anything but complex) all we need to do is understand the most long-lasting human driver of all time: Money, or more specifically greed! Who gains and who loses when Keystone XL pipeline choices are made?

Our President is facing a conundrum: Approving continued construction of the Keystone XL pipeline (which allegedly will produce American jobs and reduce the price of oil), while at the same time honoring his commitment to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases that exacerbates global climate change. If there is a mother of all conundrums this must be it.

Several matters contribute to this enigma. First comes the jobs issue. By all intelligent measures permanent jobs created by this construction project (meaning ones that last beyond construction) will be short lived. Best estimate is approximately 35 full time jobs, some of which will occur in Canada. It is true that during the construction stage, the estimate is somewhere around 42,000 jobs. Matt Dempsey, a spokesman for a coalition of pro-Keystone groups known as Oil Sands Fact Check, is quoted as saying: “You build it, you move on. And that’s the nature of any big construction project, be it a highway or monument.” 

Next comes the matter of exacerbating the phenomena of global climate change. It’s a well established fact the Canadian tar sands oil are the dirtiest on earth. According to the Climate Action Network (Canada Reports on Tar Sands Expansion), not only is the oil produced in Alberta dirty, so are the Canadian politicians who promote the project. And according to Climate Action Network Canada, the tar sands oil are, “Canada’s fastest growing source of greenhouse gas pollution.” 

Lowering the price of gas in the U.S.? According to a recent article in the Washington Post, not only will tar sands oil NOT reduce the price, there is a strong probability the price will end up increasing the price of gas sold in the U.S. 

This brings us full circle back to the initial motive: “Who gains and who loses when Keystone XL pipeline choices are made?” The core of the answer concerns vested interests in seeing the pipeline completed. And amazement upon amazement, it turns out to be our familiar Billionaire entrepreneurs the Koch Brothers. According to The International Forum On Globalization (IFG) and the Washington Post, the Kochs are “the biggest foreign lease holder in Canada’s oil sands” with the outlook of earning $100 billion due to completion of the pipeline, which more than explains why the Kochs have invested $45 million (a mere .045% pittance compared to potential gain) in buying control of Congress, and echoing MT’s commentary: “We have the best government that money can buy.”

Three days ago the Senate defeated the bill to authorize completion of the Keystone XL pipeline but promised passage once the newly elected Republican majority is installed in January 2015. But should this not be a moral concern to Republicans, who now, more than ever control to shape of the environment we all live in? Not at all. After all, the vast majority of hard core Republicans deny any human contribution to the matter of global climate change, in spite of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. And again our satirist rises to the occasion: “Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.” Among these deniers are, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, West Virginia governor Earl Ray Tomblin, Florida governor Rick Scott and Senator Marco Rubio, all of whom claim “they are not scientists” and thus have no opinion on the matter. This is a bit like a human saying that because they aren’t scientists, they’re unsure if they breathe air.

The odds of a bright future in the U.S., and in the world, are degrading quickly and if bribery is King, the King makers are the Koch Brothers. And who are the losers? You guessed it, all of us (including the Kochs). Unless an unknown means of having an environment for some and not others suddenly appears, ALL of us will be affected one way or another by the choices made by our newly elected Congress. Do bears shit in the woods? Answer that for yourself.