Environment economics classroom example of the day (I'm not even teaching the course, I do this only for you*):
Is the [Keystone XL] pipe in the national interest?
Addressing that question, though — especially in the sprawling sweep of six huge states through which the pipeline or its pump stations would run like a spine — takes in a universe of conflicting, interlocking issues, from short-term economics to global climate, from the discontent of a rural belt losing population to issues of national energy security, joblessness, corporate power and prices at the corner pump. ...
The State Department concluded last month that the project, Keystone XL, would cause minimal environmental impact if it was operated according to regulations, and the operator, TransCanada, has said the nearly 2,000-mile line would create 20,000 jobs in the United States. Opposition groups around the country, though, said the federal study did not consider the effects of a major spill, while supporters said the nation’s economy had continued to worsen, making Keystone XL all the more crucial. ...
Keystone XL’s opponents also point to a Enbridge Energy spill of 843,000 gallons of oil sands crude near Marshall, Mich., as an example of what can go wrong.
A little over a year after the spill, a 35-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River remains closed. And just this week, Enbridge stated in federal filings that the cost associated with the spill, originally estimated at $585 million, might now increase by 20 percent.
via www.nytimes.com
Sometimes it helps to visualize the job gains. From Wikipedia, the U.S. section is 1379 miles long. At 5280 feet per mile, it is 7,281,120 feet long. That amounts to one job every 364 feet of pipe, or about the length of a football field including the endzones. So many jobs that those guys could wave to each other.
*And to solidify my microcelebrity status and a bit of Google Ad money.
