clair031

Summary .   The Keystone XL pipeline is proposed to carry Canadian crude oil originating in the Alberta tar sands to coast of the U. S. Gulf of Mexico.   As part of the approval process, the U. S. Department of State issued an Environmental Impact Statement on Aug. 26, 2011 , which, overall, supports construction of the pipeline.   This post analyzes the report in the broader context of President Obama’s energy and environmental policies.   It is concluded that the XL pipeline would not be in the long-term interests of the U. S.   The project would not be consistent with the President’s policies promoting reduced emissions of greenhouse gases, since a) fossil fuels are burned to extract crude oil from Alberta tar sands, b) the additional flow of oil for decades means increased emissions of greenhouse gases when the refined oil is burned, and c) a considerable portion of the refined product is likely to be exported rather than being consumed domestically. ...

Summary .   Man-made greenhouse gases are increasing the worldwide long-term average temperature, leading to increasingly more numerous and more damaging extreme weather events.   In the U. S. forest wildfires, pine bark beetle infestations of pine forests, droughts and river floods have become more severe in recent years.   Nation-wide assessments of economic losses from any of these categories can reach many billions of dollars in a given year.   Indirect effects, including deleterious societal impacts, also arise, and tend not to be accounted for in quantitative economic terms.   Governmental and societal responses to extreme events are necessarily episodic and not readily planned for in advance. Introduction .   Worldwide long-term average temperatures have been increasing since the industrial revolution began, becoming more pronounced since the middle of the 20 th century.   This warming is correlated with humanity’s ever-increasing use of fos...