Aside from the rarely asked question; "why are we burning vitally important raw materials like coal, natural gas, and oil as if they were waste products", there are important questions about how and where we harvest, transport and refine them.
There are several core concepts that are critical to any discussions about Keystone XL, and Dakota access, and are generic to all other high-risk / high-profit projects. Before moving forward with their development, I think these issues must be fully addressed, understood and resolved.
- Who should bear the responsibility for disclosing the true risks associated with the development and operation of these ventures, and to what extent should they be held accountable for misrepresenting them?
- Who should be held accountable for misinformation disseminated through the media in support of their project, and to what extent?
- Who is in the best position to know how risky a given project is? This includes those which are hidden either for a lack of information, or those which are purposefully hidden to further a hidden agenda.
- Who should be granted the authority to make the social cost-benefit decisions regarding them? Shouldn't it be the people who bear the greatest cultural burdens and greatest risks?
- Who should be held morally, financially, and criminally liable for accidents and malfeasance? Should society at large bear the costs of their accidents, corner cutting to minimize costs & maximize profits or their wanton disregard for the welfare of all living things (including our kids) and the environment? I think not!
If and when something goes wrong, is it the corporations and governmental officials who promote, build and oversee these projects that should bear the full burden in all its glory? Should we allow them to be protected from criminal and financial liability by passing laws which provide the safety and security of corporate shields or official immunity?
Rather than transport extremely hazardous materials across America's heartland at great risk by pipeline, rail or truck, why not build a new refinery at or near the point of entry to the US? Wouldn't this create just as many jobs, or far more (many of which would be highly skilled and long term), greater cost effectiveness, and lessen environmental risks dramatically?
Although it is far too big an issue to do justice to here, let's keep in mind the tremendous value of clean water, fertile land, and all living thing, not to mention the importance of insulating them from all reasonable risks.
The proponents of these pipelines are advertising that the pipeline itself will be totally safe and environmentally friendly. Their ads clearly state that the end product will be environmentally cleaner than "many" existing fuels, and that might be fantastic depending on the precise meaning of the statement. Based upon precedent, this is the diametric opposite of reality.
In an effort to reach fair and equitable solutions to all of these questions among honorable people, why not attach rigid contractual obligations to any permit requiring that all of their promises be truthful and carry guarantees that they bear fruit. If their claims are true, there can be no reason to object, if they are false it is fraud and those responsible must be held fully accountable.
They say the project is safe and will cause no damage to America, Americans, or the environment. Frankly, we've all heard that song before and reasonable human being wants to repeat past failures. In spite of Exxon and BP's claims that they have been good citizens, their TV ads showing how they restored utopia, and that they were/are totally committed to 100% restoring the environment and compensating every person and business damaged buy their oil spills, this bears no resemblance to reality. Both companies thrive, while countless Americans and our ecology suffer the unfathomable consequences of their irresponsible actions.
Before allowing these projects, and others like them to move forward, it is only good sense to require their backers and investors to have a comprehensive indemnification plan in place. It must assure the resources required to fully and promptly return to whole every single person, business large or small, wildlife species, or piece of public land damaged by their project are in place and readily accessible. The potential liability is far beyond huge and the indemnification must be up to the full value of the company, its affiliated corporations and shareholders - no exceptions. It must be backstopped by insurance sufficient to totally cover any and all shortfalls. Huge projects offer huge profits, but they also present huge risks which must be 100% born by those who are in a position to reap the gains. It's only fair and right. America and the American people cannot continue bearing these burdens and costs.
Frankly, the developers will never accept these conditions because they know the magnitude of the serious risks. Risks they are completely willing to place upon the American people, but not upon themselves, and that is why this plan should be rejected out of hand. Keystone XL, Dakota Access, and other similar projects are terrible deals for America and must be permanently stopped.
Real solutions for a financial recovery which do not cost a single tax dollar.
This is a summary of our initial post, For the full content please see the same title in the March 2009 archives. Please click this link, the full article will appear at the bottom of this page!
It's simple, much if not all of what ails us economically can be solved without costing one thin dime, that is what we mean by a ZERO COST RECOVERY.
Many of today's ills have come from easily reversible causes, here are a few to start you thinking:
- The Bible condemns usury (sort of); whether or not you are religious, this make great sense.
- "A Free & Independent Press is the Cornerstone of Democracy". I don't know who first said it, but they were spot on. Today's media does not hold the rich and powerful accountable, it is owned by them; they are at the core of the problem.
- Food costs have more than doubled, yet the family farmer is struggling while large corporate farmers are getting huge subsidies. One solution would be enacting anti-trust legislation that forbids the huge conglomerates which are so dominant in critical industries from operating at more than one level in the manufacturing and distribution chain.... Grow it, process it, distribute it or retail it - choose one!
- The price of oil at the well head is dramatically different from the price we see quoted on the TV each night. The difference is created by speculators in the commodities markets (the same holds true for food and other vital commodities). Force the CFTC to re-institute the commodities speculation guideline that were in place prior to 1990.
- Big Pharma spends far more on marketing and lobbyists than on R&D, some say the figure is twice as much. How much do you think this adds to what your prescriptions cost? Lobby our legislators to allow Medicare to negotiate drug costs with their manufacturers and watch prices fall to the levels enjoyed in most other countries.
- Health care costs are skyrocketing yet Physicians pay has decreased dramatically. How much do you think the near monopolies in Health Insurance and HMO's contribute to this?
It's simple, much if not all of what ails us economically can be solved without costing one thin dime, that is what we mean by a ZERO COST RECOVERY.
Many of today's ills have come from easily reversible causes, here are a few to start you thinking:
- The Bible condemns usury (sort of); whether or not you are religious, this make great sense.
- Big Banks don't work for America or Americans (or anyone else for that matter). Consolidation was touted as a way to lower costs, provide better service and more affordable fees to customers. Can anyone show me an example where these promised economies of scale came to life? How about the lower fees and better service?
- Bigger is not better, that is why anti-trust legislation was enacted. Today's financial crisis was brought to a head by the unvarnished greed of the giant banks, financial institutions and corporations with the complicity of the majority of our legislators, it is just that simple.
- The "Free market" is not the cause of this problem, the fact that it has been castrated, prostituted and redefined by the greedy is. "Free market" does not mean a market without rules, or domination by the richest and most powerful. Without meaningful competition, free markets cannot, and do not, exist - period.
Rollback, update and aggressively enforce meaningful anti-trust & financial sector regulations and the root cause will be eliminated. How about requiring a binding contract guaranteeing that all consumer beneficial promises be a part of all mergers and acquisitions? To be effective, it should include an onerous non compliance clause!
- "A Free & Independent Press is the Cornerstone of Democracy". I don't know who first said it, but they were spot on. Today's media does not hold the rich and powerful accountable, it is owned by them; they are at the core of the problem.
- Food costs have more than doubled, yet the family farmer is struggling while large corporate farmers are getting huge subsidies. One solution would be enacting anti-trust legislation that forbids the huge conglomerates which are so dominant in critical industries from operating at more than one level in the manufacturing and distribution chain.... Grow it, process it, distribute it or retail it - choose one!
- The price of oil at the well head is dramatically different from the price we see quoted on the TV each night. The difference is created by speculators in the commodities markets (the same holds true for food and other vital commodities). Force the CFTC to re-institute the commodities speculation guideline that were in place prior to 1990.
- Big Pharma spends far more on marketing and lobbyists than on R&D, some say the figure is twice as much. How much do you think this adds to what your prescriptions cost? Lobby our legislators to allow Medicare to negotiate drug costs with their manufacturers and watch prices fall to the levels enjoyed in most other countries.
- Health care costs are skyrocketing yet Physicians pay has decreased dramatically. How much do you think the near monopolies in Health Insurance and HMO's contribute to this?
-Corporations are NOT People. Our Founding Fathers did not think so when they formed our nation, why are we allowing it now?
Monopolies and oligopolies are the root causes of our problems. Cure these ills, and our financial woes will evaporate WITHOUT COSTING ONE DIME.
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