It's one thing for the Harper government to get what they want at home, by doing it their way, its another thing entirely to get another nation to do it your way and I think the Harper could lose on this one, and so could Obama. Even it was passed in the US, the people who don't want it, would make it very hard to built it, after all, Americans do own guns and are not shy on using them, although I'm not saying for sure they would, but who knows how high the passion goes on this topic?
Now further delays, further studies. I doubt there are substantial percentages of 'working people' against the pipeline..(jobs), guaranteed oil source.
Mostly the 'elite' type that could not care the price of oil.
When I see the Redfords and other washed up actors demonstrating or blogging on the ecological worries
yet ignoring the ecological concerns of other energy sources, I give them little credibility.
http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/portal/site/PHMSA/menuitem.ebdc7a8a7e39f2e55cf2031050248a0c/?vgnextoid=a62924cc45ea4110VgnVCM1000009ed07898RCRD&vgnextchannel=f7280665b91ac010VgnVCM1000008049a8c0RCRD&vgnextfmt=print
What can you tell me about our nation's pipelines?
The nation's pipelines are a transportation system. Pipelines enable the safe movement of extraordinary quantities of energy products to industry and consumers, literally fueling our economy and way of life. The arteries of the Nation's energy infrastructure, as well as the safest and least costly ways to transport energy products, our oil and gas pipelines provide the resources needed for national defense, heat and cool our homes, generate power for business and fuel an unparalleled transportation system.
The nation's more than two million miles of pipelines safely deliver trillions of cubic feet of natural gas and hundreds of billions of ton/miles of liquid petroleum products each year. They are essential: the volumes of energy products they move are well beyond the capacity of other forms of transportation. It would take a constant line of tanker trucks, about 750 per day, loading up and moving out every two minutes, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to move the volume of even a modest pipeline. The railroad-equivalent of this single pipeline would be a train of 75 2,000-barrel tank rail cars everyday. These alternatives would require many times the people, clog the air with engine pollutants, be prohibitively expensive and -- with many more vehicles on roads and rails carrying hazardous materials -- unacceptably dangerous.
Pipeline systems are the safest means to move these products. The federal government rededicated itself to pipeline safety in 2006 when the PIPES Act was signed. It mandates new methods and makes commitments for new technologies to manage the integrity of the nation's pipelines and raise the bar on pipeline safety.
Pipeline systems consist of a few major components:
Pipelines that collect products from sources, such as wells on land (gathering lines) or offshore, or from shipping, such as tankers for oil or liquefied natural gas (LNG). These systems move the product to storage, processing (such as treatment for gas or refining of petroleum).
Transmission pipelines that transport large quantities of hazardous liquids or natural gas over longer distances; transmission lines deliver natural gas to distant power plants, large industrial customers and to municipalities for further distribution; petroleum transmission lines deliver crude oil to distant refineries or refined products to distant markets, such as airports or to depots where fuel oils and gasoline are loaded into trucks for local delivery.
Distribution lines are a part of natural gas systems, and consist of main lines that move gas to industrial customers, down to the smaller service lines that connect to businesses and homes throughout a municipality.
Along these pipelines are pump stations for liquids and compressor stations for natural gas, storage and distribution facilities and automated control facilities to manage the product movement and maintain safety. Should a pipeline fail, a drop in pressure normally triggers systems that close valves to isolate the failed pipeline.
The federal authority for pipeline safety is PHMSA, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. PHMSA's Office of Pipeline Safety is responsible for regulating the safety of design, construction, testing, operation, maintenance, and emergency response of U.S. oil and natural gas pipeline facilities.
How big is our pipeline infrastructure: how many miles of what kinds of pipelines are there in the United States?
In 2003, there were over 2.3 million miles of pipelines in the U.S. carrying natural gas, and hazardous liquids (chiefly petroleum and refined petroleum products, as well as chemicals and hydrogen). Here is a breakdown:
More at link.
