I congratulate President Obama for rejecting the massive oil pipeline that was planned to run from Alberta, Canada, through the heart of the United States. Given an election year, powerful Republicans in public office and the over-the-top money and clout of the oil industry, this was a calculated yet courageous decision.
The knives are certainly out and being sharpened; House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, is accusing the president of tens of thousands of American jobs being lost. This is an inflated number, and everyone knows such jobs are always temporary.
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It’s of note, also, that Boehner owns stock in a total of seven companies that would profit from the pipeline. The speaker is defensive about that fact.
The cry is also out that this will hurt U.S.-Canadian relations. I have many relatives in the Maritimes and spend considerable time there myself and have yet to hear any weeping about U.S.-Canadian relations being harmed by rejecting tar sands oil, especially since young people leave the Maritimes for lucrative jobs in Alberta. This certainly does not endear the oil industry to a fishing province.
All of us here in Portland, Maine, who love looking out over Casco Bay should also be especially vigilant in the months ahead, since sights are now being renewed on Portland as a destination for tar sands oil via the Embridge Trailbreaker system.
This is an already existing pipeline that is being considered to run tar sands oil from Montreal to Portland. This would be disastrous on many levels.
Readers not familiar with the caustic and dirty nature of this fuel are encouraged to go online and read “Scraping Bottom,” by Robert Kunzig, published in National Geographic in March 2009. It’s thoughtful and level-headed reportage that does not have an ideological ax to grind.
Nicole d’Entremont
Peaks Island
I feel the need to air my opinion on the present administration’s failure to allow a permit for the proposed oil pipeline in Nebraska, citing the need for more time to study an alternative route.
We need this pipeline to get access to oil from a friendly neighbor. It will be a source of domestic production of oil and it will provide many jobs, which are sorely needed as well.
Environmentalists are concerned that the pipeline may break and contaminate the area. With our current technological know-how and care to make sure this doesn’t happen, I’m confident that this will not happen. (How long has the Alaskan pipeline been transporting oil, and when did it spoil the area around it last?)
We are all concerned about protecting our environment, and rightly so, but when these concerns stop a needed resource from reaching us, as well as providing needed jobs, we need to question the government’s actions.
There is currently no viable alternative resource to fuel our vehicles and industry. Until something is found to replace the oil we all use, we need to tap into it close to home.
Electric cars sound great, but if everyone plugs one in to charge, where is the energy coming from to charge them? Most likely oil and coal-fired generating plants. Nuclear? Oh, that’s right, we can’t do that either!
Let’s tap the oil we have in our own backyard. It’s there for the taking.
Robert Stinson
Portland
Obama should have signed on to the Keystone pipeline. Its production, along with our new sources of natural gas, would be a giant step toward energy self-sufficiency. It lessens our need for Middle Eastern oil, and we would no longer be at the mercy of the Arabs.
The pipeline would create many shovel-ready jobs and many petroleum-related positions. The environmentalists’ claim that this would be an ecological disaster is bogus. Look at the many interstate pipelines under construction that have prevented pollution.
However, this would make all of Obama’s quest for alternate energy sources indefensibly uneconomic. Gone would be all of these government promotions and expenditures along with control and patronage. The payback time would never be accepted. No more tax credits, government loan guarantees. No more Solyndras or Beacon Energy.
Our problem with creating energy self-sufficiency is the government. Let’s look forward to the next election and install one with more common sense.
Nick Pappas
Cape Elizabeth
Generosity brightens holidays in Yarmouth
The Yarmouth Community Food Pantry is pleased to recognize the overwhelming generosity from our community that helped make this holiday season brighter for our neighbors in need.
Significant donations were received from students at the Yarmouth schools, local businesses and service organizations, and a reunion class as well as families and individuals.
We are grateful to be a beneficiary of this wonderful community’s gifts and want to thank everyone who donated food and funds and volunteered time at one of the busiest times of the year.
Your help enabled the food pantry to feed 52 families at Thanksgiving and the same number at Christmas, providing a turkey dinner with all the trimmings and baked goods to boot.
It is your efforts that create the caring spirit of our community. Thank you all so much!
Sue Rowe and Serena Mercer
Yarmouth Community Food Pantry
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