"In an ideal world, we would embrace conservation and greatly accelerated development of alternative sources of energy to make unnecessary the construction of Gateway and the even longer Keystone XL pipeline to take Athabasca crude the entire length of the U.S. to refineries on the Texas coast.
"But that won’t happen, not for decades if ever. Canadians and Americans will ultimately consent to these two projects with their combined 4,000 km of three-foot-diameter pipe at a total estimated cost of $13.6 billion. Energy security will trump the many risks.
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"These two megaprojects raise enough disturbing questions that their advocates have resorted to scare tactics in promoting them.
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"“In the current environment, it is easier to get a nuclear power plant approved than an oil pipeline,” complains securities analyst Stephen Paget in a recent note to investor clients.
"Given the sorry record of pipelines and the tankers they feed, that’s as it should be."
Full article: Keystone, Northern Gateway pipelines raise questions that need answers before approval.
