Keystone XL Pipeline Blocked Once More
The federal judge who blocked construction of the disputed Keystone XL oil pipeline said the Trump administration “simply discarded” the effect the project would have on climate change, and ordered that no work can go forward until the government more fully reviews the pipeline’s environmental impact.
This is a victory for environmentalists, and, of course. for all other living beings. But is it merely symbolic, given all the other development of infrastructure to support the extraction and consumption of fossil fuels? Of course. But that doesn’t mean it’s unimportant.
Anytime the judiciary performs one of its key functions, i.e., limiting the power of the executive branch, we need to be thankful that such a structure is a part of our constitution, and that’s especially true here, where the Trump administration, when left unfettered, continues to act as a wrecking ball against the environment. We can’t look a gift horse …. .
Craig,
The decision by Judge Brian Morris will only delay, not stop the construction of vital economic infrastructure such as the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline owners and administration has three options.
1)Comply with the Judge Morris’s request for futher an better particulars including a new report.
2)Appeal the Judges decision on the grounds the Judge is wrong.
3) Appeal the decision on the basis the Judge has exceeded the mandate of a Judge and is seeking to make political policy or law which is the sole province of elected representatives including the Executive. The Constitution does not give Judges the power to make policy, or interfere with changes in legal administrative decisions.
All three of these grounds would see Judge Morris’s decision reversed. The effects of climate change are a matter for the US people to decide through the ballot box, not decided arbitrarily by a court.
Courts can’t stray into making political decisions. In this case, despite the more dramatic interpretation of his observations, Judge Morris’s judgement seems to focus on a mere procedural omission. The easiest path would appear to comply with the Judges request and provide another adequate environmental study, which if rejected, would provide immediate grounds for a successful appeal.
The power of Judges to “limit” the power of the Executive branch is very limited, and can’t be used to include political purpose. Judges can’t decide climate change policy,(or any other policy) they can only hold the executive branch to ensure existing legislation is not ignored or a clause in the US Constitution is not being violated.
You’re probably not aware that the price of crude has fallen from over $100/barrel to the low 60s in the last few years and that the pipeline.will probably not be build for economic reasons alone, regardless of how little we care about the well-being of humankind.
Craig,
The price of oil is governed by oversupply of production, not falling demand. Pipelines are a vastly safer, better for the environment and more efficient method of transport oil.
Opposition is based on a delusion, the idea that if no pipeline exists, the oil will be “left in the ground”!
In reality, the oil will simply be transported by road or rail, or worse, exported overseas as crude.
Pipelines are not perfect, but they’re environmentally preferable to all the alternatives. It’s for the “well-being of humankind” to build pipelines. Pretending otherwise is not only silly, it’s environmentally irresponsible.