LINKS Sept. 14, 2011

BORDER

Detroit bridge owner gets Koch help [Bloomberg]

More secure passports coming next year [CP]

US federal prosecutors discuss northern border issues [WSJ]

Holder: Officers from US, Canada will work on cross-border investigations [AP]

Harper, Obama to give details of border security deal [Postmedia News]

Much good has come from tightened border security [Peace Arch News]

TRADE/ECONOMY

Ottawa says it will fight Buy American measures [Toronto Star]

US envoy says trade with Canada is top issue [AP]

Canadians anxious about Buy American provisions in Obama’s jobs bill [CP]

Geithner: Economy in an early stage of crisis [Real Clear Politics]

Obama declares ‘national emergency’ for jobs [Politico]

Strong Cdn dollar not only reason for shopping in US [CBC]

Weak job market has Canadians looking north [Postmedia News]

US media juggernaut still a threat to Canada [Troy Media News]

Cdn doctors still make dramatically less than US counterparts: study [National Post]

DIPLOMACY

Doer says he won’t run for NDP leadership [Toronto Star]

MILITARY

Canada to extend Libya mission by 3 months [CTV]

Canadian companies will benefit from military intervention: Libyan official [Postmedia News]

NATO balks at Libya nation-building, policing [AP]

ENERGY

Oliver stumps for Keystone pipeline in California [CP]

Peter Lougheed opposes Keystone pipeline [CBC]

Yedlin: Lougheed comment sparks pipeline debate [Calgary Herald]

Oil patch steams ahead [Financial Post]

Tar-sands showdown [Wired]

10 reasons why the Keystone pipeline will be built [National Review]

Over 1,200 Keystone protesters arrested [Living on Earth]

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Twitter/luizachsavage

Category: Today's Links

LINKS Sept. 7, 2011

BORDER

Border agent says there’s nothing to do, money is being wasted [CNN]

Canada dropped $92-billion on security post-9/11 [Postmedia News]

Canadian trucker admits smuggling cocaine from US [AP]

Tragedy forged new reality [CP]

Schumer calls on Feds to move ahead with joint border crossing [newzjunky.com]

Hampson: 9/11 and the Remaking of Canada [iPolitics.ca]

Robertson: The border: The bygone days of ‘pass friend’ [Embassy mag]

After 9/11, border patrol doubles, fewer tourists cross border, more criminals caught [Detroit Free Press]

More Canadian manufacturers encountering difficulty as they try to cross into the US [NB Business Journal]

Georgia man stays in jail after border child porn bust [Winnipeg Sun]

TRADE/ECONOMY

Flaherty wants probe into ‘irritating’ US-Canada price gaps [Postmedia News]

How Canadians get access to US-only deals [Globe and Mail]

Is the US ready for Little Mosque on the Prairie [BBC]

Canadian dealers get ‘carve out’ from US regulations [Financial Post]

MILITARY

Lt. Gen. Bouchard assesses NATO’s mission in Libya [NPR]

Plan would keep small force in Iraq past deadline [NY Times]

ENERGY

Sen. Johannes, second prominent Nebraska Republican opposes Keystone pipeline [Des Moines Register]

Study: Tar sands oil will reach US sans pipeline [Forbes]

Oil sands need US workers: Alberta minister [Bloomberg]

Dalai Lama joins Keystone pipeline opponents [Calgary Sun]

McKibben: What comes next for oil sands action [grist.org]

Nobel Laureates urge Obama to reject pipeline [Huffington Post]

Canada minister ‘increasingly optimistic’ about Keystone approval [Dow Jones]

Cdn ambassador confident pipeline will be approved for jobs [Postmedia News]

Oil-funded study: more drilling would add 1.4 million jobs [Reuters]

Are Canadians growing apathetic about the oil sands? [Huffington Post]

Keystone XL benefactor to send oil overseas [Michigan Messenger]

Letter to Oprah Winfrey on ‘ethical oil’ ads [rabble.ca]

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Twitter/luizachsavage

Category: Today's Links

The latest on the Keystone XL pipeline permit process

July 22, 2011
By

The State Dept. just held a conference call to update reporters on the Keystone XL process.

The top official leading the process, Daniel Clune, with whom I had a lengthy interview here, had two news nuggets – both of which were more or less expected:

1) He said the final Environmental Impact Statement will be release in August, probably mid-August. The State will turn to considering the broader question of whether the permit would be in the “national interest.”

2) In September, State will hold a series of public meetings to hear comments and concerns from the public in the capitals of every state along the proposed pipeline route (Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.) In addition, there will be a public meeting in Washington, DC as well as in the Sandhills region of Nebraska and in the refinery region of Port Arthur, Texas. At these meetings the public will be able to comment on both environmental and safety issues, as well as economic and energy security issues. Clune said the additional meeting in Nebraska is in response to demands from lawmakers.

 

Other highlights from the call:

* State would not confirm whether the Yellowstone spill would be referenced in the final EIS, but said there would be extensive discussion of pipeline safety.

* Secretary of State Hillary Clinton still has not named the official who she will designate to make the final decision regarding the permit.

* The Obama administration has not issued a formal statement on the House bill that would require State to make a permit decision by Nov. 1 but Clune said it was “not necessary” because they have committed to making a decision by Dec. 31

* The national interest determination process will consider factors such as the situation in Libya and what happens if the pipeline is not built and Canada decides to export oil sands crude to China.

* I asked whether State would be looking at the oil sands monitoring plan announced by the government of Canada yesterday. Clune said:  ”We’ll certainly take a look at that.” But he added that the Environmental Impact Statement “is intended primarily to examine the impact of the proposed pipeline on the environment in the United Stats and not in Canada. In response to comments that we received, we have made references to developments in Canada and we may refer to this report, but the focus of the Environmental Impact Statement is on impact in the US.”

 

Although the State Department commissioned a report on the greenhouse gas emission upstream in Canada, in the call Clune noted that, “Although we are not required to examine that kind of issue, we thought that would be useful to do so…”

These two data points suggest to me that upstream ghg’s are not going to be a dealbreaker on this permit.

 

I will post a full transcript of the call when it becomes available.

Susan Casey-Lefkowitz’s critique of State’s progress is here. She argues that pipeline safety and refinery pollution issues need more analysis.

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Twitter/luizachsavage

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