A Koch problem

Let’s get a couple of things straight about the Keystone XL pipeline. It’s not about jobs, as the GOP and Fox News keep bleating; the project would create about 35 permanent full-time positions, according to a State Department report. And it’s not about releasing the U.S. from the grip of foreign regimes, since most of the oil would be exported. Let’s put that another way: Gas prices will not fall if the pipeline is constructed.

The talk about sustainable jobs and energy independence is smoke and mirrors in a plan to enrich oil companies and their already incredibly wealthy owners, especially the Koch (pronounced “Coke”) brothers. According to some estimates, the billionaire brothers, Charles and David, stand to make upward of $100 billion should the pipeline get the green light.

That makes the estimated $50 million they’ve given to politicians and conservative think tanks seem like chump change. It also enhances the Kochs’ war chest—thereby furthering their influence over energy policy. Deregulation is the goal.

There’s a lot at stake here, of course. The pipeline is designed to transport an estimated 1.7 trillion barrels of Canada’s Alberta tar sands oil—some of the dirtiest oil in the world—through the middle of the United States to refineries in the Gulf. For starters, there’s the threat of a breach of the pipeline. Already, residents in the vicinity of the proposed project, many of them farmers worried about their livelihoods, rightly are concerned about their aquifers being poisoned. Moreover, development of the tar sands oil will only hamper America’s commitment to developing clean energy.

On Tuesday, Nov. 18, the Senate voted down the controversial pipeline. But Republicans have vowed to revive the issue once they take command of both houses in January. Those who vote in favor of Keystone XL will demonstrate to Americans that they value money and influence over the lives of their constituents.