President Biden cancelled the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline in one of his first executive orders. This was a knee-jerk reaction by liberals to a Trump-supported project and a poor decision on the part of President Biden.
The Keystone XL pipeline project would have been a source for thousands of American jobs. In addition, it would have ensured that America – if we were slow in our move to clean energy – maintained a conventional source of energy from a trusted ally and partner. Finally, the refusal to honor a prior permit – regardless of by whom it was approved – places doubt on the security of any future permits; this will increase the perceived risk of investing in large American infrastructure projects that require federal-level approval.
A better option for our country would have been to let it go forward, but make it pointless by accelerating the new administration’s move to clean energy. In this way we’d have the jobs building the XL pipeline until the green energy infrastructure and jobs materialized, and a backup energy source from an ally in the mean time. While this would have been detrimental to Keystone pipeline investors (the value of the pipeline would plummet if green energy goals were met ahead of schedule), that’s a legitimate risk investors take – not the risk that different administrations would alternate between approval and cancellation of their project.
Smooth move, Mr. President. Thanks for caving to the “green” police. I hope the labor unions don’t eat you alive…