"Having watched the conventional wisdom get upturned once this year, I’m a little less convinced by that argument. Beating Keystone doesn’t stop climate change—but it does stop Big Oil’s winning streak, and that’s a hopeful sign."
After reading, then re-reading the article, it was apparent that if the self-delusion in Bill McKibben's article is indicative of the level of analysis environmentalists are capable of then what what hope do we have. Then i started reading the comments on it and began to breath easier. Writer after writer saw through both Obama's meaningless political ploy and McKibben's niavety in supporting it.
Further reading led to an excellant in-depth article at 'The Tyee' by Andrew Nikiforuk on Obama's short term Keystone poliutical gambit and to energy politics in the US, Canada and the world beyond especially how in relation to the Northern Gateway Project here in BC. It ends with:
Most senior executives in the oil patch quietly admit that Enbridge Gateway project (Plan B) will never be built. The local opposition against this desperate pro-China folly is much stronger and just as committed as that against Keystone XL. In fact, the path closed long ago due to ineptness and hubris as well as a ruthless disregard for the power of salmon, whales and First Nations.
What the Keystone Rejection Really Reveals - ENERGY & EQUITY: The ruthless, evolving nature of energy politics.
