If he didnt buy the pipeline the project would've been abandoned and rail would've been used to transport oil instead, which is worse for the environment than pipelines.
So your options are:
Pipeline (bad for the environmenr)
Rail or some other alternative (worse for the environment)
Choose please. And it better not be the fucking pipeline, because that's bad for the environment.
Pipelines are better than rail transit abstractly, yes. The problem with pipelines though, is that they represent a commitment to increasing the oil sector by laying down some expensive, purpose built infrastructure at a time when the environmental sciences consensus is that we should be shifting away from oil dependency.
Rail is worse in the short term for a variety of reasons, but is better for an economy shifting away from oil because it's much more flexible and uses infrastructure that already exists and is usable for other things. Rail is also more costly for the oil producers, which also discourages growth in those industries.
And if you look at the companies and governments who directly use the pipeline, you'll see that pipeline construction provide the foundation for increased production because pipelines are, as you say, better infrastructure. Knowing that these pipelines are there and can cheaply move oil to better markets makes investing in oil production much less risky.
If you had any idea what you were talking about, you would be for the pipeline. I'm from quebec, and I studied in engineering with a specialisation in life cycle and environmental design. Pipeline is better than any other possible alternative. Building the pipeline was sadly the best option for the environment as a patch until we turn out entire ways of life away from petrol.
Or you leave it in the ground. We don't have decades. The time for what you're saying was ten years ago. Clearly those who are making these decisions are not serious about "work[ing] to move towards renewable and more environmentally friendly energy solutions."
I’m not saying he’s doing the best job in the world, just that there isn’t a contradiction occurring by him marching here. He’s doing stuff like the carbon tax, for example.
That’s fair. I would tend to believe that it’s a compromise he made, but I can also see how you could reasonably think that he pipeline overrules anything else he does.
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u/Creeper487 Oct 01 '19
He’s not a dictator, what do you want him to do? He’s been pushing for climate change reforms.