Donald Trump Cares More About Pipelines Than People
- Charlie Biscotto
- Jan 26, 2017
- 5 min read
Reports this week suggest that Donald Trump will move forward with the Keystone and Dakota Access pipeline projects as well as his campaign promise to ban Syrian refugees and citizens from a selection of other majority-Muslim nations from the United States (with an exception that appears focused on allowing Christians to leave these countries). On one side, he's permitting industrial expansion that even this week showed its ugly side-effects when a pipeline spilled 200,000 liters of oil onto aboriginal land in Canada. He claims that his move to ban vulnerable human beings from seeking a respite in their time of need is based on a desire for our government to "figure out what the hell is going on," but until he places at least a similar burden on the companies building and administering pipelines in this country (companies he has previously held stock in), a reasonable observer must conclude that he values oil more than human life.
That's a bold claim, but men must be judged on their actions, so let's lay out some facts.
Pipeline Benefits
What benefits do we get from the pipeline projects? According to an even-handed analysis by Ellen R. Wald, Ph.D. for Forbes, there are a lot of short-term construction jobs, and the possibility of new long-term jobs in the greater energy field as oil production increases. It's impossible to estimate what that translates to in reality, but, fair enough. The jobs will primarily be short-term, but a person who needs a job won't consider that too much of a negative while they have one.
More concerning to me than the long-term prospects of jobs in construction (an industry built around short-term projects anyway) are the long-term prospects of the oil industry as a whole. Even this week, OPEC is pulling back production to combat the increase in U.S. shale made available under the Obama administration that is responsible for a 12-year low in oil prices. A side effect of lower oil prices is that being in the oil industry becomes less profitable, which raises some questions about how sustainable energy jobs built around pipelines will be. Demand isn't likely to increase the cost long-term either, as the last five years saw a 70-percent increase in renewable energies among G20 nations.
Oil's long-term future is sketchy at best, even with a climate change-denier in the White House. Multiple outlets (CNBC and Bloomberg to name two) have highlighted the biggest reason Trump won't slow the growth of renewable energy: basic economics. Investors in renewables are seeing something of a boom, in part thanks to state efforts (by such divergent governors as Jerry Brown and Rick Perry) and in part thanks to Barack Obama's efforts in the White House. It's not even an "economics vs. environment" argument anymore. Donald Trump essentially needs the economics of oil to get worse for everyday Americans for intelligent investors to put money in his preferred form of fuel.
Pipeline Dangers
We can only count on these pipelines being a long-term boon to our economy if some catastrophic event causes a global spike in the price of oil, and even then only if renewable energy use doesn't continue to increase at the same rates as the last five years. And many of these pipeline companies have a proven record of recklessness and accidents. From the Associated Press:
True Cos. operates at least three pipeline companies with a combined 1,648 miles of line in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming, according to information the companies submitted to federal regulators. Since 2006, the companies have reported 36 spills totaling 320,000 gallons of petroleum products, most of which was never recovered.
Federal pipeline safety regulators initiated 19 enforcement activities against the three True pipeline companies since 2004. Those resulted in $537,500 in proposed penalties, of which the company paid $397,200, according to Department of Transportation records.
Oil spills contaminating water supplies are proven to cause health issues. From a 2010 Worcester Polytechnic Institute study:
With contamination came severe effects in the people living in the surrounding areas. Streams and rivers that are used as water supplies for drinking, cooking, bathing, and washing clothes are polluted with chemicals. Multiple studies have been done that compare cancer rates of people living in close proximity to oil contamination to those who live in unaffected regions (Hurtig and Sebastián, 2004b). Most of these studies conclude that there is a correlation between the proximity of the subject to the contamination and increased cancer rates. Along with studies done on cancer rates, there have been reports from locals of skin rashes and pregnancy complications (Armstrong et al, 2002).
So, the pipeline benefits are questionable, and the dangers are not. If you're thinking it's just a coincidence that a pipeline burst this week, take a look at this map of documented oil spills in the United States from January 2010 onward (darker pins indicate larger spills):
If any government policy necessitated "figuring out what the hell is going on," it seems pretty clear that it would be oil pipeline regulation.
Syrian Refugees
Instead, Donald Trump is placing that measuring stick against aiding Syrian refugees. So, we should ask, what are the benefits of aiding Syrian refugees?
The irony that Trump would in one week sign one executive order that bans talking about abortions because of his administration's supposed pro-life agenda (despite the fact that this particular rule has never actually reduced abortions) and another that places a four-month ban on refugees entering the country and having their lives placed in actual danger is not lost on me, and speaks to the absolute moral bankruptcy of the Trump administration.
Refugees are not dangerous. But don't take my word for it. From a study by Alex Nowrasteh for the Cato Institute:
For instance, the chance of an American being murdered in a terrorist attack caused by a refugee is 1 in 3.64 billion per year while the chance of being murdered in an attack committed by an illegal immigrant is an astronomical 1 in 10.9 billion per year. By contrast, the chance of being murdered by a tourist on a B visa, the most common tourist visa, is 1 in 3.9 million per year.
Why, you might ask, is that? Because they're already screened for two years before they get their refugee status. Refugees are screened and interviewed over and over again to make sure their stories are correct and they're coming to the United States with the right intentions. Claiming refugee status would be about the least efficient way for a terrorist to get into the United States, especially since ISIS has reportedly had access to passport printing machines. The people patiently waiting for refugee status to be admitted to our country are doing everything the right way, and they legitimately need our help. Delaying that aid puts their lives in genuine risk and causes undue anxiety for family members who have already escaped.
This is a little different than the situation in Europe, where the physical proximity to Syria means that members of ISIS have smuggled their way onto the continent by hiding among refugees. Nobody is hopping on a raft in Syria and landing in New York. Nobody is walking from Iraq to Tampa. Our role in handling refugees is remarkably safe because of the distance. Our role compared to Europe is akin to a relocation agency, where they're force to be a team of first responders.
By contrast, an actual white, British man who had overstayed his visa attempted to assassinate Donald Trump himself last year. Curiously, no added security or restrictions are being contemplated for white and/or British tourists.
Pipelines are dangerous, and have long-term impacts on our citizens. Refugees are not dangerous, and delaying their escape from situations of despair and persecution will needlessly harm our standing in the global community. A president who never cares about "what the hell is going on" in reality deserves no leeway to pause for research. By placing the value of oil over the value of human lives, Donald Trump is making ISIS's job easier and making the future a scarier place for every citizen of this country and this planet.
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