Page 8: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (December 2015)

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By Joseph Keefe, lead commentator of

Environmental Tall Tales

MaritimeProfessional.com t has been a decidedly good year for miracle. That lives haven’t been lost in New Orleans earlier this month. It was half. With each successive year, the state the kyaktivists. Nevertheless, the the oil patch, on board crude oil carri- an especially valuable trip since the funding has continued to dwindle. This parties are ? nally over. ‘High ? ves’ ers or ashore in support missions? Quite event overlapped, to a certain extent, year, our full state appropriation is less

Ihave been exchanged and the glee- simply, divine intervention... with the Clean Gulf convention. I jogged than $300,000! How will the agency sur- ful press releases trumpeting victory sent With all of that said, it is way past time back and forth between both venues vive? That remains to be seen.” out far and wide. All that’s left are the to take stock of the cost of these victo- and, as a result, I’m not sure how well So, it turns out that not all environmen- heavy hangovers for the environmental ries. That’s because the environmental I covered either. That said; I was at the tal miscues come on the side of the envi- lobby. Today, they are back at it again, lobby rarely stops to assess collateral WCI event when Professor Will Hap- ronmental lobby. Many are self-in? icted. having driven to work in their gas guz- damage. And, there’s plenty of it to go per of Princeton University participated Woods’ agency is not alone – the ? scal zling luxury SUV’s, smugly smiling all around. Globally, the oil industry has in a panel on CO2 and the environment, crisis plaguing all of the energy rich the way, sipping an $8 double shot cap- shed as many as 250,000 jobs in the past in general. It turns out that CO2 is our (and dependent states) is gutting all of puccino, all after ? lling up at the pump 18 months – with more pain to come. To friend. Stay with me here. the Gulf States. And, all that BP money? for the satisfying low price of about be fair, that has little to do with the en- The War on Coal in fact was a focal The folks trying to clean up the beaches $2.02 per gallon. Mission accomplished. vironmental lobby. As OPEC continues point of Dr. Happer’s presentation. Hap- and coastal waters have to ? ght every

And, there is plenty to celebrate, isn’t to pump out crude oil even in the face of per calls the Obama and EPA war on day from keeping it from going into the there? For example, Royal Dutch Shell’s a massive glut, the bottom line goal for coal, and I quote, “all pain and no gain.” general coffers. withdrawal from the Alaskan Arctic was our Middle Eastern friends is to put an The most telling part of the discussion a welcome victory for the environmen- end to the resurgence of North American revolved around a study performed by The Real Truth talists, but the similar move that fol- energy independence. But $40 oil has Happer’s father in the 1980s. In a nut- Lost in all of this is the herculean job lowed from Statoil was especially sweet. other consequences, as well. shell, the growth of Eldarica Pine trees, that the maritime industry and its cous-

And then, who could forget the quashing As our kyaktivist environmentalist grown at the former site of the ARS, US ins in the oil patch have done to clean of the controversial Keystone Pipeline friends top off their SUV’s with cheap Water Conservation Laboratory, USDA, up their environmental footprint over project by the Obama administration in gasoline – Reuters reports that U.S. road in Phoenix, AZ, virtually doubled as a the course of past four decades. Oil pol- late November? It wasn’t an unexpected miles are nearing an all-time record – function of increased CO2. Happer’s lution emanating from tankships and move, but the seven year battle should the perilously low price of carbon-based point? CO2 – as many environmentalists barges alone has decreased by more than have been over years ago. Instead, the energy also puts a huge damper on the will claim – isn’t the culprit. And, we al- 95% over that time frame. That’s a fact.

White House didn’t have the courage to renewables sector. At these prices, it just ready have the answer when it comes to But that will never be enough for kayak- do it until not one, but two midterm elec- isn’t economical to produce energy via NOx, SOx, and particulate matter. That’s tivists. Separately, global shipping ? ghts tions had passed. wind or solar means, especially when what scrubbers, aftertreatment and LNG a proposed $26 billion a year CO2 tax,

For some so-called environmental- you can see the hedge funds trending to are for. Happer insists: CO2 is a bene? t; while the renewable energy that could ists, there’s no law too big to be broken, bets on lower oil. No one wants to throw not a pollutant. Across town, the Clean take pressure off the fossil fuel part of no safety rule too important to ignore good money after bad. Ask yourself: Gulf convention beckoned and I dashed the equation languishes because of low and simply no limit to the number of would you pay substantially more for out and grabbed a cab to make it in time energy prices. Heck, it’s even dampened lives they can endanger along the way. wind power if you could accomplish the for the annual “State and Federal Up- the lure of the white knight of LNG.

Whether its dangling off a bridge imped- same task with cheaper oil? dates” presentation. This can, of course, What’s a mother to do?

ing the progress of a deep draft oil ser- No, we’ll continue to burn fossil fuels be a rather dry event. One after another, I suppose the most telling harbinger of vice vessel or perhaps from the girders – which we would have in any event – the state environmental coordinators get what is to come next emanated this week of an offshore oil rig in the Arctic, or bet- but just a lot longer than we would have, up, trudge to the podium and talk about from oil major Statoil. Reuters reported ter yet, blocking the entrance of a major had renewables been able to better com- what happened in their states over the that Norwegian Prime Minister Erna global port as a fully loaded oil tanker, pete in the global market place. It is why, course of the previous 12 months. This Solberg insisted that oil prices are cur- constrained by draft, attempts to navi- in part, that the United States has, to went on for a bit until Senior Environ- rently too low to spur investments suf- gate its way in a narrow channel, there is date, no offshore wind farms and the rest mental Scientist Philip Woods from the ? cient to meet future energy demands. (apparently) no act too silly to attempt in of the world – Europe in particular – has great state of Alabama’s Department of Solberg continued, “It is dif? cult to pre- the name of “the environment.” soared ahead in this market. Wouldn’t Environmental Management got up to dict future developments in the oil mar- it have been nice to have had the lion’s talk. It was a breath of fresh air. ket, but it is evident that the current price

No Middle Ground share of that manufacturing right here at Woods has a lot of opinions. But his level is too low to generate the invest-

Over the course of the past decade, oil home? Think about the jobs. No, they take on current events really said it all. ments needed.” companies and shippers who navigate never do. Which brings me right back to Post-event – and at my urging – Woods I’m all for saving the environment, be- the legal system with full transparency the Keystone Pipeline. I get it: this is oil wrote to me and said, “When players ing green and all the rest of it. My kids have ? nally realized that there is no mid- headed to U.S. Gulf Coast re? neries that perched higher along in the ? scal food will tell you about the family “meetings” dle ground anywhere to be found, espe- isn’t domestic output in the ? rst place. chain, those in the Executive and Legis- that take place whenever I ? nd alumi- cially when it comes to dealing with peo- But, for my money, I’d rather buy en- lative seats, decided to make a change in num cans in the wrong trash receptacle. ple that have little or no regard for the ergy from our Canadian friends than the the way money is allocated in the state, That said; you can count me out when safety of others and indeed, the environ- folks in OPEC. Along the way, we’d cre- my agency discovered what it was like it comes to endangering people’s lives ment itself. In every situation described ate some pretty good jobs and we’ll be to be one of the less privileged. In ? s- for ‘the cause.’ And, you can count me above, it wouldn’t have taken much for transporting energy ef? ciently and envi- cal year 2008, we received six million out when it comes to putting infrastruc- these activities to have created exponen- ronmentally sound. What’s not to like? dollars for our yearly operating bud- ture, oil & gas and shipping assets in tially more damage to the environment get. In comparison with the budgets of harm’s way to accomplish that noble than these ‘cowboys’ intended to stop A Tale of Two Conventions other state environmental agencies, this goal. These aren’t environmentalists – – if only something had gone wrong. Separately, I attended the Waterways was a very small amount. Yet, by 2013, they are criminals. It is way past time we

That it hasn’t happened yet is simply a Council (WCI) annual symposium in that already low number was reduced by started treating them as such. 8 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • DECEMBER 2015

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