A few musings from a former energy industry economist!
The Alberta oil exports are a very real threat to the North American manufacturing base if free trade in fossil fuels China is encouraged or allowed.
What is allowed under the WTO if Obama allows the destructive pipeline?
Free trade is not such a good thing in raw materials. Works between in manufacturing, but theory does not work in a world controlled by economies of scale and multinational firms.
Free trade is a bad thing in the modern world! But, what to put in its place?
Do we want China to be fossil use intensive?
No!
Our long term reality is that we need to go nuclear or non fissile fuel based with a means of lowering manufacturing costs in North America.
Exporting oil means slowing down China's conversion to non fossil fuels.
A pipeline to the gulf would be the best way to destroy the American manufacturing base as the US dollar benefits from energy exports.
Canada can absorb this exchange rate hike and keep American industry alive, but Canada would lose it's manufacturing base.
The US should really tax oil and fossil fuel use in order to restore its financial credibility?
The ideas of free trade have not served the world equivalently when one adds in the slowing down of growth in Europe as a result of expensive energy. Being fossil fuel independent, using nuclear resources that can be pollution risk removed would be the solution, as would a major breakthrough in tapping energy from the sun and wind in Spain!
Sketches from Scratches:
Wuh Lax and the Cosmic Lantern Promotion:
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