On November 23, NBC‘s Meet the Press used the controversial Keystone XL pipeline as an introduction to a broader discussion about US energy policies. But its presentation left a lot to be desired.
In his report on Keystone, anchor Chuck Todd posed the question: “Why is Washington so obsessed with a little pipeline known as Keystone?” Todd dismisses the debate over Keystone as a “caricature of itself,” and explains that it is a “largely a symbolic fight,” since “Canadian tar sands oil is already getting to refineries in the US by barge and train.”
There is substance to Keystone, though; does anyone really think a major corporation is investing $8 billion to build a symbol? The Keystone XL pipeline is designed to transport much more oil to US refineries than can be shipped via rail. That is why people oppose Keystone. It represents, in very real terms, a decision to burn millions of tons of carbon when we should be doing the very opposite.
But if you tell viewers that Keystone is a symbolic obsession, you’re less likely to want to have a real discussion about energy policy. And Todd showed that was indeed the case for Meet the Press when he introduced his next guests:
I’m joined by Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the book The Quest: Energy, Security and the Remaking of the Modern World, and John Hofmeister, former president of Shell Oil Company.
Well, that’s certainly a broad debate: a guy who advises energy companies (that’s Yergin’s day job) and a former Shell CEO? On the question of oversight, both agreed there was plenty of it. Yergin explained that “the oil and gas industry is pretty highly regulated,” while Hofmeister declared that “the industry wants regulation.”
Last week, Meet the Press gave viewers a discussion about Keystone with two proponents. This week they’ve moved on–but the debate is still just as narrow.
Chuck Todd is not an objective moderator. He is yet another sock puppet for the Koch brothers. So what else is new?
When the Kockroaches of Commerce run the show, all we get is the spoiled leftovers.
No doubt the oil and gas industry desires regulation. Regulation is the armor protecting Goliath from a sustainability-slinging David. And while the oil and gas industry may be highly regulated by government, it is not regulated by a freed market. Therefore, it will continue to pollute and be bailed out long after a freed market with true pricing would have ushered in sanity and sustainability.