Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders became the first presidential candidate to announce opposition to the proposed Bakken oil pipeline, which, the Des Moines Register reports, "would transport up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil daily through 18 Iowa counties."
According to the report, Senator Sanders, who also opposed the Keystone XL pipeline, stated: "I'm opposed to the construction of the Bakken crude oil pipeline because as a nation our job is to break our addiction to fossil fuels, not to increase our dependence on oil, coal, and other carbon pollution sources."
While we are not climate change deniers, we fail to see how preventing the delivery of crude oil will help achieve Senator Sanders' goal. The fact of the matter is that, at least in the "near" term, this nation is dependent on crude oil. As but one example, the American Petroleum Institute notes that "[p]etroleum products power virtually all motor vehicles, aircraft, marine vessels, and trains around the globe. In total, products derived from oil, such as motor gasoline, jet fuel, and heating oil, supply 33% of all the energy consumed by households, businesses, and manufacturers worldwide. By comparison, natural gas and coal supply 22% and 28%, respectively, of the world's energy needs." American Petroleum Institute, "Understanding Crude Oil and Product Markets" 2014.
Furthermore, the growth in oil production over the last few years (which remains an increase over historical figures even with recent price-driven production declines) has been met with relatively minimal increases in pipeline capacities and minimal development of new pipelines. This means more crude is being transported by barge, rail, and truck. Each of these modes of transportation has its own environmental issues – not even to mention carbon footprints apparently ignored by Senator Sanders.
We believe that increased production of crude oil from domestic reserves, coupled with decreased overall reliance on foreign oil, is a good thing for the country – but that increased production will mean nothing if it cannot be transported in an efficient, cost-effective and environmentally sound manner.
Senator Sanders' categorical rejection of the Bakken and Keystone XL pipeline projects strikes us as both short-sighted and imprudent.
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