on February 02, 2021

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Birkie Cancels Enbridge

Written by Isaac Orr

The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation, which puts on the Birkie ski and trail events in northwestern Wisconsin, recently announced it is severing its sponsorship relationship with Enbridge Energy after members of the "Birkie community" scrutinized the relationship, according to the Star Tribune. The Birkie appears less interested in scrutinizing their relationship with petroleum products. Birkie's "Milk Comes from the Store" Mindset The Birkie's statement announcing their decision to cut ties with Enbridge, which I have pasted below, was the epitome of the "milk comes from the store" mindset. It displayed an astonishing ignorance of, or an unwillingness to acknowledge publicly, the indispensable role...

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on November 26, 2020

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Line 3 Receives Arm Corps of Engineers Permits

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

The Army Corps of Engineers has issued the final major permit needed for the Line 3 oil pipeline. According to the Star Tribune: "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday issued a construction permit for Enbridge's new pipeline across northern Minnesota, the last major approval needed for the controversial $2.6 billion project. The Corps decision paves the way for Calgary-based Enbridge to begin building the pipeline as early as next month. It will be one of the largest Minnesota construction projects in recent history and is expected to employ 4,000 workers." Receiving this permit puts the Line 3 environmental improvement project one...

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on September 28, 2020

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Line 3 Replacement Would Provide Massive Economic Benefits

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Some liberal media outlets have sought to depict the removal of Steve Kelley from his role as the head of the Department of Commerce as a partisan jab at Governor Walz for extending his emergency powers, even though two DFL senators sided with Republicans to remove him. Politics may have indeed played a role in the decision to oust Kelley, but the former Commissioner's decision to once again delay the replacement of the Line 3 pipeline were solid grounds for dismissal. According to a new study, the replacement of the Line 3 project would bring about massive economic benefits in both...

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on September 08, 2020

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Walz: California Car Mandates for Thee, International Scout Getting 11.4 Miles Per Gallon for Me

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Governor Walz claims California car mandates are necessary to "make sure that there’s ice on that lake in January," but if the Governor is truly concerned about keeping ice on the lakes in winter, why does he drive a vehicle that only gets 11.4 miles per gallon?...

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on September 01, 2020

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Could Alberta, Canada become the 51st state?

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

A new billboard that has appeared in Edmonton, Alberta (home of the Oilers hockey team) asks Albertans the question, "Should Alberta join the USA?" For those of you who are unfamiliar, Alberta is basically the Texas of Canada. It is the largest producer of oil and natural gas in Canada and Alberta accounted for nearly 82 percent of Canadian oil production in 2018. Alberta also has large reserves of coal, and every year, it holds one of the world's largest rodeo called the Calgary Stampede. Like Texas, Alberta is also very independent, and the movement to separate from the rest of Canada...

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on June 04, 2020

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By Delaying Line 3 Replacement, Again, The Walz Administration is Flagrantly Ignoring “The Science”

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Governor Walz loves to pretend that scientific evidence is the primary driver for the decisions he makes in St. Paul, but his actions show otherwise. In reality, Walz's mantra of "following the science"is just a thinly-veiled smokescreen for doing whatever he wanted to do anyway to serve his own purposes. Line 3 is a perfect example....

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on May 27, 2020

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Michael Moore’s Planet of the Humans Removed Due to Alleged Copyright Infringment

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Michael Moore's documentary, Planet of the Humans, was removed from YouTube yesterday amidst allegations that some of the footage shown in the film infringed on copyrights. At the time of it's removal, the film had garnered more than 8 million views. The renewable energy industry has been calling for the film to be removed from the platform since the day it was released. These groups made several inaccurate claims about the contents of the film, and while there were some errors in Planet of the Humans, by and large it did a good job of articulating the fact that wind and solar also have impacts...

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on April 17, 2020

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Keystone XL and Line 3 Transportation Capacity Would Exceed OPEC Imports

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

Most people don't realize how important the Line 3 replacement project in Minnesota truly is. Not only would it reduce the chances of an oil spill by replacing an aging, corroded pipeline with a safer, state-of-the art new pipeline, but it would also allow this pipeline to transport more oil into the United States than we currently purchase from Saudi Arabia. Add this to the extra pipeline capacity that would be brought online thanks to the Keystone XL pipeline, and it would be the equivalent of replacing all of OPEC, as you can see in the graph below which uses oil...

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on April 10, 2020

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Forbes: To Fight The Coronavirus, The World Returns To Fossil Fuels

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

The article below appeared in Forbes, and it does a good job of summarizing how many of the policies advocated by environmental activists harm human safety in times like the Coronavirus outbreak. Ideas like banning single-use plastic bags in favor of forcing people to use resusable bags may sound good on a bumper sticker, but the science, indicates these policies leave people at greater health risks by facilitating the spread of pathogens. Ditto for energy. Even putting cost aside, which is an enormous aside, the idea that wind, solar, and battery storage alone will be able to deliver the same degree of reliability that...

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on April 02, 2020

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Walz Wisely Designates Oil and Natural Gas Pipelines as “Essential Operations” During COVID-19 Shutdown

Written by Isaac Orr

in Energy

COVID-19 continues to dominate the state and national conversation, and more jurisdictions are issuing Shelter in Place orders to try and slow the spread of the virus to buy time for healthcare providers to prepare for the peak caseload. These orders have required the closure of businesses that have been deemed non-essential. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is to be commended for recognizing the importance that oil and natural gas pipelines play in the everyday lives of all Minnesotans, and all Americans, by deeming them to be essential. The map below shows the extensive network of energy pipelines operating in the state....

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