Politics

FACT CHECK: Both Sides in Keystone XL Debate Bend Facts

Published

9 years ago

January 29, 2015

In this Jan. 10, 2015 file photo, demonstrators stand in front of the White House in Washington, during a rally in support of President Barack Obama’s pledge to veto any legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

DINA CAPPIELLO, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would run from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, say the privately funded, $8 billion project is a critically needed piece of infrastructure that will create thousands of jobs and make the U.S. dependent on oil from friends, rather than foes.

Critics claim it will disastrously increase the pollution blamed for global warming and put communities along its 1,179-mile route at risk for a damaging spill, all for oil and products that will be exported anyway.

Which is it? As pipeline supporter Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., puts it, “You’re entitled to your own opinion, you’re just not entitled to your own facts.”

A check of some of the claims about the pipeline as a bill approving it heads toward likely passage by the Republican-led Senate and a veto by President Barack Obama:

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CLAIM: Keystone is worse for global warming.

THE FACTS: Extracting oil from Canadian tar sands does require more energy — and results in 17 percent more greenhouse gas emissions from oil well to tailpipe than a traditional barrel of oil refined in the U.S. But a March 2013 analysis by the State Department concluded that the tar sands are likely to be developed regardless of whether the pipeline is approved. And it said shipping the oil by rail to existing oil pipelines or to oil tankers would release more greenhouse gases than shipping the oil via pipelines from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries.

___

CLAIM: Keystone is good for jobs.

THE FACTS: The State Department estimated that construction spending “would support a combined total of approximately 42,100 jobs throughout the United States for the up to two-year construction period.” It added that not all the employment would be new, though. It said some of the jobs would be “continuity of existing jobs in current or new locations,” a distinction often overlooked by the bill’s supporters. Once the project opens, it would require “approximately 50 total employees in the United States: 35 permanent employees and 15 temporary contractors,” the State Department estimated.

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CLAIM: The oil — and product refined from it — will be exported, so the U.S. bears the environmental risk from the pipeline with little economic reward from the oil.

THE FACTS: Without lifting the decades-long export ban on crude, the oil that would be transported via the pipeline couldn’t be exported. But the gasoline, diesel and other products made from the oil at Gulf Coast refineries could be shipped abroad, a trend that is already on the rise. In 2011, for the first time since 1949, the U.S. exported more products refined from oil than it imported. In 2012, these products were the single largest U.S. export.

A portion of the gasoline and diesel made from the oil transported down the Keystone XL pipeline will no doubt end up in the global marketplace. As new efficiency standards, coupled with increasing environmental awareness, start to reduce U.S. oil consumption, demand is rising abroad. But these exports still would confer some economic value to the U.S., including to the refiners that buy the oil and sell the product.

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CLAIM: Lower oil prices, and the U.S. oil boom, mean the pipeline’s not needed.

THE FACTS: Oil prices always have been volatile, and both the pipeline company and the oil refiners and producers using the pipeline expect prices to rise and plunge throughout the project’s life. Refiners still want the oil, especially the type that the Keystone XL pipeline would provide. TransCanada stands to make more money from the project now than it did when it was first proposed, because most of the cost will be paid by its customers. And despite the fact that the U.S. is now the largest oil producer in the world, consumption still greatly outpaces production. Imports have been reduced, but in 2013, the U.S. still imported 2.8 billion barrels of oil. About 45 percent came from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which represents numerous countries in the Middle East.

Canada, without the pipeline, supplied the U.S. with 941 million barrels, making it the largest exporter of crude to the U.S. outside of OPEC.

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Follow Dina Cappiello on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dinacappiello

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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April 26, 2024

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MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

6 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.