Trump is unleashing the huge potential of US energy while leftist try to kill jobs with nonsensical opposition to pipelines

Monica Crowley:

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The remarkable economic expansion is a direct result of the Trump tax cuts, widespread deregulation and renegotiation of global trade relationships. But the largely untold part of the economic success story is the Trump administration’s unleashing of the energy sector.

For eight long years, President Obama used the Environmental Protection Agency as a sledgehammer to enforce the leftist energy wish list: Bankrupt the coal industry, subsidize green energy boondoggles such as Solyndra despite massive taxpayer losses, impose cap and trade, halt offshore drilling and exploration projects and kill off oil pipelines such as the Keystone XL. American consumers, domestic energy producers and tens of thousands of jobs be damned.

Once in office, Mr. Trump set about reversing these destructive energy policies with the stated goal of achieving true energy independence.

Mr. Trump understood that energy policy may not be as sexy as tax relief or a new NAFTA agreement, but it is a bipartisan issue vital to the nation’s economic future. Unfortunately, in today’s highly-politicized climate, economic growth can often be caught in the crossfire of ideological activism.

In one of the more egregious recent examples, the Keystone XL pipeline was blocked by a San Francisco judge on Nov. 8, frustrating the president’s agenda. “It was a political decision made by a judge. I think it’s a disgrace,” Mr. Trump told reporters, adding, “Forty-eight thousand jobs. I approved it. It’s ready to start.”
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Most of the opportunities to explore our energy resources have been in the West and Midwest, but the East Coast can now share in the benefits. The 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would run through North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, would massively reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil, save $377 million per year on energy costs, produce $28 million per year in local tax revenue and create over 17,000 jobs in the construction industry alone. In purely economic terms, the ACP would create tremendous economic growth benefiting all Americans.

The Atlantic Pipeline would also relieve strain on public utilities in Virginia and North Carolina that are struggling to keep homes warm and businesses lit. And importantly, the ACP would support veterans by providing job opportunities through the Helmets to Hardhats program for retired and transitioning active-duty service members, as well as members of the National Guard and Reserve.

Some remain skeptical of the environmental impact of projects harnessing natural resources. While critics maintain that oil pipelines such as the Keystone XL and ACP would place drinking water and animal habitats at risk, the truth is that pipelines continue to be the safest, most environmentally-friendly method of transporting fossil fuels.

In a study by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research examining industry statistics from 2005 to 2009, the shipment of oil by road and railway was proven to be significantly more dangerous than shipment by pipeline. While the transport of oil by road and railway had incident rates of 19.95 and 2.08 incidents per billion ton-miles respectively, that of transport by pipeline was just 0.58. (Emphasis added.)
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The opposition to pipelines is ridiculous.  It appears to be solely for the purpose of driving up the cost of energy to make inefficient alternative energy appear competitive.  When judges stop pipeline projects they are relying on nonsensical logic and the political motivations of the left.