Hard to Defend

Nov. 16th: 210,000 gallons spilled in SD (WSJ photo)

In news that was largely overlooked last month (not by you, dear reader) the Keystone Pipeline sprang a leak.

the rupture in the pipe may have been caused by a weight placed on the pipeline during its construction meant to keep it from floating in groundwater.

Although I believe that the benefits of Keystone outweigh the costs, incidents like these make the pipeline hard to defend. The owner had given assurances that technological and engineering advances had minimized the environmental risks, but now they look like the worst stereotype of greedy capitalists who care not one whit for the environment. (It's the second leak since the beginning of 2016.)

Note: for historical perspective here are the 10 worst oil spills in history. 1989's Exxon Valdez at 11 million gallons doesn't even make the list.