Prior to the advent of the environmental movement and its success in demonizing fossil fuels and development of any kind, oil and pipelines were something to be celebrated. In 1960, oil tycoon Bud Adams christened his new AFL franchise the Houston Oilers. (The team moved to Tennessee in the late 1990s and was eventually renamed the Titans.)
One of the most popular surf rock tunes of all time – recorded by the Chantays in 1962 and later covered by the Ventures, Dick Dale, and many more – is called “Pipeline.”
It’s hard to imagine a team being named the Oilers anymore or a song being titled “Pipeline,” but, now that we’re making America great again, maybe it’s time to renew our appreciation for the oil that lubricates our economy and the safest means of transporting it: pipelines.
Six years ago, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey and other state AGs unsuccessfully petitioned U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline, emphasizing that it would “reduce dependence on oil imports from suppliers who are inherently unstable, shield our country from threats to its security, and assure and sustain America’s economic recovery.”
Harboring no irrational bias against oil and pipelines, the Trump administration, unlike its predecessor, speedily approved the project.
Buoyed by that success, Morrisey and other AGs petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court ruling that halted construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, arguing that the lower court was wrong in ruling that the U.S. Forest Service lacks authority to grant rights-of-way through forestland beneath the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.
“The appeal court’s decision has devastating effects for West Virginia,” Morrisey said. “We appreciate the Supreme Court’s review and believe a decision to overturn the prior ruling will end unnecessary delays that have halted pipeline construction, kept heating fuel prices high, negatively impacted struggling working class families, and been detrimental to the services they receive.”
Message to all the green bullies: Oil is good, pipelines are good, and we’re not giving them up.
