All Oil Ain't The Same

       Well, President Obama's refusal of the Keystone XL pipeline is a good start, but there's more to be done. There is still huge amounts of Tar Sands Oil being shipped into the U.S. by rail. Proponents of the KXL are right about the shipments by rail of the TSO being unsafe. They used the argument to push for the pipeline, but that doesn't change the fact that the numerous accidental spills are a problem.
       The thing is, though, the spills are not the only problem with TSO. Tar Sands Oil is perhaps the dirtiest form of energy in existence. By the time it's fully refined to the point of being useful, you've amassed huge amounts of waste in the form of coke. Not the kind you can drink, but the kind that is so noxious that it can't be burned in the U.S. any more.
       So with this stuff coming into America and refined here, that means that we're stuck with that coke. We've got to figure out how to get rid of it without it polluting our air and water and earth. Any way you slice it that means millions and probably billions to get rid of it. And maybe never actually be able to get rid of it.
       I've suggested, in the past, that we send it back to Canada, but that might be unfair to Canada. Perhaps the best way and the surest way would be to require the refiners pay to have it removed from the U.S. and the storage sites cleaned up. And require that an amount in excess of the actual costs of said cleanups be paid in advance. I'll bet you'd see a quick stop of railcars full of Tar Sands Oil coming into America. That's because the oil companies and refiners know full well the tremendous costs involved with such cleanup, and they wouldn't be interested in such an undertaking. So if they're not, why should we?