It is only coincidental, I presume, that the featured character in this animated video opposing construction of the Keystone XL pipeline is Tar Sands Timmy. But it works for Arkansas, given that U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin of Arkansas’s Second District has been one of the most outspoken advocates for construction of the line. Opponents fear it will damage a sensitive Nebraska aquifer, as well as create environmental problems in Canada, all the while contributing nothing to U.S. energy indepenence and only a handful of permanent jobs.
It’s been a little uncomfortable of late for Griffin. As the video notes, Arkansas is just one of the places where things have gone wrong with pipelines, despite Griffin’s assurances that pipelines are utterly safe environmentally. He’s also vouched for the responsibility of energy companies — which have supported him handsomely with campaign contributions. This caused a little embarrassment this week when ExxonMobil bean counters decided that a million or so bucks was enough to spend on the 22 Mayfower families displaced by the Canadian tar sands that flowed onto their street after the Pegasus pipeline burst. The company decided to end housing support payments. A day later, in the face of broad spread outcry, beginning with affected residents, the company relented. They could afford it. The company made $44.9 billion in its last fiscal year. At the rate it’s spent so far on Mayflower and the pipeline break — about $47 million — it has almost 1,000 years to go just to spend up last year’s profit.