This is your brain on capitalism:
The Ludden pump station on the Keystone pipeline near Cogswell, North Dakota, blows a fitting and spews 500 barrels of oil onto the prairie, and by KELO's editorial judgment, the greatest concern worth discussing is whether TransCanada will be able to deliver its oil on time.
Never mind the possible ecological damage caused by this spill. Never mind that this is the tenth pump station leak on TransCanada's Keystone system in less than a year. Never mind that those leaks include four leaks in South Dakota, one at each of the Keystone pumping stations on our precious soil. Never mind that, as far as I can recall, KELO has never reported those leaks. Never mind that TransCanada's risk assessment said leaks as big as Saturday's North Dakota spew would happen maybe once every twelve years.
And never mind that TransCanada is telling people that they shut down the pipeline nine minutes after the lake, even though the eyewitness who reported the leak and was greeted with disbelief from the emergency hotline staffers reports the pipeline shut down more like 20 minutes after he reported the leak.
No, all KELO has time to report is the business end. TransCanada will deliver. Customers will get what they paid for. Carry on, people.
No real surprise there. That's what people care about, when oil prices go up. All the talk about global warming, and saving the environment, and not spilling oil all over because it's bad for the planet goes out the window as soon as people have to spend a few bucks more at the pump. People only actually care about saving the environment as long as they don't actually have to do anything to help, so when an oil pipeline leaks, then it's instantly "What will happen to prices!" and "What if we have to get some oil from a more expensive source!"
It's an unfortunate fact of life. People care about money more than just about anything else combined, so something that might cost people money is going to focus on the things that immediately cost money.
according to "that Sioux Falls paper" the pumping stations/lift stations were not included in the risk assessment.
Why would anyone watch Kelo news? the most exploitative garbage broadcast locally IMO. I compare them to Inside Edition and Hard Copy.
Shane
Lauri, if that's TransCanada's new spin, it doesn't sound good. The risk assessment said, "anywhere along the entire pipeline system." I thought "entire system" would include the pumping stations that are an integral part of that system. If they really didn't include the pumping stations in the risk assessment, TransCanada only further proves that big industry lowballs the risk assessments it uses to get approval for its dangerous projects.
And Carter, I'd like to think the press could play a role in challenging that attitude of "money first." The press should tell people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.
Cory: You're right. The press could (and should) challenge that attitude. The problem is that (for the most part) the press forgot about journalistic integrity a long time ago. They've succumb to the same ratings wars that the entertainment industry has, by their own doing.
News stations takes on the news is generally obscenely biased. In this case, biased towards money, instead of what should be the real concern.
It's ridiculous, and just like 90% of news, anymore, just frustrates me. On the bright side, at least they're not saying it's Obama's fault, like FOX undoubtedly would.