Lots Of Interesting Stories Now

It is a lot of fun seeing various outlets on the Internet where interesting matters are revealed.  Clearly, I look for situations that have an impact on the area where I live. That is only normal as far as I am concerned and allows me to write stories about them.  However, I also find other situations in other areas that intrigue me and I do want to reveal those to you, dear reader.

In addition, I like to provide my point of view when doing an article about a story that I have read. Of course, I do not expect that every reader of my Blogs will agree with me but that is okay too.  Who knows, I might be able to convince those whose opinion differs that they may want to think about a different point of view and maybe even consider changing their perspective.

Here are some articles that I have seen and about which I hope you will find of interest as well.

LACK OF ENERGY

No, I am not talking about my physical condition. 

Rather, I am talking about what is going on in the energy business in Canada as well as other countries these days. I have to admit that I never expected this:

"Worldwide Gas Glut Claims Latest, $27 Billion Victim in Canada

A $27 billion energy project in Canada just became the latest casualty of a worldwide glut of natural gas.

Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd abandoned on Tuesday its plans for the Pacific Northwest LNG terminal, a plant that would’ve liquefied Canada’s gas and sent the fuel by tanker from the western shores of British Columbia to markets in Asia. Petronas cited market conditions in its decision.

Pacific Northwest LNG now joins a growing list of projects that have been killed in recent months by plummeting LNG prices throwing the economics of export terminals from Australia to Russia to Mozambique into question. Prices have crashed as increasing volumes of gas from Australia and America’s shale formations hit the water, inundating the market with so much supply that analysts say demand may not catch up until the next decade…

"There is simply too much LNG export capacity planned in North America, and cancellations, especially of Canadian projects, are likely to continue."  (Bloomberg, July 26, 2017) 

Here is a rather negative attitude as set out in that article:

"LNG is now a global market that is going on everywhere else on the planet,” said Rafi Tahmazian, a fund manager at Canoe Financial in Calgary. “Canada missed out on that opportunity."

And I just saw this which is very disturbing for our economic future for this industry:

"Five years ago, there were more than a dozen LNG projects proposed for the B.C. coast. Now, only two large plans remain, one spearheaded by Royal Dutch Shell, the other by Chevron. Both have been delayed and their futures remain uncertain." (Kate MacNamara, CBC.ca, July 28, 2017) 

FEDEX

Here is another disturbing story that I just read:

"FedEx closing all retail office stores in Canada

Shipping giant FedEx has quietly moved to close retail office stores in all Canadian cities putting more than 214 people out of work and ending three decades of doing business in the country. 

FedEx will continue to ship within Canada, but its copy and office supply stores will close Aug. 18." (CBC.ca,  July 21, 2017) 

Of course, FedEx will still be carrying on business in Canada but closing all of those shops and putting so many people out of work has to be very troubling.  The question has to be why is all of this happening.  No answer provided so far other than this generalized comment:

"the decision was made after assessing current and future business prospects."

PELISSIER PARKING GARAGE PRICING

What a ridiculous situation we are seeing!  How can there possibly be such a huge problem when another much more massive project seems to be working perfectly:

"Construction of Windsor’s new $43.9-million city hall is on budget and on schedule for occupancy in May 2018, city engineer Mark Winterton said Tuesday.

“Everything is going very well for an extremely complicated project,” said Winterton, who said the project, which started a year ago, is starting to look like a building."  (Brian Cross, Windsor  Star, July 11, 2017) 

Well, that is sort of correct when one considers this:

"Staff have been very reluctant to allow for any extra costs on the project, he said, because the cost for demolition of the old city hall — located directly north — is still not tendered, yet it’s included in the total $43.9-million price. They want to make sure there’s still money left for the demolition once the new building is finished.

“There’s not a lot of bells and whistles on this project,” Winterton said. “Things that need to get done get done, but things that are the nice-to-haves we’ve been very diligent deferring.”

If you want to have some fun, dear reader, go back and take a look at all of the stories written about the cost of making changes in the Pelissier Parking Garage.  The City's estimated cost for doing so was to be around $507,000. The lowest cost that came in was $888,000 in a bid to get the project while 3 other bids that came in at over a million dollars!

Here is what is so absurd about the way that the City was doing business and why pricing and tendering seem so completely out of reality:

"Mayor Drew Dilkens says the administration knew the cost would be higher than $500,000 because an engineering firm set it at $650,00 in April.

Dilkens says the actual cost to the city may not be that high."  (Peter Langille, AM 800 News, July 24, 2017) 

"Not that high!" Just wait until you see another article about what the cost might actually be now after some negotiations but here is another article about what that $507,000 is from:

"Councillors Chris Holt and Rino Bortolin also raised concerns, with Holt arguing council had been given a "bum number" and Bortolin calling the bids a "complete game changer."

But Dilkens said the $507,000 figure was calculated five years ago and added city administration has been working with the low bidder to search for ways to "value engineer and remove costs." (CBC News, July 26, 2017) 

After some negotiations, here is what the new price would be:

"The latest report, which will be discussed at Tuesday night's council meeting, indicates costs increased because of rising construction costs, additional aesthetic features and a tighter deadline to have the work done to accommodate the new University of Windsor downtown campuses.

Staff have since met with the lowest bidder, Elmara Construction Co. Limited, and found ways to whittle the cost down to $723,500." (CBC News, July 28, 2017)   

With the cost still substantially higher than what it was expected to be at first, it should be interesting to see what Council will do.

WHAT WILL WINDSOR HAVE TO OFFER TO TRY TO GET A NEW DEAL

How much can it cost these days to be the "winner" to get a new project started in one's area?

I will let you decide, dear reader, if this type of an approach should be done or not in order to be successful. Sure, it will cost Windsor taxpayers money but does the Windsor City Government have to act this way in order to compete against other areas who are trying to get a plant built:

"Windsor offers land deal to woo German auto parts supplier

Windsor city council upped the ante in its bid to convince a major German auto parts supplier to expand its manufacturing operations in the region.

The politicians agreed Friday afternoon to offer up a piece of land for an attractive price aimed at sweetening the deal and making Windsor a more appealing option than two other communities vying for the same deal.

Mayor Drew Dilkens flew to Germany earlier this month, flanked by officials from the region's economic development corporation, in yet another attempt to woo victory. If successful, he says the deal could create an estimated 300 jobs." (CBC News, July 28, 2017) 

Will Windsor still have to put up even more money before this ends if it wants to win the contract? Alternatively, has it no chance at all at being successful but is merely being used to get the other potential sites to increase their offers!

Here is one reason why its position may not be all that powerful:

"Other regions are offering plenty of incentives, such as free land, which Dilkens has said he is not prepared to offer."

I Am Now Happily In My New Life

That is how I feel now because of the help I have received from so many people after I have been so ill.  I am today truly much more back to health again. 

On Tuesday morning, I had my last session with the representative from the Erie St. Clair Local Health Integration Network's associated company who came to see me several times a week to help me overcome many of the problems that I had after almost totally collapsing medically about 2 1/2 years ago.  Back then, I literally was within a day or 2 of death from a medical problem that most health people do not know much about at all. 

I really am thrilled about what happened in my life to help me out after I almost died.  

Here is one example of what I experienced.  I have been treated by a number of people associated with the above-mentioned organization over this time period. It was the job of some of these Personal Support Workers to bring me back to "normal" after their efforts. They did so superbly so that I am now in such good shape.  Of course, I am a different person physically, and mentally, than before especially in much better shape now than on January 1, 2015 when I first became so sick.  Their assistance went quite far beyond just making sure that I could walk again properly.  It is amazing how well these ladies treated me and helped me feel so well now. 

Of course, what took place did not always go smoothly but the outcome was always superb. Let me give you just one situation. 

I had some very troubling moments speaking with some of the more senior people of the Erie St. Clair LHIN. It was so bad that I had to speak with the Senior Head of the organization on a couple of occasions because things were so horrific. Once after doing so, the lower level problems got cleared up quickly to help me out. In fact, in one situation, after some very detailed talks, the Erie St. Clair LHIN took on a matter that I had discussed with them to not only get over some circumstances that were not all that cooperative with clients but asked me to approve what they were proposing to do.  They listened to some of the suggestions that I made and were prepared to follow them. Now that was something that I found quite exciting in which to participate. It makes me hopeful that others will not suffer the way I did with their new policy. 

I must admit that I have a different way of dealing with people now. I don't know if it is just because of my illness or because I am living in another stage at my age.  Surprisingly, whatever problem I have, no matter with whom it is, gets solved fairly quickly these days. In fact, my objective is to resolve a problem that arises by the end of the day when I first find out about it.  I do not want the  matter to continue on.  I hate dragging on problems and try to get them settled as quickly as possible and to the advantage of both. I guess I must have a different technique now in dealing with matters that have proven to become successful after we talk. 

That is just another way that my life has changed so completely it seems. I just have a different but very positive manner that I work with others and get rid of any disagreements that we may have. 

I have seen many professionals over the past couple of years. Fortunately for me, a good part of their work is to provide me with a better way to live. As an example, I have seen a lot of doctors who have treated me so well with the medical issues that I had. More importantly, we seem to have set up a friendship between us that has made me feel so  much better. In one case, a specialist has allowed me to see him probably longer than I really needed to do so because he listened to me when I told him that I just wanted to make sure that I was so much better and healthier before we ended our relationship. 

Of course, one of the other areas where I have been helped out so well is with my family. My wife and 2 children have looked after me superbly from the time when I first became so ill.  They have all treated me wonderfully putting their own lives on hold for such a long period of time. They wanted to make sure that all of my needs were met and that I came back to my normal life as quickly as possible. To be direct, it was difficult for them.  I know that because I went through something similar with my life around my parents many years ago. Now however my role was different because they needed to help me out.  They sure did too! 

Exactly everything that happened and how I was looked after is not something I need to write about.  I am sure that a lot of what took place is because of the way that our family relationship has been set up and it probably is not something that is similar to what other people are experiencing. However, no matter what my situation is compared with that of other people, all that I know is that all of us are required to hope that our relationship with our family and other relatives is a great one to make us survive the horrific illness that we suffered. For my case, it has worked out beautifully. 

I had thought about writing a lot more about the way my life has changed for the better but I do not think that it is necessary. All I really wanted you to know, dear reader, was that I was in a much better shape right now because of the efforts of so many other people to help me out. After all of their efforts, I am pretty much back to "normal."  

For that I am so appreciative.

Just Another Day

Well, that is not completely right. The weather just seems so strange these days. I remember seeing a story earlier in the year which said that the Weather Group could not this year give accurate weather forecasting in the summer. I thought that was rather peculiar. 

However, given what I have been experiencing, is that ever right!  Take July 16, the day that I am starting to write some stories for you, dear reader. I remember seeing the weather prediction saying that it was going to rain starting early in the morning. It didn't. It then said to expect rain at 1 PM. That didn't happen. Just looking again, starting at 3 PM, the prediction was that it was going to rain from 3 PM to 7 PM. We'll see if that happens.  [Not a drop in my area at all!] 

This weather uncertainty does seem to happen quite a bit this year. It really does not impact me all that much but I can just imagine what it does to people who are trying to decide what they should do on a specific day. I am sure that a lot of people have planned all kinds of outdoor experiences but now have to figure out whether to do them or not. How frustrating it must be to make a decision not to go out but to stay at home and then find out that this was another mistake made this year because of the change in condition of the weather. I am sure that it is even more frustrating for the Weather people who just do not seem to be able to predict properly about what is really going to happen on a specific day. 

In any event, with all of this strange future for our weather, it does make sense for me to remain inside at home and write some stories that I can post on my Website which I hope you will find interesting, dear reader. 

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO DAG HAMMARSKJOLD 

I do not know how much you know about Dag Hammarskjold, the U.N. Secretary General, who died in an airplane crash 56 years ago. Given my age, I happen to remember some things, but not much, about him when he was in his job. I may have known about how he died back then but I have to admit that when I saw a news story the other day that mentioned it I could not remember it. 

The story itself is absolutely shocking. As far as I was concerned, I could hardly see how it could take place in real life. You must read this story in the New York Times: 

"After 56 years and many investigations, there is new hope that secrets lurking in Western intelligence archives could solve the biggest whodunit in United Nations history: the mysterious death of Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold. 

Mr. Hammarskjold, an iconic Swedish diplomat who was the second secretary general of the world body, died with 15 others when their plane, a chartered DC-6, crashed just after midnight on Sept. 18, 1961, minutes from its destination: an airfield in Ndola, in what was then the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia and is now Zambia. 

The three official inquiries that immediately followed suggested pilot error was the cause, but the third of the reports, by the United Nations Commission of Investigation in 1962, said sabotage could not be ruled out. That possibility helped feed suspicions and conspiracy theories that Mr. Hammarskjold, 56 at the time of his death, had been assassinated. 

Since then, independent investigators and academics have spent years collecting and scrutinizing evidence that had been dismissed or suppressed, bolstering the theory of foul play. In her 2011 book “Who Killed Hammarskjold?,” Susan Williams, a University of London scholar of African decolonization, concluded that “whatever the details, his death was almost certainly the result of a sinister intervention.” (Alan Cowell and RickGladstone, New York Times, July 15, 2017)  

You really do need to read the story. It is absolutely fascinating and completely shocking about what may have happened to this man. Seriously, would such negative action ever take place in real life and who would dare authorize it? Will this information be given out so that the public can finally learn what really happened and why: 

"But senior United Nations officials and other associates of Mr. Othman said he had compiled detailed new questions about intercepted radio communications and other aircraft in the area as Mr. Hammarskjold’s plane went down eight miles from Ndola’s airfield — and that the answers may be found in the intelligence archives of the United States, Britain and Belgium. 

"We know from available information that they know much more than what they’re saying,” said one of the senior United Nations officials, referring to the government keepers of those archives." 

The obvious questions are what is being hidden and why. Are Government Officials completely afraid to release anything because it may lead to something completely hideous? 

Who knows what the answer will be or what other questions may arise that need final resolution! It will be interesting to see what comes out in a new report from the person who has been investigating this matter once again recently.  

Just between us, dear reader, I really do not expect a lot to come out that might embarrass some Governments, organizations or even individuals.  It just will not be allowed to happen will it! Does anyone really believe that damaging information has not been destroyed a long time ago. 

WEATHER DESTRUCTION 

Isn't it amazing what is happening in our world! Here is just one fascinating example: 

"Massive Iceberg Breaks Off from Antarctica 

An iceberg about the size of the state of Delaware split off from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf sometime between July 10 and July 12… 

“The Antarctic Peninsula has been one of the fastest warming places on the planet throughout the latter half of the 20th century. This warming has driven really profound environmental changes, including the collapse of Larsen A and B,” McGrath said. “But with the rift on Larsen C, we haven’t made a direct connection with the warming climate. Still, there are definitely mechanisms by which this rift could be linked to climate change, most notably through warmer ocean waters eating away at the base of the shelf." (NASA.Gov,  July12, 2017)  

While experts cannot attribute the breakage to weather matters so far, it will not surprise me if the experts' opinion changes as more studies are undertaken. 

I have lived through a few strange weather matters in the years I have been around. As an example, I lived in Toronto when Hurricane Hazel hit in October, 1954 but I honestly have to admit that I do not remember any significant damage being done in the area in which I lived.  I also do not remember any really horrific weather that hit me or my family at any time of the year while I lived in Toronto. 

Moving to Windsor, I was reluctant to buy a house on the Riverfront because of what I thought could happen if bad weather hit. However I have to admit that I hardly saw any of it here at any time of the calendar year.  Not until recently to be precise. 

For the first time, last year, rainwater flooded my house. I was now living in Tecumseh. In a huge storm, we had several inches of water flow in that immediately flooded our basement causing thousands of dollars in damages. Fortunately, the damage was not horrific. Because of the insurance that we had, there was enough money available to fix up our house and to pay for new furniture in a very short period of time. 

Could it be that we are entering a new stage in how Planet Earth will be acting for a number of years? Think about this as an example. Take a look at this story about what is happening to Centre Island in Toronto: 

"The problem over on Ward’s, Algonquin and even Centre Island is, it changes by the hour. On Thursday as the rain fell, more and more sidewalks turned into rivers and more and more pools turned into mini lakes. 

“Who knows what it’s going to look like on the weekend, with all the rain coming into the lake from the rivers and creeks,” she said. 

It’s a minute-by-minute situation. Just when they get some water pumped out of areas that are flooding crawl spaces, a wind will come up and move more water in. 

Just when they get a sandbag wall fortified, the water finds a way over it. 

“We are at a tipping point,” Cliffe said." (JoeWarmington, TorontoSun, May 25, 2017)  

It is not that much better in our area. Do you remember how long we were having water problems here because of the lack of water? Well, that is not happening now is it: 

"Holiday Beach disappearing as water levels rise 

Conservation officials warned Thursday that the encroaching lake and disappearing shoreline at Holiday Beach are harbingers of a more devastating problem than losing a place to suntan. 

The Essex Region Conservation Authority said high lake levels — thanks to increased precipitation that also caused flooding on the Toronto Islands and receding shorelines on Lake Huron — have eaten away at Holiday Beach. 

Tim Byrne, ERCA’s director of Watershed Management Services, said it’s one symptom of a widespread issue as lake levels continue to rise. 

The conservation area’s beach has all but disappeared and will never fully return. Private breakwalls on shorelines throughout Essex County are in danger of crumbling and there has been $1.7 million in damage to breakwalls on Pelee Island." (TrevorWilhelm, Windsor Star, July 13, 2017)  

To be honest, I pray that this terrible weather ends soon and we go back to the "normalcy" that I have experienced for so long. 

"ON BUDGET"  

Wow, this is amazing isn't it on the construction price for Windsor's new City Hall costs:  

"Construction of Windsor’s new $43.9-million city hall is on budget and on schedule for occupancy in May 2018, city engineer Mark Winterton said Tuesday. 

“Everything is going very well for an extremely complicated project,” said Winterton, who said the project, which started a year ago, is starting to look like a building." (Brian Cross, Windsor Star, July 11,2017)  

I must admit though that I wonder how this is being accomplished.  Here might be one way that it is being done: 

"There’s not a lot of bells and whistles on this project,” Winterton said. "Things that need to get done get done, but things that are the nice-to-haves we’ve been very diligent deferring." 

Hmmm.  I wonder what some of the "nice-to-haves" are and when will they put in. It also would be interesting to see how the budget amounts are being resolved so that the amount that has to be paid out is not exceeded. 

SNOUT HOUSE 

Here is a Wikipedia definition for this term: 

"A snout house is a house with a protruding garage that takes up most of the street frontage." 

It appears to me to be a very pejorative term that is being used for a type of housing that some government people just do not like. There seems to be a dispute now between builders and Windsor City planning employees: 

"Habib also refuted a claim in the report that snout houses deaden a neighbourhood, pushing all activities to the back. 

“On our streets, our customers are always hanging out in the front,” he said, painting a picture of people moving couches and TVs into their garages.  

City planners cited concerns about the safety of snout houses, with blocked views of their entranceways and reduced visibility of the street from their front windows. They also claimed that, in the worst cases, snout houses create streetscapes resembling walled fortresses. 

They recommended: discouraging snout houses in new developments; banning them in the new Sandwich South area of farmland slated for development south of the airport; and studying the “advisability” of banning them throughout the city or in certain areas." (Brian Cross, Windsor Star,  July 11, 2017)  

I happen to live in a "snout house" as the new home that our family purchased in Tecumseh. All the homes on both sides of the street that I live on are this type of residence as well as a number of other homes nearby.  I have to admit that I disagree with City planners about their concerns. I happen to like it here. I go for walks every day around the neighbourhood and see many of my neighbours who sit around their houses either on the front porch or in the open garage areas. They do not seem to be too concerned considering that the inside of their building in square footage is quite large for an attached townhouse probably because of the way their homes are now built. 

I saw this interesting comment which supports the building of these types of  homes: 

"Ben Klundert is president of home builder BK Cornerstone. He's also a past-president of the Windsor Essex Home Builders Association and has constructed houses for 37 years. 

He concedes that snout houses are not the most aesthetically pleasing configuration, but explained developers build them as a way to balance government and consumer demand for affordable housing with the strong desire for two-car garages. 

"We don't create demand, we act on demand. If people are telling us they want a two-car garage on a small lot, we try to find ways to do it that are affordable," he said. 

"If the appearance isn't the greatest or it if creates a safety hazard — and the homeowner seems to be okay with it — I don't know where the problem is." (CBC News, July 6, 2017)  

It seems to be primarily municipal planners who do not like this kind of structure.  Accordingly, it will be interesting to see what politicians will do if an application is brought to prevent them from being built in the future.

Here We Go Again

I do like writing articles so that I can share my opinions with people in the area. Of course, while I may think that my point of view that I send out is accurate, I invite you to write me and let me know what your view is. It does not matter whether what you are providing to me is positive or negative to what I have just set out. I would be very pleased to post your comments if you wish as well. I would be very happy to let all my readers know what the positions of other people are.

I want to set out something right away in this Blog article that I think is quite interesting in Detroit. I saw this story and it shocked and disappointed me to be direct. I hope it works out well given the history of this organization but who knows. I did have personal contact with the party involved which may help explain why I am letting you know about what is going on:

"The oldest hat retailer in the United States, Henry the Hatter "has lost its lease and must close" its downtown Detroit location, a news release announced Friday.

The last day of business for the store founded in 1893, with hats worn by such high-profile people as U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and musician George Clinton, is Aug. 5. The other location in Southfield will remain open.

"It's not a good day for independents like me," said Paul Wasserman, 70, owner of Henry the Hatter. His lease on the building at 1307 Broadway is ending, and he said his landlord of 22 years is using an escape clause. "They had the legal right to do what they did. It's their building to do what they see fit." (Robert Allen, Detroit Free Press, June 30, 2017) 

I bought a wonderful hat from this store a number of years ago. It seemed to me to be the best place on both sides of the river where a great product like this could be purchased. The hat that I found was terrific so I was very happy to be purchaser of it. Here is what that hat looks like and also the box that was provided as part of the sale.

Oh sure, it appears that one might still be able to buy a magnificent hat from the store again but one would have to travel quite a distance to its other outlet in order to get one. I hope that someone can find another store location in their present area for them to replace the store that they are losing now!

Let me get back to the traditional way that write an article in this website. I thought that I would add just one other story this time so that I can go back to letting you know about interesting stories that are taking place now.

IS THE KEYSTONE XL PROJECT COMING BACK TO LIFE OR DEAD AGAIN

It certainly seems as if the oil industry in Canada has a reason to be concerned about having more big problems these days.  Some interesting changes in the structure of companies. Here is news of what is going on with a number of the oil companies now:

"Shell sells out of the oilsands. Was it climate or costs?

Another major international oil company is out of the oilsands

Royal Dutch Shell's deal to sell most of its stake in Alberta's oilsands was in the works for more than a year, says the company's chief executive Ben van Beurden.

"We said we would high-grade the portfolio," he said at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.

"We would get out of positions where we do not have the scale or the capability, or that did not fit us in the longer run strategically. And the oilsands is one of them." (Tracy Johnson, CBC News March 9, 2017) 

Here is another one:

"Seven oil multinationals that are pulling out of Canada’s tar sands

Shell’s withdrawal from the tar sands is the latest move in a growing trend in Canada’s oil industry: the world’s largest oil companies are retreating from the tar sands, as low oil prices, stronger policies to fight climate change, and the accelerating global shift to renewable energy make the tar sands uneconomical…

The world’s largest oil companies are finally starting to see the writing on the wall. The world is flooded with cheap oil that can’t be burned as we ramp up global climate action. The oil industry’s business model is becoming obsolete and the first casualties will be high-cost, high-carbon sources like tar sands oil that can’t compete in a world of low prices and declining demand."  (Patrick DeRochie, Environmental Defence, March 14, 2017) 

The changes are remarkable.  How can the industry change so quickly? It just seems unbelievable that decisions can be made that will change the nature of oil companies in this country.

Let me point out to you a very interesting story involving a company that I am sure that most believed was going to be extremely successful now. Do you remember reading about the Keystone XL oil project:

"KXL is a modern infrastructure project with construction to take place in Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Alberta and Saskatchewan. The pipeline means billions of dollars of private capital investment and thousands of well-paying private sector jobs. It will carry crude oil safely from where it is produced to where it’s refined and used for everyday products, and will strengthen North America’s energy security.

KXL represents a safe, reliable and environmentally sound way to transport the energy needed to fuel the daily lives of Americans."  (Keystone XL)

As you will remember, that project was supposedly effectively ended during the presidency of President Obama. However, everything changed in March, 2017:

"The fight to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline will move from Washington D.C. to Nebraska after U.S. President Donald Trump approved the controversial and long-delayed project on Friday.

Trump, flanked by TransCanada Corp. president and CEO Russ Girling in the Oval Office, issued a presidential permit for the $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline, more than eight years after the 830,000 barrels-per-day oil pipeline between Alberta and the U.S. Gulf Coast was first proposed…

“It’s a great day for American jobs, and a historic moment for North America, and energy independence. This announcement is part of a new era of American energy policy that will lower costs for American families, . . . reduce our dependence on foreign oil and create thousands of jobs.” (Geoffrey Morgan, Financial Post, March 24, 2017)

It appeared as if the Keystone XL was back to life now. Everything was now back to normal, right… Hardly. Who knows what the reality is now. It looks like it is dead again but for different reasons than before. However, perhaps it might come back to life once again in the future:

"A New Problem for Keystone XL: Oil Companies Don't Want It

Keystone XL is facing a new challenge: The oil producers and refiners the pipeline was originally meant to serve aren’t interested in it anymore.

Delayed for nearly a decade by protests and regulatory roadblocks, Keystone XL got the green light from President Donald Trump in March. But the pipeline’s operator, TransCanada Corp., is struggling to line up customers to ship crude from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast, say people familiar with the matter…

Refiners want the flexibility of being able to buy oil from wherever it is cheapest. In a world awash in low-price oil, Canadian crude doesn’t look as attractive as it once did. Many refiners thus far are unwilling to commit to long-term deals for Canadian crude, say people familiar with the matter." (Christopher M. Matthews and Bradley Olson, Wall Street Journal, June 29, 2017) 

I must admit that I could not understand how this could take place at this time when I saw the story in the newspaper. I thought for sure now that the Canadian project in Alberta was going to move forward quickly. Now however no one may want it at all anymore.

To be blunt about it who knows what is going to happen next and when.