How not to build a pipeline... and how social science could have helped

The Keystone XL saga continues to deliver head-scratchers. While everyone awaits the decision of the Nebraska Supreme Court (link to case here) expected late this year, a number of items have crossed my desk that reinforce points made in earlier blog posts. A couple of weeks ago, the business pages of the Financial Post reported that TransCanada Pipeline sent letters to some Nebraska land-owners suggesting they are running out of time to get a solid compensation offer in exchange for pipeline right of way (link here). It's a curious development since just a few months ago, TransCanada sent out similar notices with dramatic increases in offers of compensation (link here). In one family's case, a 2012 offer of $8,900 for right of way across their property rose to nearly $62,000 in January 2014. Now, some of those same landowners are being told that unless they sign on the dotted line now, they might be left holding the bag. Not a great way to win friends.

In earlier blog posts, I expressed dismay at the clumsiness with which those north of the 49th parallel (TransCanada, Government of Alberta, and the Government of Canada), have handled the Keystone XL pipeline affair. This should have been a simple infrastructure project. Instead, it has become an epic fiasco that, when it does get built (and I still think it will), will have been far more expensive than necessary.

A friend of mine passed along a great piece from the New York Times Magazine that details a number of the missteps made throughout this saga by Canadians in Nebraska (link here). The bottom line is that TransCanada entered deep cultural and political waters in Nebraska they didn't understand. They, and their shareholders, are paying a big price.

I've commented in other posts, despite sharing many things in common with Americans, Canadians have a shallow understanding of the U.S. political system, and the diverse political culture found throughout the country. A few weeks ago, I blindly reached out to some academic colleagues at the University of Nebraska to see if anyone from the Canadian side of the border had reached out to them (Political Science, Sociology, History, Economics) for advice regarding the politics, culture, and economy of the state.

The answer was stunning... No.