Sacrificing the environment to create jobs is pretty much the size of it. Big Oil, is not too happy about the "on again" "off again" Keystone pipeline deal. With a $7 Billion dollar investment were talking about sustaining and creating a lot of jobs. With all of Obama's talk about creating jobs and the Jobs Act, you would think getting this deal done would be a no brainer right? Wrong. It's never that simple when it comes to politics. Some believe that Big Oil has little if any credibility given recent debacles like the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Come to think about, they just might have a point.

How can you get mad at environmentalists when Big Oil comes to town and rewrites law and create their own rules as they go? After all, who really wants another Exxon Valdes disaster, not that the BP blunder in the Gulf was anything minor. The point is that Big Oil comes to town holding jobs over the heads of the towns that need them most. What's wrong with that? On its face nothing, but when you factor in the midnight sign-offs which include extremely favorable conditions for Big Oil, that's something different. Now let's factor in the loose or non-existent regulations during drilling and exploration, now you have a recipe for a disaster in the making. These companies will always cut corners for cheap labor, supplies, tools and technology at the expense of the environment. Creating jobs is definitely a good thing but then again having a safe clean toxic free environment is a good thing too. Why is finding a happy medium such a hard thing to do? Instead we just want to go off half-cocked and screw the environment to create a few jobs and make record profits. Do better people. Do better.

All the hype about alternative energy and the promise around such is just that -- hype. The fact of the matter is that oil related jobs still lead the way, as far as energy goes. You can get pissed at BP if you want, but Big Oil is where it's at right now. In a backwards kind of way, the fact that so many people love to hate BP right now has contributed to the latest oil boom right here in the states. That's right, drilling right here in the states. Obama was against this for a while but Big Oil has won in the long run. Drilling in the states has increased considerably particularly in North Dakota and Montana. Those states aren't exactly very exciting places to live, especially given the extreme cold. On the other hand, if your pockets are on "e" than having some warm cash flowing may offset the cold weather.

The increase in drilling has actually created a surplus in jobs. Yes a surplus, to the tune of about 3,000 jobs on any given day, coming out of those two states alone. Again, much of that has to do with the fact that no one is in a hurry to live in either North Dakota or Montana. At that same time, if you're out of a job or looking for a change, a steady paycheck and sleeping in the comfort of your own bed is better than unemployment and sleeping at the YMCA...it's too cold outside. You won't hear any talk about Occupy Bismarck. lol. Still not ready to pack your bags? How about this, there is so much cash flowing through North Dakota right now that people are paying $1,200 a month just to park an RV. WTF - $1,200 a month to park an RV! Before the Big Oil boom you couldn't pay the RV owner to park in the same spots. Totally crazy. But then when you consider the 11 Billion barrels of oil those two states are sitting on, that puts matters into perspective. Get with it...there's going to be lots of oil jobs coming out of that area for some time. Clearly, oil jobs still lead the way as far as energy goes; the only question is will you cash in on gold rush.Bring a sweater...no bring a parka (better yet bring two).