Watch Rachel Maddow rip Kinder Morgan to shreds over “oil spills create jobs” argument

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow was gobsmacked over the weekend after reading this gem about Kinder Morgan: in its application to Canada’s National Energy Board to triple the size of the Trans Mountain pipeline, the company argued that oil spills can be good for the economy.

It all started with a PressProgress story that flagged this passage in Kinder Morgan’s 15,000-page submission. (The story was later picked up by the CBC’s Power and Politics, the Vancouver Sun, 24 Hours Vancouver, Esquire, The Wire, and Maclean’s; Kinder Morgan responded by saying it was meeting an NEB requirement to spell out both the positive and negative effects of oil spills, but the NEB said there is no such requirement).

“Spill response and clean-up creates business and employment opportunities for affected communities, regions, and clean-up service providers…. Net overall effect depends on the size and extend of a spill, the associated demand for clean-up services and personnel, the capacity of local and regional businesses to meet this demand, the willingness of local businesses and residents to pursue response opportunities, the extent of business and livelihoods adversely affects (directly or indirectly) by the spill, and the duration and extent of spill response and clean-up activities.” (Kinder Morgan application)

Maddow nails it in her segment on Kinder Morgan on Friday’s The Rachel Maddow Show:

“Turn that frown upside down oil-soaked neighbourhood, you can get a job cleaning it up if you just have the right attitude. We’ll make it worth your while. That is seriously what Kinder Morgan is arguing to the freaking Canadian government about why they should be allowed to triple the capacity of their pipeline.”

Watch this 90-second clip of Maddow at her best: