In a surprising about face by the congressional Democrats, they joined Republicans in acknowledging natural gas as an important source of clean energy, and approved plans for a transoceanic natural gas pipeline, known as Delta to Deutschland Direct.
The pipeline will originate in southwest Louisiana and traverse three states, the North Atlantic Ocean, southern France, and terminate in Frankfurt Germany.
Construction of the new pipeline will begin immediately, and take 25 years to complete, according to estimates by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
In a ceremony to sign the bill on April 1, President Biden said, “While this project won’t warm any homes of Europeans for a generation, it will warm their hearts knowing that the United States cares and has taken a significant step to stopping Russia from holding Europe hostage to its energy supply.”
A news reporter asked the President if he thought the dynamics of world energy supply and geopolitics might change and make the 7,900 mile pipeline obsolete by the time it was completed.
Biden responded, "Come on, give me a break, man! It's a good start.” Then he winced, adding, “And besides, the flow will be engineered to be reversible. By Mardi Gras 2047, we will be importing beer from Germany via pipeline."
There were no more questions from the press corps on this April Fools’ Day.
