Wednesday, May 28, 2014

SCRAPS Offers Doggies and Kitties for Inexpensive License Fee Till June 8, 2014

Buddy, a runaway dog, now part of our family.

To help a homeless animal and enjoy their love and devotion, it's possible to go to SCRAPS, which is offering the critters for only the cost of the license until June 8th, 2014, in preparation for the shelter's move.

SCRAPS (Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services) gives this info:
"...cats and kittens will cost $15, and dogs and puppies will cost $25...That cost includes spaying/neutering, vaccinations, micro-chipping, a license and exams."

509.477.2532
"SCRAPS’ current shelter at 2521 N. Flora Road will close June 10 and 11 for the move. The organization’s new building at 6815 E. Trent Ave. will open for business at 10 a.m. on June 12."

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/may/28/dogs-cats-free-scraps-purchase-license/

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Keep Exploding Oil Trains OUT of the Inland Northwest: People's Hearing May 21 5:30 to 6:30 Riverfront Park Rotary Fountain

The issue:
Once again, a proposal for a crude oil project on the west side of the state has our communities in the crosshairs. So once again, we must speak up and demonstrate the risks we would be assuming if crude oil is shipped through Spokane Valley, Spokane and Cheney. This time, however, the agencies chose NOT to have an official hearing or meeting in Spokane. So we're doing one ourselves!

Northwest Region Averaging Nine Freight Train Derailments Per Month

Mapping freight train mishaps over the last two-and-a-half years.

Eric de Place and John Abbotts on May 13, 2014 at 6:30 am

http://daily.sightline.org/2014/05/13/northwest-region-averaging-nine-freight-train-derailments-per-month/

The recent oil train derailment and explosion in Lynchburg, VA is a stark reminder that a similar, maybe even more devastating, accident could occur here in the Inland Northwest.
As of now, an average of one to two trains per day carry crude oil through the Inland Northwest. Oil companies are hoping to increase that amount rapidly to as many as 15 trains per day, according to Department of Ecology. These oil trains would pass right through Spokane Valley, Spokane and Cheney.

Right now in Grays Harbor, there are proposals to receive crude oil that would travel through Washington by train. If approved, up to 23 trains per week, each up to 1.3 miles long, would cut through our communities.

In response to a successful legal challenge brought last year by the Quinault Indian Nation and five conservation groups, these two proposals—Westway and Imperium—are currently receiving public comment on what should be reviewed as potential impacts. But unlike previous regulatory processes' involving oil (and coal) projects in Washington state, no public meeting or hearing was scheduled for the Spokane area. So we're doing one ourselves!

Please join us as we make your voice heard! Attend the Spokane People’s Hearing:

WHAT:   People’s Hearing on Grays Harbor proposals
WHEN:   Wednesday, May 21 from 5:30-6:30 pm
WHERE:  Riverfront Park at the Rotary Fountain
              (W Spokane Falls Blvd and N Howard St)
WHO:
Ben Stuckart, Spokane City Council President
Reverend Dr. Todd Eklof of the Unitarian Universalist Church
Susan Drumheller, Idaho Conservation League
And more!RSVP to bart at cforjustice dot org
or on the Facebook event page
  Unable to attend the People’s Hearing?

Please submit your concerns to Department of Ecology and the City of Hoquiam today. http://bit.ly/GraysHarborComments.
Comment deadline is May 27.

Additional rail traffic in Spokane raises numerous concerns
especially because the rail cars would carry dangerous crude oil and have been proven to be unsafe. In just the past ten months we’ve seen the horrors that come from transporting crude oil by rail in which derailments have led to explosions, fires, pollution, and in the sad case in Quebec, 47 deaths.
We as a community will continue to press for answers, to show concern, and demonstrate our unwavering determination to stop Spokane, Spokane Valley or Cheney from being entry on a list of rail disasters. Just as the oil companies and BNSF have been steadfast in their push to turn our nation’s rail lines in to conveyances for dirty energy, corruption, greed and disasters, we will be steadfast in our push to create a safe, prosperous and clean Spokane.
Thanks for all you do,
Bart Mihailovich
YOUR Spokane Riverkeeper


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Thursday, May 15, 2014

Oil Trains Threaten Washington State: Make YOUR Voice Heard, Spokane People's Hearing May 21, 2014 5:30 Riverfront Park

Oil trains pose a danger to Spokane. This photo of the recent oil train explosion in Lynchburg, VA, could happen in Spokane.

Please stop the proposed glut of trains traveling through Spokane and our beautiful Pacific Northwest.

http://ens-newswire.com/2014/05/14/ameriscan-may-14-2014/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ens-newswire%2FJZdj+(ENS)

Most recently a train carrying Bakken crude derailed and exploded in Lynchburg, Virginia April 30. Other recent oil train fires have happened in Alabama and Quebec.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EPAoilspillsubdivision5.jpg

Oil Trains = Oil Spill Disasters

AUGUSTA, Maine - Just as the state has revealed that crude oil shipments by rail have resumed along the state’s rail lines, Maine state emergency officials say new federal rules about shipping hazardous materials such as crude by rail don't go far enough.
For example, the new rule does not apply to trains carrying less than one million gallons of crude or other material, yet such trains can cause explosions like the recent one in Lynchburg, Va.

http://www.sjvalley-times.com/view/full_story/25116301/article-New-U-S--rail-safety-rules-will-not-apply-to-all-trains-carrying-explosive-crude-oil?instance=main_article

Read more: St. John Valley Times - New U S rail safety rules will not apply to all trains carrying explosive crude oil

The recent oil train derailment in La Salle, CO and the oil train explosion in Lynchburg, VA are stark reminders that a similar, maybe even more devastating, accident could occur here in Washington State.

As of now an average of one to two trains per day carry crude oil through Washington State.

There are two proposed oil terminals in Grays Harbor. If approved, that would mean up to 23 trains per week, each up to 1.3 miles long, would cut through downtown Spokane.

Right now there is a public comment period open on these two proposals, but there isn’t a hearing in Spokane, despite the impacts and risks of increased oil train traffic. But you still have a chance to make your voice heard.

Please join us at the Spokane People’s Hearing:

WHAT: People’s Hearing on Grays Harbor proposals with speakers, props, and a station for you to provide written comments

WHEN: Wednesday, May 21^st from 5:30-6:30 pm

WHERE: Riverfront Park

RSVP to rein@wecprotects.org

Unable to attend the People’s Hearing?

Please submit your concerns to Department of Ecology and the City of Hoquiam today at http://bit.ly/GraysHarborComments. Comment deadline is May 27^th.

Additional rail traffic in Spokane raises numerous concerns, especially because the rail cars would carry dangerous crude oil and have been proven to be unsafe. In just the past ten months we’ve seen the dangers that come from transporting crude oil by rail in which derailments have led to explosions, fires, pollution, and in the sad case in Quebec, 47 deaths.

Please join WEC and our partner groups at the People’s Hearing on May 21^st.

Thanks for all you do!

Cheers,

Rein

Rein Attemann | Puget Sound Advocacy Manager

Washington Environmental Councilemail rein@wecprotects.org | web www.wecprotects.org

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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Oregonian Supports Dirty Coal : Forgets About Earth , Please Vote Online May 07, 2014

"Hi Everyone,

The Oregonian put out a bad editorial yesterday. It would be great if some E.WA voices could submit Letters to the Editor (LTE's) to counter this. They absolutely ignore the health, safety, and economic impacts that would be especially felt by communities on the rail line funnel between, and including Spokane and Sandpoint. If you are planning on submitting one, please do so soon, and let me know if you are going to (so we can keep track of our progress on this).

Also, there is a place where you can vote online. Please at least take a moment to do that.

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/05/the_governors_anti-employment.html#incart_river_default

Jace Bylenga

Associate Organizing Representative

Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign

35 W. Main, Ste 225
Spokane, WA 99201

www.CoalFreeWashington.org

facebook.com/CoalFreeSpokane

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Plume Map of Fukushima Radiation "South" Branch in Eastern Washington March 12 to 16, 2011

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/09/fukushima-radiation-japan-irradiates-the-west-coast-of-north-america.html

“During April, The People In Seattle Could Have Just As Easily Been In Tokyo For The Amount Of Hot Particles That Were There”

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/07/during-april-the-people-in-seattle-could-have-just-as-easily-been-in-tokyo-for-the-amount-of-hot-particles-that-were-there.html

Posted on July 12, 2011 by WashingtonsBlog

Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen said recently:

During April, the people in Seattle could have just as easily been in Tokyo for the amount of hot particles that were there.
(For background on “hot particles”, see this and this.)
Of course, radiation monitoring in Seattle may be kept secret. As that Washington Department of Health notes:

A helicopter flying over some urban areas of King and Pierce counties will gather radiological readings July 11-28, 2011. [Seattle is in King County.] The U.S. Department of Energy’s Remote Sensing Laboratory Aerial Measurement System will collect baseline levels of radioactive materials.
**
Some of the data may be withheld for national security purposes.

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/03/california-slammed-with-fukushima-radiation.html
"Of course, the government is doing everything it can to help citizens cover up what’s occurring. We pointed out in January:"

Instead of doing much to try to protect their citizens from Fukushima, Japan, the U.S. and the EU all just raised the radiation levels they deem “safe”.
Nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen says that high-level friends in the State Department told him that Hillary Clinton signed a pact with her counterpart in Japan agreeing that the U.S. will continue buying seafood from Japan, despite that food not being tested for radioactive materials [see this].
And the Department of Energy is trying to replace the scientifically accepted model of the dangers of low dose radiation based on voodoo science. Specifically, DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley Labs used a mutant line of human cells in a petri dish which was able to repair damage from low doses of radiation, and extrapolated to the unsupported conclusion that everyone is immune to low doses of radiation…."

May 2, 2014 photos posted here of a coal train derailment in Bowie, Maryland

"This is like a freaking epidemic!

Although I hear almost nothing about it on the regular news..."

photos posted here of a coal train derailment in Bowie, Maryland

https://www.flickr.com/photos/greenpeaceusa09/sets/72157644470317821/

- please feel free to use or share http://grist.org/article/photos-coal-train-derailment-in-maryland/

This is what can happen in the Pacific Northwest.

We need to keep our beautiful land free of waste.

Two More Coal Train Wrecks — The Epidemic Continues ...

blog.nwf.org/.../two-more-coal-train-wrecks...‎

Jul 17, 2012 - Five different trains carrying coal have derailed in the past two and a half weeks. The most recent wrecks happened Sunday in Jefferson ...

Coal train wrecks in western N.M. - YouTube

► 0:46► 0:46

www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_D2g24VTaI

YouTube

Aug 11, 2012 - Uploaded by KRQE

A BNSF Railway coal train derailed west of Grants Friday afternoon blocking one of the country's major ...

CSX Train Carrying 8,000 Tons of Coal Derails in ...

ecowatch.com/2014/05/01/csx-train-coal-derails/‎

by Brandon Baker

3 days ago - A train derailed early Thursday morning in Bowie, MD marking the second derailment for CSX Corp. in 24 hours. CSX spokeswoman Kristin ...

Coal trains wreck their way through the Northwest - Blue ...

www.blueoregon.com/.../coal-trains-wreck-their-way-throug...‎

BlueOregon

Jul 5, 2012 - On July 2nd another coal train derailed in eastern Washington, just 30 miles north of the Columbia River, spilling hundreds of tons of fine coal ...

Tale of Two Cities: Coal, a train wreck for Burlington ...

crosscut.com/2013/.../tale-two-cities-burlington-coal-trains/‎

Crosscut.com

Jun 13, 2013 - Incredibly fragile,” is how cafe owner Brad Whaley descibes Burlington's historic downtown. Can it survive a coal train onslaught?

Train Derailment Spills 500 Tons Of Coal In Dunnellon ...

www.wcjb.com/.../train-derailment-spills-500-tons-coal-dunn...‎

WCJB‑TV

Jan 17, 2014 - DUNNELLON - It wasn't exactly "the wreck of the old 97" but a freight train derailed near Dunnellon today, spilling tons of coal that will take all ...

[PDF]

Avoiding a Train Wreck: Replacing Old Coal Plants with ...

www1.eere.energy....

United States Department of Energy Office of Energy...

by RN Elliott - ‎2011 - ‎Cited by 6 - ‎Related articles

Avoiding a Train Wreck: Replacing Old Coal Plants with Energy Efficiency. R. Neal Elliott, Rachel Gold, and Sara Hayes. August 2011. An ACEEE White Paper.

Derailed train buries Ellicott City in coal, crushing two teen ...

articles.baltimoresun.com/.../bs-md-ho-train-...‎

The Baltimore Sun

by Kevin Rector - in 67 Google+ circles

Aug 22, 2012 - A CSX train carrying hopper cars filled with coal, derailed early ... train cars and smashed vehicles after a Tuesday train derailment that crushed ...

ACEEE | Avoiding a Train Wreck: Replacing Old Coal Plants ...

www.aceee.org/.../a...‎

American Council for an Energy‑Efficient Economy

Aug 22, 2011 - Changes in fossil fuel markets and updates to environmental regulations may result in the retirement of existing coal-fired electric power plants, ...

Wreck of the Old 97 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wreck_of_the_Old_97‎

Wikipedia

Type of incident, Derailment. Cause, Excessive speed. Statistics. Trains, 1 .... in "Blood on the Coal" is an absurd one in which the train crashes into a coal mine.