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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
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.
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.
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.
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
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 21st from 5:30-6:30 pm
WHERE: Riverfront Park
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/
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 21st.
Thanks for all you do!
Cheers,
Rein
Rein Attemann | Puget Sound Advocacy Manager
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Oregonian Supports Dirty Coal : Forgets About Earth , Please Vote Online May 07, 2014
"Hi Everyone,
Also, there is a place where you can vote online. Please at least take a moment to do that.
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.
Jace Bylenga
Associate Organizing Representative
Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign
35 W. Main, Ste 225
Spokane, WA 99201
Spokane, WA 99201
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”
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:
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:"
(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
- please feel free to use or share http://grist.org/article/
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
www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_D2g24VTaI
YouTube
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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/
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
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Tale of Two Cities: Coal, a train wreck for Burlington ...
crosscut.com/2013/.../tale-two-cities-burlington-coal-trains/
Crosscut.com
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Train Derailment Spills 500 Tons Of Coal In Dunnellon ...
www.wcjb.com/.../train-derailment-spills-500-tons-coal-dunn...
WCJB‑TV
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[PDF]
Avoiding a Train Wreck: Replacing Old Coal Plants with ...
www1.eere.energy....
United States Department of Energy Office of Energy...
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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-...
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 ...
The Baltimore Sun
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ACEEE | Avoiding a Train Wreck: Replacing Old Coal Plants ...
www.aceee.org/.../a...
American Council for an Energy‑Efficient Economy
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Wreck of the Old 97 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wreck_of_the_Old_97
Wikipedia
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Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Child Abuse by TSA at US Airports. How much longer will We the People endure this Tyranny?
TSA agents laugh and grope two little kids, aged 2 and 6. Perverts paid to take OUR rights.
Parents who do nothing are participating in the child abuse.
Americans who do nothing to end TSA are good people who do nothing, and are no longer good, participating in child abuse, and are traitors to OUR Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Constitution.
This is child abuse! The Bill of Rights is alive and well: It's up to US to Keep OUR rights. http://www.prisonplanet.com/video-tsa-agents-pat-down-2-6-year-old-children.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=tsa+gropes+kids
The only thing sicker than the TSA pedophiles are Americans who endure these pedophiles and do nothing. Good people who do nothing are no longer good, but are also guilty.
http://tsanewsblog.com/2308/news/why-you-must-protect-your-children-from-tsa-groping/
"A parent or guardian of a child does not have the right to allow anyone to touch a child’s private parts, unless it’s for the child’s benefit such as during a medical exam. This is because such touching is recognized as harmful. All states have passed laws against it. Children themselves are not even allowed to give consent for such acts. If I don’t have the right to commit an illegal act (harm my child), I don’t have the right to allow someone else to do it; I cannot give consent, direct or implied."
We are furnishing the means by which we, and these kids, suffer!
http://www.ushistory.org/paine/commonsense/sense2.htm
From Common Sense by Thomas Paine:
SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.
Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.
Parents who do nothing are participating in the child abuse.
Americans who do nothing to end TSA are good people who do nothing, and are no longer good, participating in child abuse, and are traitors to OUR Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Constitution.
This is child abuse! The Bill of Rights is alive and well: It's up to US to Keep OUR rights. http://www.prisonplanet.com/video-tsa-agents-pat-down-2-6-year-old-children.html
https://www.google.com/search?q=tsa+gropes+kids
The only thing sicker than the TSA pedophiles are Americans who endure these pedophiles and do nothing. Good people who do nothing are no longer good, but are also guilty.
http://tsanewsblog.com/2308/news/why-you-must-protect-your-children-from-tsa-groping/
"A parent or guardian of a child does not have the right to allow anyone to touch a child’s private parts, unless it’s for the child’s benefit such as during a medical exam. This is because such touching is recognized as harmful. All states have passed laws against it. Children themselves are not even allowed to give consent for such acts. If I don’t have the right to commit an illegal act (harm my child), I don’t have the right to allow someone else to do it; I cannot give consent, direct or implied."
We are furnishing the means by which we, and these kids, suffer!
http://www.ushistory.org/paine/commonsense/sense2.htm
From Common Sense by Thomas Paine:
SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.
Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.
Call to Action: Stop Coal Bargeing into Washington and Oregon on Columbia River
Here is a call to action, to keep coal companies from bargeing into Washington and Oregon via the Columbia River:
Coal companies want to export 8.8 million tons of coal each year out of Oregon, sending it down the Columbia River from the Port of Morrow to Port Westward near Portland, where it would be loaded onto enormous ships bound for China, India and all over the world.
Governor John Kitzhaber of Oregon and his Department of State Lands are deciding now whether or not to issue permits to let coal companies build a huge coal export terminal on the Columbia River.
Call the Governor’s office and tell him to deny the Department of State Lands permit - (866) 492-6080. See sample script below.
Ambre owns the Decker coal mine in Southeast Montana, and if the Oregon permit is granted, Ambre would haul coal in long trains along hundreds of miles between Decker and the coast of Oregon.
You can help by telling Governor Kitzhaber that Ambre’s coal export scheme is not in the public interest. It would off-load many burdensome costs on communities dealing with overwhelming coal train traffic, and threaten the conservation and protection of air and water in and around the proposed port. Tell the Governor that he should deny Ambre Energy’s DSL permit.
A coal terminal at Port of Morrow would mean more than 5,000 barges full of coal moving through the Columbia River Gorge every year, risking clean water, salmon, recreation and local jobs that depend on a healthy river. Shipping coal would nearly double the number of barges currently on the river -- heightening the risk of accidents, collisions and spills.
Coal is toxic. It pollutes our air and water, harms our health, hurts our local economy and worsens the climate crisis. Governor Kitzhaber should take a firm stand and protect Oregon from coal export.
Call the Governor’s office and tell him to stand up to Big Coal - (866) 492-6080.
You may have to leave a message.
You may have to leave a message.
SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR CALL
Hello! I am ________________________ from ________________ calling to ask Gov. Kitzhaber [Kitz AW’ brr] to say NO to Ambre Energy’s Port of Morrow coal export terminal state lands permit.
Ambre is an Australian company with no loyalty to the people who will bear the burdens and the costs of this port, including the strip mines, and the long, dirty coal trains that will come with it.
Coal trains will clog up tracks and communities, impacting taxpayers and blocking important agricultural shippers on the railroads.
Large unwieldy coal barges will cause congestion on the Columbia River and increase risks of toxic spills in this vital waterway.
We can do better than exporting dirty coal to all parts of the world. It’s time to say ‘yes’ to clean energy and ‘no’ to dirty, toxic fuels like coal.
-------------
Thank you for all you do to protect our quality of life.
Best wishes,
P.S. Please send me an email to let me know that you’ve called Gov. Kitzhaber.
Background on Coal Export
Port of Morrow: Oregon is considering whether to permit a coal export terminal without the completion of a full Health Impacts Assessment; a full Economics Impacts Assessment; a full Rail Impacts Assessment or an Environmental impact Statement.
Coal barges and ships are only the tip of iceberg. If all three coal export terminals proposed in the Northwest are built, some communities along the Columbia River and elsewhere in the region could see more than 30 trains rolling through town every day, carrying up to 100 million tons of coal every year.
Air quality would suffer, as would traffic for commuters, emergency responders and truckers. Taxpayers could wind up paying millions of dollars for new infrastructure to accommodate increased train traffic.
Coal is the world’s dirtiest energy source and is America’s largest source of the pollution that contributes to dangerous climate change. Americans across the country are turning to cleaner energy. We can do better than exporting our dirty coal for consumption across the world.
Coal barges and ships are only the tip of iceberg. If all three coal export terminals proposed in the Northwest are built, some communities along the Columbia River and elsewhere in the region could see more than 30 trains rolling through town every day, carrying up to 100 million tons of coal every year.
Air quality would suffer, as would traffic for commuters, emergency responders and truckers. Taxpayers could wind up paying millions of dollars for new infrastructure to accommodate increased train traffic.
Coal is the world’s dirtiest energy source and is America’s largest source of the pollution that contributes to dangerous climate change. Americans across the country are turning to cleaner energy. We can do better than exporting our dirty coal for consumption across the world.
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