Benicia-Martinez rail bridge, Crude By Rail, Stop Oil Trains Week of Action #StopOilTrains, Take Action

News from our friend Ethan Buckner, arrested for bold action on Benicia-Martinez Bridge

Repost from Facebook ethan.buckner
[Editor:  See also the news account: Four arrested after midair oil-train protest at Benicia Bridge.  – RS]


By Ethan Buckner, July 7 at 2:43pm

Finally released and safe at home after 24 hours in custody (20 without food or water) at the Contra Costa Jail.

Yesterday morning, the courageous Emily Heffling and I repelled off the George Miller Bridge, 150 ft over the beautiful Carquinez Strait. The two of us, along with Charlie and Jay, were arrested attempting to hang a 2400 sq-foot banner to amplify the struggle of communities across North America fighting toxic, dangerous, and climate-killing oil trains.

Our banner …hang attempt fell on the two year anniversary of the oil train explosion that killed 47 people and incinerated the downtown of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, a date that both marks unfathomable tragedy and the emergence of resistance.  This week, 80+ communities are organizing marches, rallies, forums, blockades, and other creative protests for the second Stop Oil Trains Week of Action.

Right behind us as we repelled down was a rail bridge along a route big oil companies want to use to import millions of gallons of toxic, explosive crude oil each day into the Bay Area and beyond, mostly through communities of color already overburdened by toxic pollution. As part of the week of action, we’ll take to the streets in Richmond this Saturday to demand an end to oil by rail and the emergence of a just, clean, regenerative energy economy.

Though I am absolutely disappointed that we weren’t able to fully deploy the banner, I am grateful for and recurringly inspired by the love, energy, and strength of our movement. Many thanks to all who contributed to this effort, who continue to fight for our health, safety, and climate every day, and to everyone who rallied all night last night and this morning to help the four of us get out of jail.

There is so much to learn from yesterday’s events, and much yet to come, but the bottom line is that I am riding the crest of the wave of our movement, and we will continue to grow and fight and win.

Onward!

Bridge safety, Crude By Rail, Derailment, High Hazard Flammable Trains (HHFTs), Lac-Mégantic, Railroad bridges

Milwaukee’s ticking oil train time bomb

Repost from The Progressive Midwesterner

Milwaukee’s ticking oil train time bomb

by Aaron Camp, 07.09.15

Two years and three days ago, a train carrying crude oil from the Bakken rock formation along the border between the United States and Canada in the northern Great Plains derailed in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada, causing explosions of oil tank cars that destroyed dozens of buildings in the central part of Lac-Mégantic and killed 47 people.

The train that derailed in Lac-Mégantic passed through Milwaukee, the largest city in the American state of Wisconsin, where a railroad bridge responsible for carrying trains loaded with oil tank cars has deteriorated so badly, some of the beams supported the place have been rusted hollow. Earlier this week, a protest was held at the bridge, which runs right next to lofts in the Fifth Ward area of Milwaukee that would likely be destroyed in the event that an oil train derails and explodes, whether it occurs because of the bridge collapsing or for some other reason. Protesters were critical of both the deteriorating condition of the bridge and the oil trains that use it frequently, and they called for the release of bridge inspection reports and for the development of an evacuation plan in the event that either an oil train or other type of train carrying hazardous materials were to derail.

The deteriorating railroad bridge in Milwaukee is owned by Canadian Pacific Railway, a company, which is based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that runs freight trains through the United States and Canada. Under United States federal law, Canadian Pacific is legally responsible for inspecting the bridge and maintaining inspection reports. However, because the bridge has rusted and deteriorated so badly, a proper inspection of the bridge is impossible, according to a steel engineer that WITI-TV, a local television station in Milwaukee, brought to the bridge with them. Despite requests from WITI, Canadian Pacific has repeatedly refused to make the bridge inspection reports available to them. Additionally, the United States Federal Railroad Administration, the only government entity in the United States that can demand the release of bridge audits from Canadian Pacific, has claimed to have never asked for the Milwaukee bridge inspection reports from Canadian Pacific.

Because of deteriorating railroad infrastructure and more trains carrying tank cars full of highly-explosive oil across America, places like Milwaukee could become the next Lac-Mégantic if action isn’t taken to fix our crumbling infrastructure and increase the amount of energy being generated from renewable sources like solar and wind.

Crude By Rail, Derailment, Emergency Readiness & Response, Local Regulation, Rail industry, Rail Safety, Take Action

Baltimore City Council holds hearing on crude oil transport

Repost from The Baltimore Sun

City Council holds hearing on crude oil transport

By Christina Jedra, July 8, 2015, 9:57pm
Crude oil train in Maryland
Port Deposit, MD — A Norfolk-Southern train transporting crude oil heads north through Port Deposit past a railroad crossing near the U.S. Post Office. Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)

The City Council held its first public hearing Wednesday on the safety of shipping crude oil through Baltimore, with environmental advocates expressing concern about the practice.

“Right now, we are in a blast zone,” said Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “City Hall is in a blast zone.”

According to advocates, 165,000 Baltimore residents live within a one-mile radius of train routes that are potentially vulnerable to explosions from crude oil train derailments.

City Council Vice President Edward Reisinger said the informational hearing was called to evaluate the threat the shipments pose to the city.

Reisinger said recent derailments — such as one in Quebec in July 2013 that killed 47 people in a massive explosion — are cause for concern. He also pointed to an April 2014 derailment in Lynchburg, Va., that spilled thousands of gallons of crude oil into the James River.

The hearing Wednesday evening at City Hall lasted about two hours. Dozens of advocates — many from the climate action network and Clean Water Action — held a rally outside earlier.

“It’s not a matter of if another oil train will derail … it’s only a question of when,” said the Rev. Amy Sens of six:eight United Church of Christ.

The Maryland Department of the Environment recently denied an application by a Houston-based company to ship crude oil through Baltimore’s port terminal near Fairfield. A Connecticut-based company, Axeon Specialty Products, ships tens of millions of gallons of crude oil through the terminal.

It’s not known how much crude oil is shipped through the city or state. Norfolk Southern and CSX sued the state agency to prevent it from releasing the information.

Tidwell said the “No. 1 thing” advocates want is transparency — knowing the quantities, routes and times that hazardous materials are transported in local areas.

Trisha Sheehan, the regional field manager of Moms Clear Air Force, said she would like to see trains rerouted away from “vulnerable populations,” such as hospitals and schools, and a transition to renewable energy sources.

City emergency management officials answered questions for council members. Executives from rail companies, including Norfolk Southern and CSX, also were invited to attend.

Jon Kenney, a community organizer for the climate action network, said the hearing was necessary to raise public attention.

“Residents of Baltimore want [the council] to take action on oil trains in their communities,” Kenney said. “We have been talking to community members who live along the rail routes, and they are concerned. The rail companies are keeping everyone in the dark.”

Reisinger said the council can take little action to influence the sorts of shipments made along rail lines. Still, he said, it is important to discuss how prepared the city and the companies are to safeguard communities from future accidents.

Dave Pidgeon, a spokesman for Norfolk Southern, said company officials recognize that communities like Baltimore look to them to operate the rail lines safely. He said Norfolk Southern has long had a record of safe delivery of hazardous materials.

“This country depends on the railroads to operate safely,” he said. “That is something we have to shoulder.”

He declined to say how much crude oil Norfolk Southern transports through Baltimore, citing safety concerns, among other reasons. Crude oil makes up less than 2 percent of the company’s total traffic, he said.

He said the company works to make sure the shipments it delivers are carried on tank cars that meet the strictest safety standards.

“We have no choice,” Pidgeon said. “We have to haul hazardous material, including crude oil. If a customer gives us a tank car that meets safety standards, we have to haul it. There’s no question.”

Natural gas, Oil Industry, Solar energy

Oil and gas industry the next major market for solar power

Repost from The San Francisco Chronicle
[Editor:  How’s this for conflicted?  Go figure ….  – RS]

Fremont firm to build huge solar plant at Oman oil field

By David R. Baker, July 8, 2015 4:57pm
GlassPoint Solar's pilot plant in Oman. The company uses solar power to generate steam, which is then pumped into oil fields to squeeze out more petroleum. Photo: GlassPoint Solar Photo: GlassPoint Solar
GlassPoint Solar’s pilot plant in Oman. The company uses solar power to generate steam, which is then pumped into oil fields to squeeze out more petroleum. Photo: GlassPoint Solar Photo: GlassPoint Solar

Solar power and fossil fuels tend to be viewed as natural enemies.

But on Wednesday, a Fremont company signed a deal to build a massive solar power plant in the Omani desert, creating steam to squeeze petroleum out of an aging oil field.

GlassPoint Solar’s new plant — named Miraah, or “mirror” in Arabic — will be by far the largest facility of its kind in the world, generating 1,021 megawatts of thermal energy. For comparison, a single reactor at California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear plant generates about 3,400 thermal megawatts.

The plant will help Petroleum Development Oman, the country’s largest oil producer, wrest thick and viscous crude from the Amal oil field. Pumping steam underground lowers the viscosity of the oil, making it easier to extract.

The practice, which is common in California, typically requires burning large amounts of natural gas to generate the steam. Oman, however, doesn’t have big gas reserves of its own. GlassPoint’s solar plant, covering more than a square mile, will save 5.6 trillion British thermal units of gas each year. Used in a power plant, the same amount of gas could produce enough electricity for 209,000 people in Oman.

“The use of solar for oil recovery is a long-term strategic solution to develop (the Oman oil company’s) viscous oil portfolio and reduce consumption of valuable natural gas, which is needed elsewhere to diversify Oman’s economy and create economic growth,” said Raoul Restucci, the oil company’s managing director.

Neither company disclosed the project’s cost Wednesday.

Founded in 2008, GlassPoint uses a variation on the same solar thermal technology that has been generating electricity at power plants in Southern California for decades.

Instead of solar panels, the company employs curved troughs of mirrors to focus sunlight on a tube filled with water. The superheated water generates steam.

The troughs are light enough that a strong breeze could knock them out of focus. So GlassPoint plants the troughs inside a greenhouse made of glass. Automated washing machines on the roof clear off grime — a key feature in a country, such as Oman, that’s prone to dust storms.

GlassPoint already built a small plant in Oman to demonstrate the idea. But the Miraah project will be more than 100 times larger, consisting of 36 greenhouse modules.

“The oil and gas industry is the next major market for solar energy,” said GlassPoint CEO Rod MacGregor. Indeed, one of the company’s early investors was Royal Dutch Shell.

For safe and healthy communities…