Most Recent Oil Train Accidents and Spills Involved ‘Safer’ CPC-1232 Tank Cars
DeSmogBlog | July 23, 2015 | Column by Justin Mikulka
Roosevelt County chief deputy sheriff Corey Reum was one of the first responders to the recent Bakken oil train derailment in Montana, a few miles from the North Dakota border.
FBI Advisory: Oil Trains At Risk of "Extremist" Attack, But Lacks "Specific Information" To Verify
DeSmogBlog | July 18, 2015 | Column by Steve Horn
A document marked “Confidential” and published a year ago today, on July 18, 2014, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concluded that “environmental extremists” could target oil-by-rail routes, as first reported on by McClatchy. But the Bureau also concedes upfront that it lacks “specific information” verifying this hunch.
DOE: Department of Evasiveness? More Government Delay Tactics as Bomb Trains Roll On
DeSmogBlog | July 17, 2015 | Column by Justin Mikulka
The oil industry and the government regulators in charge of regulating the industry don’t understand the basic science of oil. This is the core of the argument used to justify why they continue to run dangerous trains filled with Bakken oil through communities across North America. Do you believe them?
The Yes Men Are Revolting, How About You?
DeSmogBlog | July 6, 2015 | Column by Justin Mikulka
In the third movie from the prankster activists, The Yes Men, made up of Mike Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum, they set their sights on what they see as the biggest issue facing the world today — climate change.
Cost of Doing Business? Oil Companies Agree To Pay For Some of Lac-Megantic Damages, But Not to Solve the Real Problems
DeSmogBlog | June 21, 2015 | Column by Justin Mikulka
Although insisting the industry is not to blame, several of the oil companies involved in the fatal Lac-Megantic oil train accident in 2013 have agreed to contribute to a fund to compensate the families of the 47 victims in that accident.
BNSF President Greeted by Bomb Train Protestors in Chicago
DeSmogBlog | May 27, 2015 | Column by Justin Mikulka
Today at the annual North American Rail Shippers Association, Carl Ice, president of rail company Burlington Northern Sante Fe (BNSF) had his keynote address interrupted by members of Rising Tide Chicago. The activists carried banners reading, “BNSF: Profits over Safety” and “BNSF: Bomb Trains Kill.”
New York State Reverses Decision, Requires Full Environmental Review of Tar Sands-by-Rail Facility
DeSmogBlog | May 24, 2015 | Column by Justin Mikulka
In what came as a welcome surprise to activists in Albany, New York, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) reversed an earlier decision and now will require a full environmental review for a proposed tar sands oil heating facility at the Port of Albany.
After Passenger Train Derailment in Philadelphia Kills At Least 7, Attention Turns to Oil-by-Rail Hazards
DeSmogBlog | May 14, 2015 | Column by Sharon Kelly
This morning, investigators continue to search for missing Amtrak passengers, possibly thrown from a major train derailment and wreck in northeast Philadelphia Tuesday night. Already the casualty toll is one of the worst in recent memory, with at least seven people dead and over 200 injured after Amtrak's Northeast Regional Train No. 188, carrying 258 passengers, derailed.
New Oil-By-Rail Regulations Are Big Win for Oil and Rail Industries, Won’t Stop “Bomb Trains”
DeSmogBlog | May 1, 2015 | Column by Justin Mikulka
The long-awaited oil-by-rail regulations released today are basically a guidebook for the oil and rail industries to continue doing business as usual when it comes to moving explosive Bakken crude oil by rail.