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.
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.
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.
Why Was The White House Involved in North Dakota Oil-by-Rail Regulations?
DeSmogBlog | April 30, 2015 | Column by Justin Mikulka
A seemingly innocuous email about two people getting coffee in August of 2014 helps shed light on the behind-the-scenes lobbying efforts to shape the oil-by-rail regulations that have given the oil industry a pass on the explosive nature of Bakken crude oil.
Congresswoman Declares Pipeline and Oil-by-Rail Regulatory System "Fundamentally Broken"
DeSmogBlog | April 23, 2015 | Column by Justin Mikulka
“The system is fundamentally broken.”