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Another oil-hauling train explodes, forcing evacuations in North Dakota

Another oil-hauling train explodes, forcing evacuations in North Dakota

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North Dakota’s oil-drilling boom spawned yet another fiery train wreck this week.

A 106-car crude-hauling train derailed and exploded on Monday, the latest unfortunate consequence of the mad scramble to get fracked oil to refineries by rail.

Nobody was hurt during the explosion and fire, which burned for more than a day, but most residents of a nearby town in eastern North Dakota heeded evacuation calls as toxic smoke billowed over their homes.

“This is too close for comfort,” Casselton Mayor Ed McConnell told the AP. “There have been numerous derailments in this area. It’s almost gotten to the point that it looks like not if we’re going to have an accident, it’s when.” Here’s more from AP:

Through early November, the most recent data available, crude releases have been reported from 137 rail cars in 2013, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal accident records. By comparison, only one release was reported in 2009, before the boom got well underway.

The rail tracks in eastern North Dakota run through the middle of Casselton, about 25 miles west of Fargo. McConnell estimated that dozens of people could have been killed if the derailments had happened within the town.

The mayor said it was time to “have a conversation” with federal lawmakers about the dangers of transporting oil by rail.

Part of that conversation will be about DOT-111 model train cars, which are often used to transport oil in North America and are prone to puncture during an accident. The same type of cars were carrying oil in a train that derailed and exploded in July in Quebec, killing 47 people.

From NPR:

[NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD MEMBER ROBERT] SUMWALT: We have preliminary information that indicates they are DOT-111 cars. But there are different types of DOT-111 cars, so we will want to be confirming that. That’s certainly one of the things that we will be looking at.

[REPORTER JEFF] BRADY: Federal regulators already have tightened some rules for oil shippers. And they’re in the process of putting even more stringent requirements in place, especially when it comes to these tank cars.

Patti Reilly, with the Association of American Railroads, says her group asked the government a few months back for new standards.

PATTI REILLY: What it means is all of these tank cars — 92,000 of them — will have to be retrofitted or phased out.

BRADY: The industry put some new requirements in place for tank cars built in the last few years. But Reilly says in light of the Quebec accident, it’s clear even tougher standards are needed for existing tank cars hauling oil.

REILLY: It will need a thicker, more puncture-resistant outer-shell jacket around the entire tank car, and thermal protection. There will have to be at either ends of the tank car extra-protective head shields.

Oil is going to spill, explode, and pollute, regardless of whether it’s moved by train or pipeline. So it would be a shame if this conversation skips over the big question: whether we should continue this dangerous drilling boom in an era of climate change, electric vehicles, and increasingly affordable renewables.


Source
Safety questions after ND oil train derailment, The Associated Press
Derailing Revives Calls To Change How Trains Haul Crude Oil, NPR

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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Another oil-hauling train explodes, forcing evacuations in North Dakota

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Shop for Great Deals on ‘Green Friday’ in NYC

Photo: ReuseNYC

If you’d rather not shell out your holiday shopping dollars at the big-box stores this year, why not skip Black Friday and try hunting for great deals on Green Friday instead?

On Nov. 29, nonprofit retail locations throughout New York City will participate in ReuseNYC Green Friday — a community-oriented answer to Black Friday that focuses on supporting those in need and preventing waste through secondhand shopping.

More than 40 retail locations will take part in the event by offering a variety of sales in locations across the five boroughs.

Participating retailers include common names like Goodwill and The Salvation Army, and some you may have never heard of, such as the Arthritis Foundation Gift Shop, Cancer Care Thrift Shop, Lower East Side Ecology Center and more.

Deals range from 10 percent off to 50 percent off storewide — meaning you’ll not only score rock-bottom deals but also rest easy knowing your dollars supported causes you care about.

Click here for a map of all participating locations and more information.

Homepage Image: Flickr/Play Among Friends

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Shop for Great Deals on ‘Green Friday’ in NYC

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Senate Dems Just Went Nuclear and Changed the Filibuster. Here’s Why.

Mother Jones

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his fellow Democrats changed the Senate’s rules Thursday, freeing President Barack Obama to staff his administration with the people he wants and fill the federal bench with judges of his choosing.

There are 100 senators, and winning a simple majority (51 senators, or 50 if the vice president votes to break a tie) was once sufficient to confirm presidential nominees and pass legislation. But over the past several decades, both parties have increasingly used the filibuster—a procedural move that requires 60 senators to end debate and force a vote—to block the other side’s agenda. Since 2009, when Obama took office, Senate Republicans have used constant filibuster threats to force Democrats to win 60 votes to do almost anything. On Thursday, Democrats finally decided they’d had enough, and changed the rules. In the future, executive-branch and judicial nominees will be subject to simple up-or-down majority votes. But the filibuster lives on partially: Legislation and Supreme Court nominees will still be subject to filibusters.

The filibuster has bedeviled Democrats ever since Obama took office. A world without the filibuster would include major pieces of progressive legislation: The Affordable Care Act would have a single-payer option, the stimulus act would have been much larger, and gun control would have passed the Senate. The Senate might have even managed to pass a version of a cap-and-trade climate change mitigation bill in 2010 if it hadn’t been for the filibuster. Despite this constant obstruction, Democrats were timid, afraid to upend Senate tradition.

Then, over the past several months, a fight over nominees to a little-known but influential court pushed Reid to finally change the rules.

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Senate Dems Just Went Nuclear and Changed the Filibuster. Here’s Why.

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