Weekend Economists Mark D Day, 2014 June 6-8, 2014

[Demeter]

4. Are Deadly Bomb Trains Rolling Through Your Neighborhood? Check the Interactive Map

http://www.alternet.org/environment/are-bomb-trains-rolling-through-your-neighborhood-check-interactive-map?akid=11870.227380.nEYu6u&rd=1&src=newsletter998769&t=16





A new interactive map released this week by Oil Change International highlights the alarming dangers of oil-by-rail to the nation's communities — and the map does not paint a pretty landscape.

As the report points out, oil-by-rail is booming in both the literal and figurative sense. Seventy times as much oil-by-rail was moved last year compared to 2005, which was the very beginning of the hydraulic fracturing movement. Since that time, there have been several explosions and spills that have devastated towns and destroyed rivers.

The project's authors say that the oil industry is "out of control" and that regulators are unable to keep up with the industry’s rapid expansion. Because of this, public safety is disregarded in favor of fossil-fuel industry profits.

The report, Runaway Train: The Reckless Expansion of Crude By Rail in North America tracks crude oil shipments as they move across the U.S. It says that some one million barrels of oil are shipped across the country on any given day, with about 135 trains of 100 or more tankers each carrying the crude. Industry analysts predict that the amount of oil-by-rail will expand by as much as five times over the next decade to match North American crude output. Oil-by-rail shipments through densely populated areas including suburban New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Albany, NY, Minneapolis, Chicago, Cleveland and Buffalo, are expected to increase significantly.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNSF), owned by billionaire Warren Buffet, carries up to 70 percent of all the crude-by-rail traffic in North America. This railroad network alone expects to load one million barrels per day onto its network by the end of 2014. One of its trains derailed and exploded near Casselton, North Dakota, spilling more than 400,000 gallons.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/05X-_1TWXSbOP6LwOMZirI5asg3DnCmy55ilrjXjcWIzUiR6BKU48NowzqipfHGUq45myApgMP-JSrvia3x6jQ6Gb7-MwXU6ioCjRmeAX8CBaIJ_eD1aXkM21PZCCnIDuA

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