background preloader

Treehugger (articles)

Facebook Twitter

A train derailing, spilling 30,000 gallons of oil is still not a reason to build Keystone XL pipeline. © Photo by Doug Bellefeuille, Courtesy of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency One of the arguments used by supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline is that pipelines are safer than transporting the oil via the rail roads, as is currently being done. Well, fans of that argument gained an anecdote in their favor when a mile-long train hauling Canadian oil derailed yesterday in Minnesota, spilling some 30,000 gallons.

Reuters reports: The major spill, the first since the start of a boom in North American crude-by-rail transport three years ago, came when 14 cars on a 94-car Canadian Pacific train left the tracks about 150 miles northwest of Minneapolis near the town of Parkers Prairie, the Otter Tail Sheriff's Department said.Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd, the country's second-largest railroad, said only one 26,000-gallon tank car had ruptured, adding it was a mixed freight train. TransCanada — Keystone XL Pipeline — Pipeline Safety — Shutoff Valves from TransCanada on Vimeo. Exxon pipeline breaks spilling 84,000 gallons of Canadian crude oil near Arkansas lake [VIDEOS]

[NOTE: Scroll to bottom for latest updates] Originally published: March 31, 2013 On Thursday, I wrote about the 30,000 gallons of Canadian oil that spilled in Minnesota following a train derailment and noted the differences in oil spills caused by train accidents versus oil pipelines. Unfortunately, we now have another example of the large scale disasters oil pipelines create. On Friday, the ExxonMobil Pegasus pipeline, which brings Canadian crude oil from Illinois to Texas, ruptured, leaking at least 80,000 gallons of oil into the Central Arkansas town of Mayflower.

Arkansas' THV11 reports: It was a rough start to the Easter holiday weekend after an oil spill struck in Mayflower. Authorities said as many as 40 homes had to be evacuated Friday afternoon. Lisa Song at Inside Climate News reports on the size of the spill: The size of the spill remains unclear. KARK posted some photos taken by residents in the affected neighborhood: Facebook/via More from Diane Sweet at Crooks and Liars:

Why fossil fuel divestment is key to climate progress. Bill McKibben has another must-read post in Rolling Stone. This time the 350.org founder and climate activist explains the strategic logic of pressuring universities to divest from the fossil fuel industry. The logic of divestment couldn't be simpler: if it's wrong to wreck the climate, it's wrong to profit from that wreckage. The fossil fuel industry, as I showed in Rolling Stone last summer, has five times as much carbon in its reserves as even the most conservative governments on earth say is safe to burn – but on the current course, it will be burned, tanking the planet.

The hope is that divestment is one way to weaken those companies – financially, but even more politically. If institutions like colleges and churches turn them into pariahs, their two-decade old chokehold on politics in DC and other capitals will start to slip. Read the rest for more on why this fight is so important.

Joe Romm at Climate Progress thinks the campaign is even good news for investors: 29 Vermont towns vote to oppose tar sands exports. The case for civil disobedience on climate. To better understand why it is so important to stop the Keystone XL pipeline and why tens of thousands rallied in DC on Sunday and why activists participated in acts of civil disobedience, you must understand the math of global warming. Unfortunately, the media has often framed the fight over the tar sands pipeline as a matter of regional concern over risks to the water supply.

And while those concerns are valid, Keystone is dangerous to the entire world and a threat to regional water supply. Bill McKibben did a superb job explaining the basics of the climate crisis with three key numbers in his must-read post for Rolling Stone last summer. Really, you must read the full article, because he has some great metaphors and context, but for the basic explanation of why people are willing to go to jail for this cause, here are those figures and takeaways from his piece: The second number: 565 gigatons. Catch that? You see where this is going? Canada is Unprepared for Offshore Oil Spills. Have We Learned Nothing from the BP Oil Spill? Canada's Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Scott Vaughan, has looked into what would happen if oil and/or gas leaks happened off the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador or New Scotia, where there is currently a big exploration and production book. What he found is rather troubling: Not only are Canadian taxpayers on the hook in case of a major incident because iability limits for oil companies have not been adjusted in decades, but the country is not ready at all to handle a major oil spill.

This environmental Damocles Sword that hangs over Canada's Eastern seaboard is unacceptable and shows that something is seriously wrong with the country's oversight of its oil & gas industry. NOAA National Ocean Service/CC BY-SA 2.0 On legal liability for damages, the Chronicle Herald writes: The absolute liability limit for offshore damages and costs in Canada is just $40 million. Via The Chronicle Herald, SRC (French)