By Roy L Hales
The oil train you see above may be one of the last to pass through Hood River, Oregon. Three weeks ago a near catastrophic derailment/fire occurred in the neighbouring town of Mosier. The town is still dealing with the aftereffects. Thursday the Federal Rail Authority’s (FRA) Preliminary report blamed the incident on Union Pacific’s failure to maintain their tracks. Now the Governors of Washington and Oregon are calling upon the FRA to halt Pacific Northwest oil trains.
By Roy L Hales
There are currently only one or two trains going through the Columbia River Gorge every day. Imagine what would happen if all the fossil fuel projects in this region were approved. Up to a hundred trains, averaging between a mile and a mile and a half in length, and would make this same trek weekly. Six months ago, a truck driver was killed in a railway accident within Portland’s city limits. The flames spread to eight railway cars, carrying oil or asphalt, which luckily did not catch fire. There was another oil-by-rail fire near Portland today.
Continue reading Another Oil-By-Rail Fire Near PortlandBy Roy L Hales
Several Vancouver residents “dropped dead” this morning. People walking along the seawall, near Davie and Denman, had to go around the bodies. English Bay’s Die-in is a visual illustration of what an oil spill could do to Vancouver.
Continue reading What An Oil Spill Could Do To VancouverBy Roy L Hales
There are an average of 5 oil, or gas, incidents a week; more than 3 million gallons are spilled in the US spilled every year. The US has more oil spills than we thought and the number doubled after production increased six years ago.
(The numbers are worse in Canada, see the bottom of the page).
By Roy L Hales
Within hours of Vancouver’s second oil spill of the year, BC’s Minister of Environment announced the province will move ahead on plans for a World-leading spill response team.
Continue reading Vancouver’s Second Oil Spill of the Year
