Vol. 79/No. 26 July 27, 2015
More than 90 events took place across the U.S. and Canada as part of a “Stop Oil Trains Week of Action” July 6-12, marking the second anniversary of the disaster in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, when an unattended oil train exploded in the town, killing 47 people, incinerating the downtown area and contaminating land and water.
The actions were organized by a variety of environmentalist groups who raised a range of demands — from opposing the growing amount of volatile crude oil passing through major population centers by train each week to ending fracking in North Dakota and the extraction of oil from the Alberta tar sands to ending the use of fossil fuels entirely.
Events included marches in Lac-Mégantic (see article above); press conferences in Minneapolis and Milwaukee; the blockade of an oil train on the Columbia River in Portland, Oregon; a public hearing in Baltimore; and a vigil and rally in Richmond, Virginia.
The group ForestEthics has produced a map to show “blast zones” — the routes of oil trains in the U.S. and potential disaster impact areas.
Before the Baltimore hearing at City Hall July 8, 100 people held signs outside to mark the six times oil trains have crashed in North America this year.
“Exactly how much oil is moving though Maryland is not clear,” an article on the WYPR radio website said. “The state collects that info from railroads — but CSX and Norfolk Southern, the state’s biggest rail operators, sued to block the disclosure of that information.”
KINGSTON, N.Y. — Several dozen people took part in a vigil near the railroad tracks that run through the middle of town here July 9 in memory of the 47 people killed in the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster. They held signs that read, "RRers call them ’bomb trains,’" "2X a day, more coming our way," "Stop the Oil Trains" and "Stop the Pipelines." Trains bringing North Dakota crude to East Coast refineries run through the Hudson Valley. Oil is also transported by pipeline down the river valley and by barge and tanker on the river.
Following the vigil, around 100 people attended a public event at Kingston City Hall titled “Trains, Pipelines and Barges: Forum on Crude Oil Transport in the Hudson Valley.” Speakers from a number of environmental groups and some government officials spoke out against the dangers of the oil trains.
Wes Gillingham, a farmer and staff member of Catskill Mountainkeeper, noted the importance of Pope Francis’ Encyclical on the environment, “On Care for Our Common Home,” and read from it.
A spokesperson for CSX, the rail carrier that runs trains through the valley, told the Saugerties Times there is “a lot of misinformation” being circulated.
— Tony Lane
ST. PAUL, Minn. — About 30 supporters of Citizens Acting for Rail Safety held a press conference July 7. Speakers included elected officials, first responders and residents of the Minnesota “blast zones” — the areas near oil and ethanol train routes throughout the state that would be affected by derailments and explosions.
Seven oil trains run through the state every day, each with 100 cars, said Cathy Velasquez Eberhart, a CARS organizer. “We have a rolling pipeline by our house and we were never consulted,” she said. “Please join us in addressing this important safety issue.”
— Helen Meyers
RICHMOND, Calif. — “Having only one person on the crew was the direct cause of the accident at Lac-Mégantic,” said Brian Lewis, a retired railroader with 35 years experience and a member of Railroad Workers United, to a rally of more than 150 people July 11. Participants in the Stop Oil Trains event, marched past the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail yard here and rallied at Washington Park. The action was sponsored by a number of local environmental groups, including the Sun Flower Alliance, Sierra Club, 350 Bay Area and the Asian Pacific Environmental Alliance.
While many at the gathering called for the end of oil transport by rail, Lewis was well received when he explained that as a switchman he and other workers had routinely handled toxic chemicals, including potentially deadly chlorine gas needed to purify drinking water. Railroads could be part of the solution, not the problem, with a strengthening of the union fight for bigger crews and safer operating conditions.
— Jeff Powers