We’ve discussed the current oil production boom and its effects on the environment numerous times in the last few months. The environmental hazards in getting the oil out of the ground are obvious to anybody with half a brain, to be blunt about it. We’ve also discussed the various problems with transporting the oil via […]
The new climate package furthers the US’ most profligate pastimes: drilling oil and driving big cars By Aaron White Published 8-2-2022 by openDemocracy Last week, Joe Manchin, the West Virginia senator whose decisive vote in the evenly split upper house has led some to brand him ‘President Manchin’, and Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer surprised […]
“I see us blocking the trains until we get paid.” By Julia Conley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 8-21-2019 As of Wednesday, coal miners in Cumberland, Kentucky are now 23 days into a train blockade that they say will go on until their former company pays them. The miners suddenly lost their jobs in the middle […]
Shawn Olson-Hazboun, Evergreen State College and Hilary Boudet, Oregon State University A year after Washington state denied key permits for a coal-export terminal in the port city of Longview, the Army Corps of Engineers announced it would proceed with its review – essentially ignoring the state’s decision. This dispute pits federal authorities against local and […]
Calvin Schermerhorn, Arizona State University Prisoners in 17 states and several Canadian provinces are on strike in protest of prison labor conditions. Their demonstrations are compelling Americans to understand that some everyday foods are produced behind bars, for cents on the hour, in a system many call “modern slavery.” Prisoners in the U.S. harvest and […]
Why does this matter? First because it makes no sense to sell off valuable assets in the middle of Europe’s worst depression in 70 years. By Nick Dearden. Published 8-21-2015 at openDemocracy. I’ve just had sight of the latest privatisation plan for Greece. It’s been issued by something called the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund – […]
On Saturday night, a Canadian National Railway (CN) train with 100 tank cars of crude oil derailed about 80 kilometers south of Timmins, Ontario. The derailment was on the CN mainline, in an area inaccessible by road. 29 cars jumped the track, and seven were still burning the following afternoon. An unknown amount of oil was […]
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF HUMAN RIGHTS Research Paper: ISIS-Turkey Links By David L. Phillips IntroductionIs Turkey collaborating with the Islamic State (ISIS)? Allegations range from military cooperation and weapons transfers to logistical support, financial assistance, and the provision of medical services. It is also alleged that Turkey […]
When I was a really young kid (late ’50s/early ’60s), one of the highlights of TV programming was the annual broadcast of The Wizard of Oz. The story of Dorothy and her companions following the yellow brick road never loses its charm; how they struggle through adversity and evil to see the Wizard, only to […]
Earlier this month, we ran a piece about the sharp increase in explosions, fires and other accidents involving trains carrying oil, and how we’ve seen more oil spilled in rail accidents in the last year than in the previous 35 years combined. This has led to the federal government requiring that railroads carrying more than […]