In testimony to clear the path for a new rail terminal in Vancouver, Washington, that would handle roughly 360,000 barrels a day, industry witnesses want to make one thing perfectly clear: Oil spills are good for you. Nothing will boost a local economy like a massive cleanup effort.
[A]ccording to witnesses that testified before the EFSEC on behalf of Vancouver Energy — the joint venture between Tesoro Corp. and Savage Cos. and the entity behind the Tesoro-Savage terminal proposal — oil spills might not actually be that bad for the environment.
“The Draft Environmental Impact Statement identifies many economic impacts arising from an accident associated with Project operations, but fails to recognize economic activity that would be generated by spill response,” Todd Schatzki, vice president of Analysis Group — a consulting group that released an economic report on the terminal commissioned by Tesoro Savage — wrote in pre-filed testimony.
But what of wildlife? They're the true winners in all this.
Gregory Challenger] also brought up the Athos 1 oil spill, which sent 264,000 gallons of crude oil into the Delaware River in 2004. The spill, Challenger said, took place during duck hunting season, and forced an early closure for recreational hunting in the area.
"There were an estimate of 3,000 birds affected by the oil, and 13,000 birds not shot by hunters not shot by hunters, because of the closed season," he said. "We don’t get any credit for that, but it’s hard to deny that it’s good for birds to not be shot."
Sleep tight, all you fish and birdies out there. America’s fossil fuel companies will protect you from harm.
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At Daily Kos on this date in 2012—California's 'special exemptions' act: The biggest threat you haven't heard of:
November 2012 will be a cataclysmic showdown between the forces of democracy and the forces of unlimited wealth. If we lose this, the plutocrats will be in charge and will be able to write their own rules to further the interests of Wall Street and the one percent. If we lose this fight, anti-democratic legislation will continue to sweep across the nation, overwhelming the grassroots support and small-dollar contributions of those who dare to fight against overwhelming odds.
And I'm not talking about the reelection campaign of Barack Obama. No, this battle to the death between moneyed interests and working people will play out in California in the form of Proposition 32. This measure, proponents say, would ban both corporate and union contributions for most political purposes and make citizens reign supreme. But progressives here have taken to calling it the "special exemptions act."
On today’s Kagro in the Morning show: Working under yet another cloud, this time in Nice, we borrow heavily from the APR to get grounded. Pence & convention rollout disasters continue. More on the secret history of guns. And an important reminder about those Ailes accusers.
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