Eric
A ray of hope for the Northwest: oil company Tesoro’s plans can be stopped. The company recently shelved its proposed Uinta Express Pipeline in Utah. Although executives cited “market conditions” as the driving factor, the project had also been staunchly opposed by residents and environmental groups.
Closer to home, Tesoro CEO Greg Goff called the permitting progress on its giant planned oil-by-rail facility “painfully slow” on a recent earnings conference call. (Don’t worry, Greg. It will get much slower.)
At The Tyee, Andrew Nikiforuk casts a critical eye at Alberta’s premier, Jim Prentice.
In Minnesota, state legislators are demanding that BNSF Railway, a major carrier of crude oil trains through that state, provide proof of catastrophic insurance coverage. That call should give you some sense about where we are in the this debate. Despite a string of fireballs, the public still does not know for sure how much insurance backs up the oil trains, and the industry won’t tell. They don’t have to.
Serena
What happened to America’s black farmers? If you missed this Grist article last month, be sure to check it out. It’s an important and telling piece of American agricultural history.
A few weeks ago, I cooed over some cockroaches outfitted with backpacks. This time, it’s rats that feel empathy, turning down chocolate (chocolate!) to help a drowning fellow rat, and helping that rat even if they’ve had a traumatizing water event themselves. Methinks these little guys may have more emotional capacity than many humans.
Alan
The mobile web keeps birthing new transportation options. This week, I learned about Bridj, a smart-phone jitney.
