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Cracking Down on Shell’s Cracker Plant
Thirty miles northwest of Pittsburgh in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, Royal Dutch Shell is preparing to build the largest petrochemical processing facility that our region has ever seen. Every day, Shell’s Ethane Cracker Plant will consume ethane from 88 million gallons of natural gas, much of it gained by hydraulic fracturing, and process it into ethylene, one of the major components of plastic products.
So far, the arrival of Shell and their plans to build this facility have been heralded as a savior for this low income area. The state, county, and municipal governments have rolled out the
What Philadelphia Can do to Reduce Our Risk from Oil Trains
Every year during the first weeks of July, thousands of people across North America participate in the Stop Oil Trains week of action to commemorate the 47 people who tragically lost their lives in Lac Megantic, Quebec when a runaway oil train derailed and exploded. This July 6 marks the third Anniversary of the disaster and reminds us all of the threat oil trains pose to our communities. Yet we don’t need to look that far back to be reminded.
Just last month, on June 3, a train carrying crude oil derailed in the majestic Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. Several cars caught fire and one
Michigan Budget Passes Legislature with Flint Supplemental
Earlier this month in a legislative session that went until the early hours of the morning, both chambers of the Michigan Legislature passed the budget for 2017. Included in the budget omnibus bill is $114.3 million in emergency supplemental funding for solutions to the Flint water crisis. As late as the week before, it looked like there was a good possibility that the Legislature would adjourn for summer recess without passing funding for Flint.
The State Senate passed $128 million in emergency funding for Flint with a 34-3 vote in early May. For weeks, the Senate bill languished in the House
Will State House Lawmakers Ever Stand Up for Flint?
It was a dark, cold January day, shortly after Michigan officials had finally admitted that the people of Flint had been exposed to poisoned water running through their taps. We drove from Lansing to St Michael’s Church in Flint for an organizing meeting. Local activists, people from the non-profit community, and even experts who had run door-to-door canvasses in response to Hurricane Sandy, were all there to do something about the water crisis that is still being ignored by our state government.
It is hard for me to write about what happened in Flint. The most important voices of this tragedy
Putting Drinking Water First - Back to Basics
Our approach to drinking water protection - “Putting Drinking Water First” - feels light years away from the crisis in Flint, with seemingly nothing to offer based on what we have learned about the causes of this situation.