Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!
OccupyForum presents
Environmental Justice for West Oakland: Stop Coal Trains
with Natalie Berns and others from Oakland Fossil Fuel Resistance
Fossil fuel industries are pushing hard to expand the export of oil and coal from Bay Area ports. Refineries are seeking new permits for terminals to import extremely dirty crude oil from Canadian tar sands and the Bakken fields in North Dakota. The crude oil will come here by train. Coal exporters want to bring coal here in mile-long trains with open-top cars running through densely populated Bay Area neighborhoods. Once processed, both the oil and coal will then be loaded onto ships in the Bay and sent out the Golden Gate.
More oil coming into the Bay Area by rail will increase the risk of accidents that could spill oil into San Francisco Bay and its watershed. More than a million gallons of crude oil was spilled in rail accidents in the US last year. Past oil spills in the Bay have been very harmful to the ecosystem, but trains bringing in crude oil aren’t covered by even the basic safety regulations that tanker ships must meet.
Coal shipped by rail also poses dangers. It is usually shipped in open cars that typically lose hundreds of pounds of coal as they travel, spreading highly toxic coal dust into surrounding areas. Moreover, parts of the Bay Area are at increased risk for flooding due to sea level rise caused by global climate change. Expanded refineries and oil and coal storage facilities could be flooded by rising Bay levels, causing even more pollution in the Bay. The coal and oil slated to be shipped here for export are also extremely dirty; when they are burned as fuel, it will worsen global warming.
Come to OccupyForum right before a number of important actions to get the background.
Time will be allotted for Q&A, discussion and announcements.
Donations to Occupy Forum to cover costs are encouraged; no one turned away!