On June 3 an oil train derailed in the Columbia Gorge town of Mosier, 70 miles east of Portland. It could have been much worse. The typical Gorge wind could have been blowing but amazingly the air was still that afternoon. If there had been wind there would be no more Mosier. Still the derailment and 14 hour fire that erupted from 4 ruptured oil tankers sent a toxic black cloud into the air over Mosier, leaked oil into the Columbia River, and forced the evacuation of the Mosier Community school and 100 residents who live adjacent to the tracks. While it could have been much worse, this derailment realized the fears of many people throughout the Northwest who are trying to stop oil trains from running through their communities.
On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with Arlene Burns, the mayor of Mosier, and climate activist Bonnie McKinlay, who was arrested sitting on the tracks in Vancouver where oil trains pass every day. We discuss what we have learned from Mosier's near disaster and actions being planned to stop oil trains from endangering our communities.
Here are links to upcoming events this week to stop the oil trains:
Wednesday, July 6th: 47 Lives of Lac-Mégantic--We Remember
Thursday, July 7th: Beyond Fossil Fuel Exports: A Just Transition to a Clean & Equitable Economy
Friday, July 8th: Stand With The Quinault Indian Nation
- KBOO