People Before Profit blog

The top ten environmental stories of 2014

Thu, 18 Dec 2014 14:14:00 +0000

The year 2014 was eventful for the changing human relationship with the environment. Mass marches, international negotiations, further confirmation of climate science, local and national and international struggles, more extreme weather, more disastrous impacts on the earth - from spills to air pollution to drought to continuing nuclear contamination from the Fukushima nuclear meltdown of 2011 - all forced their way into our consciousness, into our public debate, into our growing awareness that many aspects of human production must change.

All the major systems of the earth are too complex, too varied, too interrelated, for any short list to summarize. All aspects of the nature upon which humanity depends for air, water, food, and sustainable life are under attack.

All these systems are linked together, and each impacts the other. Tar sands mining in Alberta creates water pollution and the siphoning of fresh water for industrial use. Shipping those tar sands by pipeline or train causes spills, leaks, and explosions. Shipping them to the Gulf Coast to be refined creates chemical hazards and air pollution, which impacts the African American and other communities of color which exist near the refineries.

Another example: too much plastic waste ends up in the oceans, where it interacts with the increased ocean acidity and agricultural runoff to create ever-larger dead zones, which exacerbates the already existing problems of fishery collapse due to over-fishing. Fishery collapse intensifies the problems feeding our growing population, More hungry people result in more health problems including increased infant mortality. And so on.

These links tell us that we must approach solutions in a global way, addressing the points of connection of many problems.

The growing knowledge of humanity has been spurred on by many developments in 2014. Here is a list of the top ten areas, in my opinion:

One: The climate change movement comes of age

The street heat provided by climate change demonstrations graduated to a new level in 2014. The People's Climate March in NYC in September, plus a large number of solidarity actions across the globe from London to New Delhi, put over 600,000 people into the streets, applied pressure to the UN-sponsored climate change process, provided the impetus for actions by cities and states, and became a major factor in building public consciousness of the serious nature of the challenges faced by humanity from global warming.

A new level was reached also in linking the many environmental movements and issues, from fights against fracking in local areas and in states, to opposition to coal and fracked oil trains, to legal efforts to make oil and gas companies pay for their leaks, spills, and water contamination.

Moreover, with this new maturity and scope, the environmental movement faces new challenges, and must learn from the lessons of past struggles how to build the broad unity necessary to effect fundamental change.

Two: The divestment movement picks up steam

The movement to divest funds from fossil fuel companies grew from a few campuses and cities to threaten the public image and future plans of the fossil fuel corporations, the biggest and thus far most profitable companies in the history of the world. Some investment professionals are now supporting the argument that the stock valuations of these companies, based on "proven reserves," are vastly inflated because much of those reserves must stay in the ground.

Many universities and colleges have already divested their funds, and some churches and cities are planning to do the same, and thus far, the threatened financial costs have not appeared. On other campuses, the struggle continues even as regents and financial officers resist the pressure, as is happening at Harvard.

This movement will get another burst next year from Global Divestment Day, Feb. 13-14.

Three: International negotiations continue, with more hope

The surprise signing of a U.S.-China climate change agreement has stepped up efforts to negotiate a new international agreement, slated to be signed at the COP20 UN Conference in Paris in November 2015. The negotiations in Lima, Peru in November 2014, while limited, also help set the stage for commitments to deeper cuts in carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. Many nations are expected to make new promises and make new bilateral agreements in the lead up to Paris.

Four: The latest IPCC report (along with other studies) confirms the reality of climate change

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body tasked with presenting a sober and scientifically-based evaluation of global warming, continues to up the level of certainty about the reality of climate change, about the severity of the threats to humanity, and about the cause being human activity.

In several fields, other studies are confirming that the ice sheets in the Arctic and Antarctica have begun an irreversible process of melting; that other environmental problems are linked to climate change, such as extreme weather, drought, floods, diminished agricultural yields, forest fires, and lightning strikes, as well as species extinction, and much more. This year is on track to be the warmest year yet.

The denialists are having to work harder to confuse, delay, and convince millions of people to ignore the reality of climate change.

Five: World's oceans are impacted

Changes in the world's ocean's are affected by global warming, and in turn are escalating global warming. Ocean acidification is increasing, confirmed by many new studies. As well, the health of the oceans is threatened by over-fishing, by massive accumulations of plastic, and by the pesticide runoff from agriculture turning large areas into dead zones. Coral reefs, among the most biologically diverse and important resources, continue to die at increasing rates.

Six: The California drought

The drought in almost all of California is now of many years' standing. It covers much of the most productive agricultural land of the U.S. and is resulting in increasing food costs around the country. This is just the latest over the past few years in a series of massive multi-year droughts, such as in the U.S. Southwest, Australia, and Ukraine, and is linked to climate change.

Seven: Republican denials and attacks are escalating

Mitch McConnell has announced that a bill to pass the Keystone XL pipeline will be the first one he will take up as he takes over control of the Senate in January 2015, in spite of massive public pressure in opposition to the pipeline, and to oppose many other measures to find solutions to climate and environmental problems.

Republicans have pledged to authorize the pipeline, to stop the EPA from enforcing new rules regulating carbon pollution and other regulations opposed by industry, to eliminate the Endangered Species Act, to enable their funders in the fossil fuel industries, to drill more, to be protected from paying for spills, leaks, and other contamination of drinking water, and to oppose the new efforts being made by the Obama administration such as the U.S.-China deal, pledges of U.S. funds to the Green Development Fund, and new areas being placed into National Parks and off-limits to oil and gas companies. Weirdest of all, climate change denier James Inhofe is slated to head up the Senate Environment Committee.

Eight: The environmental movement debates capitalism

With the publication in September of the new book by Naomi Klein, "This Changes Everything," the debate within the environmental movement about capitalism has escalated, focusing on the opposition of the major corporations of the world to the kinds of major changes needed, to actions taken by governments to address climate change, and to any restrictions on their power to control government policy.

Similarly, the Communist Party USA stepped up its work on climate change with a panel at its 30th National Convention (the first ten minutes is a singer performing, then the panel), with a contingent in the People's Climate March, and with continuing efforts to build bridges between the environmental movement and the labor movement and other people's movements.

Nine: Green energy takes off

While capitalism is a major part of the environmental problems faced by humanity, and a major obstacle to finding solutions, the world can't wait for socialism to begin to transform our energy sources. Major progress has been made by some countries in shifting to renewable energy, such as Germany. Some developing countries are also starting to transform their own energy production, such as China becoming the world leader in producing wind turbines and using economies of scale to reduce the costs associated with solar energy panels.

In the U.S., new renewable energy capacity has more than doubled over the past year, with major new installations of both wind and solar. Renewables around the world are growing rapidly. The call for new green energy jobs is uniting the labor and environmental movement.

Ten: There is more to come

Developments in 2014 make clear that the impacts of climate change are going to continue to grow, the struggle to address climate change - in the streets and in the negotiating rooms - are only going to intensify, and that climate change and other environmental challenges are going to become an ever-larger part of political campaigns. These issues are not going to go away, not least because even though Republican obstructionism is increasing, so too is the demand from the public to take serious action.

Eleven (okay, I know I'm cheating):

Lastly, the People's World has increased its coverage of environmental challenges, climate change struggles, climate justice struggles, and of the strategy necessary to build a movement of billions around the world to save humanity and transform agriculture, industrial production, transportation, and energy production.

Follow our continuing coverage of environmental issues in 2015. Write articles for the PW on local environmental struggles in your city or town. Sign up for our environmental e-blast compilations of environmental articles (email Blake Deppe [blakedeppe@gmail.com]). Join the CPUSA Environmental Action Facebook page.

And continue to work to save an earth on which humanity can thrive.

Photo: People's Climate March. Craig Ruttle/AP

Push at California climate confab to include workers in leadership

Wed, 17 Dec 2014 15:20:00 +0000

OAKLAND, Calif. - As leaders in the state's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions gathered here Dec. 15 for the California Climate Leadership Forum, a theme running through the proceedings was the urgent need to make sure workers, working-class communities and people of color participate fully in planning and decision-making, and share fully in the benefits.

Participating were state and local elected officials and leaders of labor, faith, consumer, health, green business and environmental organizations. The gathering was organized by NextGen Climate, the political advocacy group led by billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer.

Discussion focused on two laws at the heart of California's environmental program. One, the state's landmark cap-and-trade law, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) introduced by state Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, is now being fully implemented despite continuing attacks from oil and other corporate interests. The more recent SB 535, introduced by state Senator and now Senate president pro tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, requires that a quarter of revenue from corporate purchases of extra credits under cap-and-trade benefit disadvantaged communities that suffer the most from air and other pollution.

In his keynote to the conference, de León noted that green jobs are growing at a faster rate than any other industry in the state, with "advanced energy" jobs now numbering nearly 430,000 - a five percent increase over the previous year.

"It's about creating jobs that are very real and tangible, that are labor intensive, that have to be done onsite," he said. "You can't outsource these jobs and off-shore them."

Speaking during a panel on Benefits of Climate Leadership for California's People and Communities, Pastor Bryson White, a Fresno-area organizer with faith-based PICO (People Improving Communities through Organizing), pointed to the 20-year difference in life expectancies between residents of southwest Fresno - home mostly to people of color - and northeast Fresno, inhabited largely by "affluent whites."

It's essential to understand how racism affects public policy in California and around the country, he said, and to connect the fight around climate change to people's lived experiences.

"In West Fresno the fight continues, to create equity around environmental justice," White said. "In fact, one of our city council members, in response to the critique about how all these factories and other things are in West Fresno, said, 'Well, that's what it's zoned for.' This is a white male speaking about a community that's black and Latino."

Vien Truong, environmental equity director at the Greenlining Institute, cited studies showing communities of color "care overwhelmingly about climate change, because we have seen it in our communities and families, our hospital and utility bills, and in the lack of jobs. But we want the movement to reflect us as well. We have not crossed the barrier about how to communicate, and how to develop solutions that are real and meaningful."

She defined real collaboration as bringing the most affected people into the discussion, asking them how their communities are affected, and creating a strategy together.

With people of color making up 61 percent of the state's population, and 75 percent of those under 18, Vien Truong said, "to really change the game and win in the legislature, we need to appeal to the people on the ground, and when we do that, we win."

As examples, she cited SB 535, and SB 1275, the Charge Ahead California Initiative just signed by Governor Jerry Brown to put one million electric vehicles on California's roads in the next decade, fund rebates so lower income communities can purchase them, and expand funding for forms of public transportation.

California Labor Federation head Art Pulaski called on the state to provide training programs to create new occupational jobs for the future, not just short-term skills.

"We cannot let the new green economy be a low-wage economy," Pulaski said, "because a sustainable environment needs a sustainable economy. We need to engage green jobs companies early on, to assure that those jobs are good paying jobs."

In an earlier panel, Assemblyman Tony Thurmond, D-Richmond, told the audience, "We've got to include true economic development opportunities for all people in our communities, and in communities that have high poverty and unemployment and serve people of color."

In other developments at the conference, de León said he will introduce legislation next year requiring California's public pension funds to divest from the coal industry.

Gov. Brown warned that "very powerful people" will continue their strong opposition to California's continuing leadership on environmental issues, and cautioned the audience to be consistent in a long-term struggle across many issues.

Among other participants were Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego; state Sen. Pavley; California Air Resources Board chair Mary Nichols; and Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog.

Photo: Assemblyman Tony Thurmond (center) and Calif. Air Resources Board chair Mary Nichols (right) listen as state Sen. Fran Pavley addresses the audience. | Marilyn Bechtel/PW

Obama withdraws Alaska's Bristol Bay from drilling

Wed, 17 Dec 2014 11:27:00 +0000

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - President Obama announced Tuesday that he's removing more than 52,000 square miles of waters off Alaska's coast from consideration for oil and gas exploration or drilling.

The president said in a video announcement that Bristol Bay and nearby waters, covering an area roughly the size of Florida, would be withdrawn from consideration for petroleum leases. He called Bristol Bay one of the country's great natural resources and a massive economic engine.

"It's something that's too precious for us to be putting out to the highest bidder," Obama said.

Bristol Bay has supported Native Americans in the Alaska region for centuries, he said.

"It supports about $2 billion in the commercial fishing industry," Obama said. "It supplies America with 40 percent of its wild-caught seafood."

The bay is north of the Alaska Peninsula, which juts out west from mainland Alaska at the start of the Aleutian Islands chain.

Petroleum leases sold there in the mid-1980s were bought back in 1995 at taxpayer expense for $95 million after the Exxon Valdez spill, said Marilyn Heiman, U.S. Arctic director for Pew Charitable Trusts. Fisheries around the world are in decline, but Bristol Bay's well-managed fisheries are some of the most productive in the world and worthy of protection, she said.

"This is one of the most important ocean protection decisions this president or any president has ever made," Heiman said. (story continues after video)

Gov. Bill Walker said the waters of Bristol Bay feed world-premier fisheries.

"I look forward to working cooperatively, in Alaska's clear interest, with the federal government to safely and economically develop regions of our state and offshore waters for oil and gas," Walker said in a statement. "Bristol Bay, however, is not that place."

Robin Samuelson, chairman of Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp. and a lifelong resident of Dillingham at the head of the bay, said protection for the fishery has been a 25-year battle. The bay supports the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world, and the waters are nursing grounds for halibut and crab.

"I'm tickled pink," Samuelson said. "The president recognized our great fisheries out here and how important they are to the people of Bristol Bay and the nation."

Obama and former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced in March 2010 that a planned 2011 lease sale in what the Interior Department refers to as the North Aleutian Basin would be canceled. Salazar cited a lack of infrastructure and the bay's valuable natural resources.

The temporary withdrawal was set to expire in 2017. Obama's decision Tuesday under authority of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953 withdraws the area permanently.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she's not objecting to the president's decision at this time, given the industry's lack of interest in the area and a public divide over allowing oil and gas exploration there.

"I think we all recognize that these are some of our state's richest fishing waters," she said. "What I do not understand is why this decision could not be made within the context of the administration's upcoming plan for offshore leasing - or at least announced at the same time."

According to the White House, Republican President Dwight Eisenhower was the first to use presidential authority to withdraw acreage from offshore drilling consideration. Eisenhower in 1960 withdrew an area now included in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and presidents from both parties have withdrawn other areas.

Photo: A humpback whale with shearwater birds in Bristol Bay. Whitehouse.gov

Game goes into overtime during Lima climate talks

Mon, 15 Dec 2014 17:25:00 +0000

The climate change negotiations in Lima, Peru, went into overtime, with extended session that lasted two days beyond the scheduled adjournment. The entire world is also in overtime, running down the clock before so much carbon pollution and other greenhouse gas emissions are dumped into the atmosphere that it will no longer be possible to avoid climate tipping points that will result in runaway global warming.

One hundred ninety-six nations signed the agreement setting various deadlines, first for nations to submit their own plans for limiting and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, then for the UN to study them to conclude whether or not those plans will be sufficient to keep global warming below the international goal of no more than 2 degree Centigrade. This is all in preparation for the next round of UN-sponsored negotiations in Paris in November 2015. The aim of that meeting will be to agree to an international and binding agreement. While breaking no new ground, US Secretary of State john Kerry did offer, in his speech to the conference, a call for action.

There hasn't been such an agreement since the expiration of the Kyoto accords in 2012. Many meetings since have failed to reach enough consensus on a new treaty, but last month, the agreement between China and the United States, signed for the U.S. by President Obama, provided new hope for the possibility of an international treaty.

In spite of the fact that all the participants agreed to sign the final document in Lima, there are still very sharp disagreements between developed, developing, and small island nations. The developing and poor nations point out that the developed nations are responsible for most of the carbon pollution that has accumulated in the atmosphere, and therefore should commit to the deepest and sharpest reductions. The developed nations point out that right now, the developing nations are experiencing the fastest growth in both industrial development and greenhouse gas emissions, and so must agree to mandatory limits and reductions.

And many small island nations in the Pacific which are in danger of disappearing below the rising ocean levels, and already face serious intrusion of salt water into their water supplies, call for much deeper cuts, for much more financial and technical assistance from the developed world. In Lima, a coalition of such nations proposed a goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050.

As well, the negotiations only address some aspects of climate change. Countries are beginning to jostle over the rights to oil and gas below the newly exposed sections of the Artic Sea, laying claim to vast swaths of previously too remote and too difficult to drill fossil fuel deposits. Since the Artic is experiencing temperature increases much greater than most parts of the world, it is also the site of the greatest melting of ice sheets, the disappearance of wildlife habitat including that of the polar bears, and the eagerness of some countries and corporations to despoil the natural resources that now may be reached due to the melting. It also doesn't address the danger of the frozen tundra across much of the Artic passing a tipping point, with tundra melting and releasing billions of tins of carbon dioxide and methane that has been frozen for thousands of years.

Critics point out that the limits of an international agreement don't address every climate issue, and that even if a serious international agreement is reached that will not be enough to stop the effects of global warming already happening. Prominent critics note that the "differentiated responsibility" aspects of the draft agreement have been watered down, and that many aspects of climate injustice are ignored.

While these negotiations leading up to the Paris COP20 negotiations are proceeding, already some nations in addition to China and the U.S. are announcing their own targets early, and many local efforts to make a difference are beginning to have an impact.

As well, some nations announced pledges of serious money to the Green Climate Fund, which has now reached its goal of $10 billion. While this is nowhere near enough to help small and poor nations mitigate the dangers they face from global warming, it has begun to reach a level to enable real help for some efforts at mitigating the problems already in the climate pipeline.

The climate negotiations are taking place at a time when the global climate movements are stepping up their grassroots activity. The NYC People's Climate March of 400,000, accompanied by solidarity marches and demonstrations of several hundred thousand more activists around the globe, has added much needed street heat to amp up public pressure on the negotiations. In Lima, thousands marched during the meeting.

Many more tens of thousands will demonstrate in Paris in November. Additionally, on February 13-14, 350.org and many other groups are sponsoring a Global Divestment Day, putting pressure on pension funds, public funds, and investors to divest from fossil fuel companies. They offer reasons to join in this protest and reports of activity already going on at many campuses, in many churches, and in some important municipalities.

2014 is on track to be the warmest year yet. As the negotiations kick into higher gear, as the people's movements take to the streets in ever-greater numbers, the science and economics of climate change are becoming ever clearer.

A new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research concludes that if global warming continues, it will cost the U.S. economy tens of billions of dollars per year. The World Bank has warned that extreme weather and temperatures will become the "new normal." The U.S. is facing more and varied impacts.

The years-long drought in California has been linked to climate change. Ocean scientists warn that climate change is increasingly impacting the oceans, the fisheries, sea levels, and water resources. The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report declared that climate change is "severe, widespread, and irreversible."

In January, when Republicans take over control of the U.S. Senate, they have already pledged to make EPA regulation of carbon emissions and the Keystone XL pipeline, in spite of the recent Senate rejection a high priority in spite of massive public opposition. Climate change denier Senator Inhofe slated to take the chairmanship of the Senate Environment Committee. So climate change and other environmental issues are guaranteed to play an ever more important role in domestic politics, as President Obama remains committed to continue to make new policy and place a high priority on climate change action.

Photo: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and President Ollanta Humala of Peru, joined by their respective advisers, sit across from each other at the outset of a bilateral meeting in the Presidential Palace in Lima, Peru, on Dec. 11, 2014, and after the secretary addressed the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. (State Department photo/ Public Domain)

Activists protest oil drilling in Canary Islands

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 16:42:00 +0000

About 200 people, including tourists, assembled on Nov. 30 in the form of a giant 'SOS' on a beach in Spain's Canary Island of Fuerteventura. Politically part of Spain, the Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic located just off the southwest coast of mainland Morocco. The action was an organized protest against the activities of company Repsol, which began drilling for oil in the archipelago on Nov. 18. The demonstration took place at the resort of Corralejo on the north coast of Fuerteventura, just 30 miles away from a site where Repsol is conducting a search for oil.

Repsol, a Spanish transnational corporation, has a history as dirty as the oil it handles. Though it does not share the notorious repute of capitalist monstrosities like BP or Shell, activists have accused the company of numerous human rights violations, negative social and cultural impacts on indigenous people, pollution of water, tax fraud, and responsibility for loss of biodiversity and deforestation in Argentina, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Repsol currently has operations in 14 Latin American countries. The corporation is also involved in the production of agrofuels, especially palm oil, which is a large contributor to rainforest depletion.

Canary Islanders have begun to stand up against Repsol's attempts to take its dirty business to their area. "We wanted to reach the prospecting zone and declare there our deep rejection of oil prospecting in the Canaries," said demonstrator Ezequiel Navio. "The Canaries have four national parks, 45 percent of its territory has some level of environmental protection, and it is an image that has taken three decades to build. Now it seems like none of it matters."

Some protesters joined the action on water - in sailboats, fishing boats, kayaks, and inflatable dinghies. Also present were notable environmental groups, including Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund. The local government has also campaigned against Repsol's efforts, noting that a spill in the area would harm or endanger protected species, coral reefs, tourism, and fisheries.

"They don't respect us," said Claudia Morales, mayor of La Oliva, which is responsible for Coralejo. "We have demonstrated before all institutions in the Canaries, and in town halls and universities. We don't want oil prospecting. We feel there is no respect for the decisions of the people of the Canaries."

Spain imports nearly 80 percent of its energy, mostly fossil fuels, and many people of the Canary Islands maintain that they can no longer continue to delve into harmful oil exploration, especially when they have natural resources which have not yet been tapped. The islands have plentiful sun and wind, and many locals, including demonstrators, said they would rather see investment in renewable energy. They point to El Hierro as a powerful example, as that island claims to be the first in the world to have obtained 100 percent of its electric supply from renewable sources, thanks to the establishment of a large wind farm there.

"Our wealth is in our climate, our sky, our sea, and the archipelago's extraordinary biodiversity and landscape," said Canary Islands president Paulino Rivero. "Its value is that it's natural and this is what attracts tourism. Oil is incompatible with tourism and a sustainable economy." Noting a division between their government's pro-oil stance and that opinion of the people, he added, "You have to listen to the people. There's a serious discrepancy between what people here want and what the Spanish government wants. The problem we have is that some government departments have too close a relationship with Repsol."

Photo: A protester holds a sign reading, 'Canarians, one voice: No prospecting.' Phys.org

Deaths at Texas DuPont plant cry for better safety regulations

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 13:44:00 +0000

HOUSTON - This month marks the 30^th anniversary of history's worst industrial accident. Thousands of people were killed by leaking methyl isocyanate at a Union Carbide plant (later bought by Dow Chemical) in Bhopal, India. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), an independent federal agency charged with investigating chemical accidents, has a video commemorating the event on their website. The CSB stated in the video that 3,800 people were killed in the catastrophic incident and according to the Indian government, resulted in over half a million serious and disabling injuries. According to Indian government estimates, lingering effects of the hazardous chemical release pushed the death toll to about 15,000 over the next few years. The CSB discusses how much more must be done to prevent similar accidents from occurring.

What is the current status of personal and process safety in the chemical industry? Recent events in Texas paint a discouraging picture.

In November, four workers died and one was injured at a chemical plant in La Porte, Texas after the release of a hazardous chemical. The Harris County Medical Examiner reported that two brothers, Robert and Gilbert Tisnado, died in the incident, along with Wade Baker and Crystle Wise.

The incident occurred at the Sabine River Works DuPont La Porte Plant on Nov. 15 at 4 a.m., when methyl mercaptan, a highly regulated hazardous chemical, was released from a failed valve inside an operations building. The gas release went past the fence line into adjacent communities and residents complained about the smell. The smell was reported in towns several miles away from the plant. As usually happens in these incidents, emergency response actions were inadequate.

Houston's ABC 13 News reported that "emergency management officials say that it's already clear that the response to the leak was inadequate and slow, especially given the scope of the disaster. The site had been plagued with recurring maintenance problems, and workers lacked adequate access to breathing equipment that would have given them a better chance to survive."

Despite its common use, this chemical has the highest National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) hazard rating of 4 for health and fire. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sets a personnel exposure limit of 0.5 ppm (parts per million) time weighted average and NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) recommends a ceiling of 0.5 ppm for maximum of 15 minutes. Short term exposure can cause coma or suffocation from asphyxiation. Methyl mercaptan has an LC50 rating of 675 ppm, meaning that it is lethal to 50 percent of rats at a concentration of 675 ppm. The chemical was stored as a liquid but quickly becomes a gas upon release. The DuPont incident site stores as much as 250 tons of methyl mercaptan. The stored quantity of this extremely hazardous material could have posed a more serious problem to the workers at the site and the community.

The New York Times reports that another chemical produced at the facility is methyl isocyanate, the same chemical released at the Bhopal site that killed thousands of people in 1984. Methyl isocyanate was not involved, this time, in the hazardous release incident.

OSHA and the U. S. Chemical Safety Board launched an investigation into the incident.

What's the matter with DuPont?

DuPont is recognized as a leader in the chemical industry when it comes to industrial safety. When fatalities occur in such a highly regarded company, questions arise about the current state of process safety. Process safety is a blend of engineering and management skills focused on preventing catastrophic accidents, particularly explosions, fires and toxic releases associated with the use of chemicals and petroleum products.

DuPont is not a small or inexperienced company. DuPont was founded in 1802 as a gunpowder mill by E. I. du Pont and later on went on to manufacturer dynamite. DuPont is a multinational corporation and one of the largest chemical companies in the world. At one time, DuPont, through Christiana Securities, was the major stockholder with controlling interest in General Motors. This controlling interest allowed it to monopolize GM's paint and fabric business.

The U. S. Chemical Safety Board has previously investigated four accidents at DuPont facilities; a 2010 phosgene release at the DuPont Plant in Belle West Virginia resulting in one fatality and that same year a hot work accident at the DuPont facility outside of Buffalo, NY, fatally injured one worker. The plant had previously been cited by the Environmental Protection Agency for environmental violations.

Texas continues to experience a large number of fatalities, chemical releases, fires and explosions. EHS Today reports that nearly 5,000 workers die each year as a result of fatal occupational injuries in Texas. These preventable deaths devastate families and workplaces.

The incident in La Porte is the latest in a deadly string of incidents in the petrochemical hub of Texas's coast region and is the worst such loss of life in an industrial accident since 2005. That year, a British Petroleum (BP) refinery explosion killed 15 workers in Texas City. The Texas City Refinery is the third largest refinery in the U.S. and is located at the world's biggest petrochemical complex. An investigation by People's World, after the 2005 explosion, confirmed that safety procedures and practices had deteriorated after OSHA and the U.S. Chemical Board inspectors left the refinery and after the facility was sold by British Petroleum to Marathon Oil.

In April 2005, OSHA cited the BP Texas City refinery and listed the BP Texas City refinery as a subject facility under its Enhanced Enforcement Program for Employers Who Are Indifferent to Their Obligations Under the OSH Act.

On the same incident, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board stated in their recommendations: "The Board believes that the foregoing circumstances and preliminary findings raise serious concerns about (a) the effectiveness of the safety management system at the BP Texas City refinery; (b) the effectiveness of BP North America's corporate safety oversight of its refining facilities; (c) a corporate safety culture that may have tolerated serious and longstanding deviations from good safety practice

Poor safety - Texas style

According to a recent Dallas Morning News investigative report, "Houston has the worst record in Texas and Texas has the worst record in the nation when it comes to workplace fatalities or catastrophes."

Texas is but one of 25 states that have no safety inspection agency. The state omission further burdens OSHA, impacted like many federal agencies, by repeated governmental shutdowns and cutbacks. The results in this shortfall can be seen in the 2013 ammonium nitrate explosion at a fertilizer plant in West Texas that killed 15, injured 150 and destroyed part of the town. The West Fertilizer plant in West Texas had not been inspected in 28 years. Ammonium nitrate was the chemical explosive used by right-wing extremist to demolish the federal building in Oklahoma City.

In response to this incident, President Obama issued Executive Order 13650 on August 1, 2013, directing federal agencies to modernize and improve chemical facility safety.

Other notable industrial incidents in the Houston ship channel area include 23 fatalities and 130 injuries at a Phillips Petroleum explosion in 1989 in Pasadena TX. In 1990, 17 died and 5 were hurt at the Atlantic Richfield chemical plant near the Houston Ship channel.

Fatal industrial incidents will continue to occur unless occupational and process safety regulations are made more effective. Despite recurring incidents, corporations and Republican and some Democratic Party elected officials continue to call for less regulation and resources.

"Let free enterprise reign, and be wary of overregulation," Texas Governor Perry declared in a 2009 speech at the Central Texas Construction Expo. "All that regulation adds to your overhead and you can't operate at a profit."

Safety does not equal profits

OSHA does not have the resources to effectively enforce its current process safety regulations. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board only issues recommendations because it lacks citation and fines authority. Because corporate management is not criminally charged for failure to comply with safety regulations, there is little incentive to slow their drive for added profits, while increasing process safety risk. Corporations like DuPont and BP are increasing profits by cutting personnel, cutting operating budgets, cutting maintenance costs, cutting design costs, outsourcing work and lobbying for less government regulation. Corporate management mandates cost cutting and fails to take responsibility for the negative process safety impact. Corporate management budget pressures force lower level management to take on additional risks.

Process safety begins with enforcement of generally accepted good engineering practices in the design, training, operation, maintenance and inspection of process equipment. The OSHA Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals program is performance based. Recent hazardous chemical releases and explosions have demonstrated that the industry's process safety performance is lacking. Many federal investigations have pointed out systemic deficiencies. While the DuPont investigation will likely point to individual plant workers failure to follow some written procedure, high level management decisions will probably not receive the same level of scrutiny. Good safety investigations use root cause failure analysis to arrive at system causes and solutions. Workers get killed when systems fail and these failures start with corporate management. Some necessary steps must include federal legislation and/or Presidential Executive orders to empower workers and worker committees to shut down unsafe operations and mandate frequent federal inspections of each site, with fines assessed according to corporate profits gained from cost cutting and deferred remediation. One practical and immediate response is to install and monitor hazardous chemical sensors just outside petrochemical facilities to ensure exposure compliance and assist in a rapid response program for residents near the facilities.

An intrinsic conflict of interest exists between private interests (corporate profits) and the public interest. Only a strong public involvement in the form of effective government regulations and strict enforcement will help to turn the tide on process safety and work related injuries. Given that lives are at stake, Americans should not wait for another Bhopal catastrophe to take more effective action to prevent industrial safety deaths and injuries.

Photo: This undated image shows signage at the DuPont Facility in La Porte, Texas. Four workers were killed and one was injured Nov. 15, during a hazardous chemical leak at the suburban Houston plant. (AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Marie D. De Jesus)

Blue-Green Alliance calls for planet-wide move to clean energy

Fri, 05 Dec 2014 12:46:00 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 5, 2014) - The BlueGreen Alliance today said that some of North America's largest environmental and labor organizations are calling for United Nations (UN) negotiators at this week's 20th Conference of the Parties (COP 20) in Lima, Peru to push for a smart, world-wide transition to clean and renewable energy at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

"We must act now to address global climate change and promote the creation and maintenance of good jobs in the clean energy economy," said United Steelworkers (USW) International President Leo W. Gerard, who co-chairs the BlueGreen Alliance. "The economic and ecological welfare of the planet cannot wait."

"From the landmark deal between the U.S. and China to slash emissions to the sizable contributions committed to the Green Climate fund, momentum toward significant international action to tackle the climate crisis is quickly growing. The negotiations in Lima give us the chance to build on those successes by setting the table for progress in Paris that will expand the clean energy economy at home while protecting our communities from the worst consequences of climate disruption," said Michael Brune, Sierra Club executive director and co-chair of the BlueGreen Alliance.

In a letter sent today, the groups asked for President Obama to continue his leadership on addressing climate change and to take advantage of the opportunities presented to us in moving to a cleaner economy. Specifically, they urged national and global collaboration to develop and share best practices for a just transition for all workers. This includes financial support, social and worker protection policies and job impact data, all of which must be part of a comprehensive program for building opportunities and equity around the world.

"Climate change is an issue that affects working families no matter where they live. We hope the agreements to come out of Lima result in real, enforceable action," said Communications Workers of America president Larry Cohen.

"Strong commitments to curtail carbon pollution are a necessary, critical step forward in the fight against climate change. We are hopeful leaders can collectively agree on ambitious measures," said Frances Beinecke, president of NRDC.

The COP 20 in Lima, Peru is expected to set the framework of a larger climate agreement prior to the Paris climate negotiations next year.

"Thousands of working people who joined the largest climate change protest in history set the stage for world leaders to seize momentum toward making progress in Lima. The landmark agreement between the US and China also paved the way for leaders in Lima to embark toward climate action that we can all get behind," said Mary Kay Henry, president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

"Regardless of national boundaries, we all have a stake in protecting the environment and investing in our own economic competitiveness. We look forward to finding new ways for working families to reap the benefits of these investments," said William P. Hite, general president of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA).

"As millions of people around the world experience the realities of climate change firsthand-on the safety, health, and livelihoods of their families and communities- their call for climate action will only continue to grow. We're hopeful the result of the COP 20 will be that countries, which to this point have stood on the sidelines, will step up, engage in a productive dialogue about the future we're facing, and pave the way for meaningful commitments to reduce emissions," said Dr. Kathleen Rest, executive director of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"We hope future generations can benefit from a more level playing field, a more sustainable environment and stronger economy. The decisions we make today can set an example of what we're capable of when we work together," said American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten.

"There's always more that needs to be done to invest in a strong, clean energy economy and to protect good, middle class jobs, and we hope to see strong commitments to meet these needs and priorities of workers," said D. Michael Langford, national president of the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA).

In June, BlueGreen Alliance members showed their support for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposed action to regulate carbon pollution. They also urged the administration to consider how working families have already been affected by America's energy transition, and how they will be impacted in the future as this rule is finalized and implemented.

"It's vital that the U.S. engage other nations and lead the way to reducing the carbon pollution driving climate change. We're excited for the opportunities the COP 20 provides to move us toward an international agreement that will create resilient and sustainable solutions to the problems facing our environment and wildlife," said Collin O'Mara, president and chief executive officer of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

In a recent letter to President Obama, the leaders emphasized the importance of moving forward now with smart initiatives that facilitate the transition to cleaner fuel, more resilient infrastructure and a robust workforce that is supported by good economic and social policies.

"Our members' work reduces the carbon pollution that's driving this change every day because riding public transit is one of the best ways to combat climate change, but we need global action in addition to local action," said Larry Hanley, international president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU). "Today we're looking to those who have a seat at the table to find common sense solutions that will strengthen economies, build resilient communities, expand public transit systems and create family-sustaining jobs."

"President Obama's leadership has set the bar high on climate change. We're hopeful that this year's COP can advance policies that protect jobs and move us forward in our efforts to fight climate change," said James Boland, president of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC).

"Reducing the carbon pollution and greenhouse gases driving climate change is vital to protecting our environment and our communities. Along with the initiatives launched at the Leaders Summit in September and the historic US-China announcement earlier this month, the work in Lima can help set the groundwork for success for strong international action now," said Elizabeth Thompson, president of EDF Action, the political action partner of Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

"The United States is leading by example; now is the time for others to step up. The decisions made over the next few weeks must work to lay a foundation for further international action to significantly reduce carbon emissions and to help keep America's manufacturing sector on a level playing field," said Kim Glas, BlueGreen Alliance executive director.

Photo: Hundreds attend a Nov. 20 candlelight vigil, a day before the inauguration of the Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru. AP

Alberta pipeline hits swamp with over 15,000 gallons of oil

Wed, 03 Dec 2014 11:45:00 +0000

Yet another major spill in the routinely oil-plagued Alberta, Canada, has left the swamps of Red Earth Creek polluted. The incident occurred Nov. 27 after a pipeline experienced a mechanical failure, leaking over 15,000 gallons of crude into the muskeg, which is located about 217 miles northwest of the town of Edmonton. The pipeline is owned by Canadian Natural Resources Limited, which has begun cleanup operations in the area.

The disaster is another episode in an ongoing string of incidents that have left even environmentalists cynical, referring to Alberta as nothing more than a "petro state." After all, Alberta has endured numerous - and largely unreported - oil spills nearly every month since August, and it is estimated that it has experienced at least one spill each day for the past 37 years. Its history of such incidents is well noted, with some, such as one that hit Cold Lake with over 800,000 gallons in July 2013, being of particular infamy. In fact, at least 169,000 gallons of oil have spilled in total since October.

Canada's Harper administration continues to tout pipelines as jobs creators, similar to many U.S. Republicans, with Alberta premier Jim Prentice calling them "nation building" and at the heart of Canada's economic future. However, according to economist Robyn Allan, major companies like Enbridge and Kinder Morgan, which boast of pipeline job benefits, "deliberately mislead, misrepresent, and obfuscate in order to exaggerate benefits, deny the cost, and underplay environmental risk. We are told half-truths, we are made false promises, and since [the] needs and concerns [of environmentalists] are inconvenient we are viewed with contempt."

For Canadian Natural Resources, the culprit behind this latest spill, a quick look at the company's safety record explains a lot, for it was they who had previously also cited "mechanical failures" as the reason for the Cold Lake spill, for which they were responsible. And before the Red Earth Creek disaster, the company had reported 25 spills this year alone - many of which also were attributed to "mechanical failures."

Erin Flanagan, an analyst with environmental advocacy group Pembina Institute, remarked, "We can connect the dots. If [this latest spill] is a mechanical issue, that's something that CNRL has claimed had been a problem for them in the past. So I think it's very troubling. They have a track record of these ongoing blowouts."

Photo: A Canadian goose tries to fly out of the oil-soaked water. Jonathon Gruenke/AP

Lima climate talks and the three-part alliance

Wed, 03 Dec 2014 11:24:00 +0000

The latest in a long series of UN-sponsored talks is convening in Lima, Peru, for two weeks of negotiations. The goal is to lay the basis for a climate treaty deal in Paris in November 2015. The last international agreement, the Kyoto Accords, expired in 2012; all subsequent efforts to replace it have failed thus far.

The recent bilateral agreement between the Obama administration and the Chinese government set targets for limiting and then reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For the first time, China agreed to set a peak for its greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 and to reduce them in the decades following. China's reluctance to set such targets in the past has been a key stumbling block to reaching an international agreement, more significant since China became the world's largest emitter of carbon pollution in the last few years. This bilateral agreement has given new impetus to the likelihood of using the UN process to reach a new and more far-reaching agreement.

Similarly, the foot-dragging of U.S. negotiators has been another key roadblock to an international agreement. New steps taken by the Obama administration include the agreement with China, which sets a target of serious reductions by 2025 for the U.S.; new EPA rules for new and existing power plants limiting their carbon pollution; continued commitment to renewable energy which started with the 2009 stimulus bill; and heightened attention in Obama's 2013 Inaugural and State of the Union speeches.

While the bilateral agreement by itself is not enough, it does lay the basis for both the US and China to play a more positive role in international negotiations.

This gathering takes place against the backdrop of continuing increases in temperature worldwide.

There is a developing three-part alliance bringing pressure to reach an international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The three parts of this de facto alliance are:

- First, the massive environmental movement demanding action on climate change, highlighted by the 400,000 strong September People's Climate March in New York City, alongside support marches around the world of many more tens of thousands of protesters, totaling over 600,000.

- Second, the continuing signs from the natural world that climate change is real, is affected by human activity, and is already causing destruction and economic losses.

- And third, the growing realization by policymakers and some economic heavyweights that action must be taken.

These three forces have combined to create an atmosphere of excitement in the international negotiations, a welcome shift from the failures of previous gatherings in Bali, Cancun, and Copenhagen.

There are significant issues and problems facing the negotiations, including many related to India.

Moreover, given the rapidly developing problems from climate change, including some unexpected ones, the danger of approaching tipping points, and the sometimes apocalyptic uncertainties of climate change, it is highly unlikely that even the most aggressive agreement possible will adequately address the need for a worldwide shift to renewable energy, and will not touch the need for a fundamental restructuring of the capitalist world economy.

Photo: Rodrigo Abd/AP