Tens of thousands of flag-waving and chanting protesters called Saturday for a disputed parliamentary election to be rerun and an end to Vladimir Putin's rule, increasing pressure on the Russian leader as he tries to win back the presidency.
The protesters shouted "Russia without Putin" and "New elections, New elections" as one speaker after another called for an end to Putin's 12-year domination of the country at the second big opposition rally in two weeks in central Moscow.
"Do you want Putin to return to the presidency?" novelist Boris Akunin asked from a large stage. Whistling and jeering, protesters chanted: "No!"
Witnesses said at least as many people turned out as at the last big Moscow rally on December 10 to protest against alleged vote-rigging in the December 4 election won by Putin's United Russia party.
Social Justice: Current Affairs, Business, Politics, and all the reasons in the world to Thrive on Creative Discontent!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
2011 the year governments woke up to the good money in oil spills!!! (oh yeah and they're bad for the environment/community too)
Brazil’s threatened indictment of Chevron Corp. (CVX) and Transocean Ltd. (RIG) executives after offshore oil leaks shows that regulators from the North Sea to the Indian Ocean are stepping up scrutiny after BP Plc’s 2010 disaster.
Brazilian authorities have said they may prosecute employees, shut operations and exact more than $10 billion in fines after the leaks at the Frade field 230 miles (370 kilometers) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The spill occurred 19 months after an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers and triggered the biggest offshore U.S. oil spill.
Governments around the world are paying closer attention to how energy explorers drill into high-pressure deposits of crude and natural gas as much as 8 miles beneath the sea surface. Chevron’s Brazil incident took place after a ConocoPhillips (COP) leak in China and prior to what may be Nigeria’s biggest spill in a decade at a Royal Dutch Shell Plc facility.
“There’s been just such a rash of them that governments have got to act tough” with oil companies, Allen Brooks, a managing director at energy-investment bank PPHB LP in Houston and Chevron shareholder, said in a phone interview. Since the BP accident “every spill after that is heightened in terms of media attention and obviously government concern.”
ConocoPhillips was criticized by the People’s Daily, China’s Communist Party newspaper, for “negligence, cover-ups and cheating” in its handling of a June leak in Bohai Bay. Premier Wen Jiabao ordered a “thorough” investigation in September.
In Nigeria, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) shut its 200,000 barrel-a-day Bonga field this week after a tanker-loading accident caused less than 40,000 barrels of crude to leak.
Brazilian authorities have said they may prosecute employees, shut operations and exact more than $10 billion in fines after the leaks at the Frade field 230 miles (370 kilometers) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. The spill occurred 19 months after an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers and triggered the biggest offshore U.S. oil spill.
Governments around the world are paying closer attention to how energy explorers drill into high-pressure deposits of crude and natural gas as much as 8 miles beneath the sea surface. Chevron’s Brazil incident took place after a ConocoPhillips (COP) leak in China and prior to what may be Nigeria’s biggest spill in a decade at a Royal Dutch Shell Plc facility.
“There’s been just such a rash of them that governments have got to act tough” with oil companies, Allen Brooks, a managing director at energy-investment bank PPHB LP in Houston and Chevron shareholder, said in a phone interview. Since the BP accident “every spill after that is heightened in terms of media attention and obviously government concern.”
ConocoPhillips was criticized by the People’s Daily, China’s Communist Party newspaper, for “negligence, cover-ups and cheating” in its handling of a June leak in Bohai Bay. Premier Wen Jiabao ordered a “thorough” investigation in September.
In Nigeria, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) shut its 200,000 barrel-a-day Bonga field this week after a tanker-loading accident caused less than 40,000 barrels of crude to leak.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
When will the Republican Freak Show End?
A direct-mail solicitation for Ron Paul's political and investment newsletters two decades ago warned of a "coming race war in our big cities" and of a "federal-homosexual cover-up" to play down the impact of AIDS.
The eight-page letter, which appears to carry Paul's signature at the end, also warns that the U.S. government's redesign of currency to include different colors - a move aimed at thwarting counterfeiters - actually was part of a plot to allow the government to track Americans using the "new money."
The letter urges readers to subscribe to Paul's newsletters so that he could "tell you how you can save yourself and your family" from an overbearing government.
The letter's details emerge at a time when Paul, now a contender for the Republican nomination for president, is under fire over reports that his newsletters contained racist, anti-homosexual and anti-Israel rants.
Reports of the newsletters' contents have Paul's campaign scrambling.
Among other things, the articles called the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. a "world-class philanderer," criticized the U.S. holiday bearing King's name as "Hate Whitey Day," and said that AIDS sufferers "enjoy the attention and pity that comes with being sick."
The eight-page letter, which appears to carry Paul's signature at the end, also warns that the U.S. government's redesign of currency to include different colors - a move aimed at thwarting counterfeiters - actually was part of a plot to allow the government to track Americans using the "new money."
The letter urges readers to subscribe to Paul's newsletters so that he could "tell you how you can save yourself and your family" from an overbearing government.
The letter's details emerge at a time when Paul, now a contender for the Republican nomination for president, is under fire over reports that his newsletters contained racist, anti-homosexual and anti-Israel rants.
Reports of the newsletters' contents have Paul's campaign scrambling.
Among other things, the articles called the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. a "world-class philanderer," criticized the U.S. holiday bearing King's name as "Hate Whitey Day," and said that AIDS sufferers "enjoy the attention and pity that comes with being sick."
Battle Won but the War for America Continues......
Deserted by many of his fellow Republicans, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner surrendered to attacks from President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats and agreed to a two-month extension of a payroll tax cut that he derided hours earlier.
The decision kicks the fight over extending the tax cut for 160 million U.S. workers into early next year without resolving deep divides over how to cover the cost through 2012.
Democrats are focused on imposing a new tax on income exceeding $1 million while Republicans want to cut the federal work force and freeze pay for government workers. Republicans also want to attach policies to a payroll tax cut extension -- opposed by Democrats -- such as a rewrite of the unemployment system or weaker rules for industrial emissions.
The decision kicks the fight over extending the tax cut for 160 million U.S. workers into early next year without resolving deep divides over how to cover the cost through 2012.
Democrats are focused on imposing a new tax on income exceeding $1 million while Republicans want to cut the federal work force and freeze pay for government workers. Republicans also want to attach policies to a payroll tax cut extension -- opposed by Democrats -- such as a rewrite of the unemployment system or weaker rules for industrial emissions.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
21 years later Mercury, a known neuro-toxin, is regulated in power plant emissions...all the Fetuses can now concentrate on being born healthfully!!!
The American Lung Association today applauds the Obama Administration for adopting public health safeguards to reduce mercury and toxic air pollution from power plants. The new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for Power Plants are long overdue and will reduce the harm from air pollution like mercury, lead, arsenic and a host of other pollutants.
"Since toxic air pollution from power plants can make people sick and cut lives short, the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are a huge victory for public health," said Albert A. Rizzo, M.D., National Volunteer Chair of the American Lung Association, and pulmonary and critical care physician in Newark, Delaware. "The Lung Association expects all oil and coal-fired power plants to act now to protect all Americans, especially our children, from the health risks imposed by these dangerous air pollutants."
The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will reduce toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants that are found in more than 40 U.S. states and are the largest producers of mercury pollution. Air pollution emitted by coal-fired power plants contains 84 of the 187 hazardous pollutants identified for control by the Clean Air Act. Many of these pollutants, such as, dioxins, arsenic, and lead, can cause cancer and cardiovascular disease; harm the kidneys, lungs, and nervous system; and even kill. The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will reduce these pollutants and prevent 130,000 childhood asthma attacks and 11,000 premature deaths each year.
The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments required the tighter standards on power plants in an effort to reduce toxic emissions in communities across the country. However, big polluters have fought for and won delays for more than 21 years.
"Attempts to delay or dismantle the Clean Air Act, or rules like the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, reward industry polluters and punish those most vulnerable to dirty air," said Dr. Rizzo. "These new standards mark a huge step forward in clean air protections and will be responsible for saving thousands of lives each year."
"Since toxic air pollution from power plants can make people sick and cut lives short, the new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are a huge victory for public health," said Albert A. Rizzo, M.D., National Volunteer Chair of the American Lung Association, and pulmonary and critical care physician in Newark, Delaware. "The Lung Association expects all oil and coal-fired power plants to act now to protect all Americans, especially our children, from the health risks imposed by these dangerous air pollutants."
The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will reduce toxic emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants that are found in more than 40 U.S. states and are the largest producers of mercury pollution. Air pollution emitted by coal-fired power plants contains 84 of the 187 hazardous pollutants identified for control by the Clean Air Act. Many of these pollutants, such as, dioxins, arsenic, and lead, can cause cancer and cardiovascular disease; harm the kidneys, lungs, and nervous system; and even kill. The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards will reduce these pollutants and prevent 130,000 childhood asthma attacks and 11,000 premature deaths each year.
The 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments required the tighter standards on power plants in an effort to reduce toxic emissions in communities across the country. However, big polluters have fought for and won delays for more than 21 years.
"Attempts to delay or dismantle the Clean Air Act, or rules like the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, reward industry polluters and punish those most vulnerable to dirty air," said Dr. Rizzo. "These new standards mark a huge step forward in clean air protections and will be responsible for saving thousands of lives each year."
Fight now or be a slave forever; Women of Egypt do not give up!!!
Egyptian police and soldiers fired guns and teargas to try to clear protesters from Cairo's Tahrir Square on Tuesday, the fifth day of clashes that have killed 13 people and drawn a stinging rebuke from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Clinton condemned as "particularly shocking" incidents such as one in which two Egyptian soldiers were filmed dragging a woman protester on the ground by her black full-body veil, exposing her bra, then clubbing and kicking her.
"Women protesters have been rounded up and subjected to horrific abuse. Journalists have been sexually assaulted. And now women are being attacked, stripped and beaten in the streets," Clinton said in a speech at Washington's Georgetown University on Monday.
"This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonors the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform and is not worthy of a great people ...
"Women are being beaten and humiliated in the same streets where they risked their lives for the revolution only a few short months ago."
The Quran makes it clear women of Egypt = you are equal among men....
[3:195] Their Lord responded to them: "I never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you male or female - you are equal to one another. Thus, those who immigrate, and get evicted from their homes, and are persecuted because of Me, and fight and get killed, I will surely remit their sins and admit them into gardens with flowing streams." Such is the reward from GOD. GOD possesses the ultimate reward.
Clinton condemned as "particularly shocking" incidents such as one in which two Egyptian soldiers were filmed dragging a woman protester on the ground by her black full-body veil, exposing her bra, then clubbing and kicking her.
"Women protesters have been rounded up and subjected to horrific abuse. Journalists have been sexually assaulted. And now women are being attacked, stripped and beaten in the streets," Clinton said in a speech at Washington's Georgetown University on Monday.
"This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonors the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform and is not worthy of a great people ...
"Women are being beaten and humiliated in the same streets where they risked their lives for the revolution only a few short months ago."
The Quran makes it clear women of Egypt = you are equal among men....
[3:195] Their Lord responded to them: "I never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you male or female - you are equal to one another. Thus, those who immigrate, and get evicted from their homes, and are persecuted because of Me, and fight and get killed, I will surely remit their sins and admit them into gardens with flowing streams." Such is the reward from GOD. GOD possesses the ultimate reward.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
The following companies paid little or no taxes from 2008-2010 and fired 93,000 Americans!!! But could afford to spend $500 million on Lobbying...
The biggest companies in the United States have been firing workers and in some cases lobbying for rules that depress wages at the very time that jobs are needed, pay is low, and the federal budget suffers from a lack of revenue.
The top ten are: GE, PG&E, Verizon, Boeing, FEDEX, AEP, Honywell, Duke Energy, DuPont, Wells Fargo.
Last month Citizens for Tax Justice and an affiliate issued “Corporate Taxpayers and Corporate Tax Dodgers 2008-10″. It showed that 30 brand-name companies paid a federal income tax rate of minus 6.7 percent on $160 billion of profit from 2008 through 2010 compared to a going corporate tax rate of 35 percent. All but one of those 30 companies reported lobbying expenses in Washington.
Another report, by Public Campaign, shows that 29 of those companies spent nearly half a billion dollars over those three years lobbying in Washington for laws and rules that favor their interests.
The top ten are: GE, PG&E, Verizon, Boeing, FEDEX, AEP, Honywell, Duke Energy, DuPont, Wells Fargo.
Last month Citizens for Tax Justice and an affiliate issued “Corporate Taxpayers and Corporate Tax Dodgers 2008-10″. It showed that 30 brand-name companies paid a federal income tax rate of minus 6.7 percent on $160 billion of profit from 2008 through 2010 compared to a going corporate tax rate of 35 percent. All but one of those 30 companies reported lobbying expenses in Washington.
Another report, by Public Campaign, shows that 29 of those companies spent nearly half a billion dollars over those three years lobbying in Washington for laws and rules that favor their interests.
Congressional Republicans want $1,000 from each of 160 million Americans to do their job!!!
U.S. Republican Congressmen lurched toward a showdown over an expiring payroll tax cut, escalating a legislative fight that may result in smaller paychecks in January for 160 million USA workers.
Boehner sticks it to the 99% yet again....
President Barack Obama said a two- month extension of the payroll tax cut passed by the Senate is the “only viable way” to prevent take-home pay from decreasing on Jan. 1 and a “faction” of House Republicans is holding up progress.
House Republicans rejected the Senate’s bipartisan compromise to win concessions on “extraneous issues,” Obama said in an unscheduled appearance at the White House briefing room.
Speaker John Boehner and the rest of the House Republican leadership should “put aside issues where there are fundamental disagreements and come together on something we agree on,” Obama said. “Let’s not play brinksmanship. The American people are weary of it. They’re tired of it. They expect better.”
House Republicans rejected the Senate’s bipartisan compromise to win concessions on “extraneous issues,” Obama said in an unscheduled appearance at the White House briefing room.
Speaker John Boehner and the rest of the House Republican leadership should “put aside issues where there are fundamental disagreements and come together on something we agree on,” Obama said. “Let’s not play brinksmanship. The American people are weary of it. They’re tired of it. They expect better.”
GOP Cornered by their own BILE...
To understand how House Republicans have backed themselves into a corner on extending the payroll tax cut, two Senate Republicans running in some of the most competitive contests next year are distancing themselves from the House GOP.
“The House Republicans’ plan to scuttle the deal to help middle-class families is irresponsible and wrong,” said Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), who most likely will run against Democrat Elizabeth Warren in 2012. “The refusal to compromise now threatens to increase taxes on hard-working Americans and stop unemployment benefits for those out of work.”
And Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV), who will run against Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, added: “What is playing out in Washington, D.C., this week is about political leverage, not about what’s good for the American people. Congress can work out a solution without stopping the payroll tax-cut extension for the middle class.”
Bottom line: You know where the politics on this issue are when Brown and Heller are for/against something. Two other veteran senators, Richard Lugar and Olympia Snowe, also both up for re-election in states carried by President Obama in ‘08, have joined the chorus of Republicans asking the House GOP to simply vote out the Senate bill.
“The House Republicans’ plan to scuttle the deal to help middle-class families is irresponsible and wrong,” said Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), who most likely will run against Democrat Elizabeth Warren in 2012. “The refusal to compromise now threatens to increase taxes on hard-working Americans and stop unemployment benefits for those out of work.”
And Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV), who will run against Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, added: “What is playing out in Washington, D.C., this week is about political leverage, not about what’s good for the American people. Congress can work out a solution without stopping the payroll tax-cut extension for the middle class.”
Bottom line: You know where the politics on this issue are when Brown and Heller are for/against something. Two other veteran senators, Richard Lugar and Olympia Snowe, also both up for re-election in states carried by President Obama in ‘08, have joined the chorus of Republicans asking the House GOP to simply vote out the Senate bill.
Monday, December 19, 2011
2012 bodes to be banner year for US Equities.
The U.S. received its highest rating from international investors in more than two years, with 41 percent saying in a Bloomberg poll conducted Dec. 5-6 that the country would be among top performers in 2012.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
16 Countries have High Speed Rail.....
The USA DOESN'T........the path to our future....already laid!!!
Iraqi Leadership = definition of stupidity!!!
The dust had barely settled from the last column of departing U.S. armoured vehicles when Iraq's rival Sunni and Shi'ite factions resumed the kind of political infighting that threatens a lurch back into turmoil.
Within hours of the last U.S. troops rolling out of Iraq on Sunday, Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had asked parliament to sack his Sunni deputy, and security sources said an arrest warrant was issued for the Sunni vice president.
Add to this a parliamentary boycott announced Saturday by the secular Iraqiya bloc, backed by many Sunnis, and the risk is growing of an intensified power struggle between Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish politicians that could leave Iraq vulnerable to meddling by Sunni Arab nations and Shi'ite Iran.
"This political dispute between the different blocs especially Iraqiya and (Maliki), needs to be resolved... to fill the security vacuum left in the country by the Americans," said political analyst Kadhim al-Meqdadi.
So take a breath....you have 1/3 of the worlds population within a 6 hour flight; you have the first or second largest oil reserves in the world, you could be the next Dubai...but you can't get it together. How totally stupid are you?
Iraq needs leadership, it doesn't need further exploitation. Pull it together or simply be boring and completely average!!!
Within hours of the last U.S. troops rolling out of Iraq on Sunday, Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had asked parliament to sack his Sunni deputy, and security sources said an arrest warrant was issued for the Sunni vice president.
Add to this a parliamentary boycott announced Saturday by the secular Iraqiya bloc, backed by many Sunnis, and the risk is growing of an intensified power struggle between Sunni, Shi'ite and Kurdish politicians that could leave Iraq vulnerable to meddling by Sunni Arab nations and Shi'ite Iran.
"This political dispute between the different blocs especially Iraqiya and (Maliki), needs to be resolved... to fill the security vacuum left in the country by the Americans," said political analyst Kadhim al-Meqdadi.
So take a breath....you have 1/3 of the worlds population within a 6 hour flight; you have the first or second largest oil reserves in the world, you could be the next Dubai...but you can't get it together. How totally stupid are you?
Iraq needs leadership, it doesn't need further exploitation. Pull it together or simply be boring and completely average!!!
Keystone XL = Dirty & Dangerous!!!
Please call your Congressman/Senator and urge them to stand strong against the dirty, dangerous Keystone XL pipeline:
•Oil pipelines have proven to be dangerous -- from the June 2nd spill of more than 42,000 gallons of oil into Montana's Yellowstone river, to last summer's 840,000 gallon tar sands pipeline spill into Michigan's Kalamazoo River, to the 12 spills along TransCanada's Keystone pipeline in its first 12 months of operation. Our current regulatory system has proven inadequate to protect communities from spills like these and must be updated before any more major pipelines are approved.
•Keystone XL will not increase energy security. It will allow Canadian oil companies to limit the supply of their crude to Midwest refineries and divert it to Gulf Coast deepwater port refineries where it can be exported overseas to markets like China.
•Keystone XL will raise gas prices. TransCanada's Canadian permit application for Keystone XL clearly stated that the pipeline could be used to add up to $4 billion to America's fuel bill. Prominent oil market economist Dr. Philip Verleger concluded that this would increase gas prices by 10-20 cents per gallon, especially in the Midwest, having the greatest impact on U.S. farmers.
•The pipeline would threaten the environment. Tar sands crude oil produces 82% more global warming pollution on a life cycle basis than conventional crude oil. This vote follows a weekend where record high temperatures threatened communities across the country.
Let your Congressmen/Senators know that you oppose this attempt to force the construction of a dangerous and unnecessary pipeline through America's land and waters.
•Oil pipelines have proven to be dangerous -- from the June 2nd spill of more than 42,000 gallons of oil into Montana's Yellowstone river, to last summer's 840,000 gallon tar sands pipeline spill into Michigan's Kalamazoo River, to the 12 spills along TransCanada's Keystone pipeline in its first 12 months of operation. Our current regulatory system has proven inadequate to protect communities from spills like these and must be updated before any more major pipelines are approved.
•Keystone XL will not increase energy security. It will allow Canadian oil companies to limit the supply of their crude to Midwest refineries and divert it to Gulf Coast deepwater port refineries where it can be exported overseas to markets like China.
•Keystone XL will raise gas prices. TransCanada's Canadian permit application for Keystone XL clearly stated that the pipeline could be used to add up to $4 billion to America's fuel bill. Prominent oil market economist Dr. Philip Verleger concluded that this would increase gas prices by 10-20 cents per gallon, especially in the Midwest, having the greatest impact on U.S. farmers.
•The pipeline would threaten the environment. Tar sands crude oil produces 82% more global warming pollution on a life cycle basis than conventional crude oil. This vote follows a weekend where record high temperatures threatened communities across the country.
Let your Congressmen/Senators know that you oppose this attempt to force the construction of a dangerous and unnecessary pipeline through America's land and waters.
Mitt Romney's picture says a 1,000 words; or millions of dollars from outsourced jobs
Mitt Romney, appearing in the photo -- called the “Gordon Gekko”, a reference to the Michael Douglas character in the movie “Wall Street” -- shows Romney and other executives at Bain Capital LLC posing with cash in their hands, pockets and mouths.
If the 99% only lived under the Roman Empire or in Russia they would benefit from a better distribution of wealth than in the USA!!!
Over the last 30 years, wealth in the United States has been steadily concentrating in the upper economic echelons. Whereas the top 1 percent used to control a little over 30 percent of the wealth, they now control 40 percent. It’s a trend that was for decades brushed under the rug but is now on the tops of minds and at the tips of tongues.
Since too much inequality can foment revolt and instability, the CIA regularly updates statistics on income distribution for countries around the world, including the U.S. Between 1997 and 2007, inequality in the U.S. grew by almost 10 percent, making it more unequal than Russia, infamous for its powerful oligarchs. The U.S. is not faring well historically, either. Even the Roman Empire, a society built on conquest and slave labor, had a more equitable income distribution.
Since too much inequality can foment revolt and instability, the CIA regularly updates statistics on income distribution for countries around the world, including the U.S. Between 1997 and 2007, inequality in the U.S. grew by almost 10 percent, making it more unequal than Russia, infamous for its powerful oligarchs. The U.S. is not faring well historically, either. Even the Roman Empire, a society built on conquest and slave labor, had a more equitable income distribution.
Pipelines are only safe when well regulated: ASK the 21 dead, 105 hurt by the 230 gas pipeline accidents last year!!!
WAYNESBURG, Pa. - Through the hilly fields here in southwestern Pennsylvania, crews worked for months this year, cutting a trench through woods and past farms for a new natural gas pipeline.
Like many other lines crisscrossing the state's Marcellus Shale regions, this pipe was big - a high-pressure steel line, 20 inches in diameter, large enough to help move a buried ocean of natural gas out of this corner of the state. It was also plenty big enough to set off a sizable explosion if something went wrong.
There was trouble on the job. Far too many of the welds that tied the pipe sections together were failing inspection and had to be done over.
A veteran welder, now an organizer for a national pipeline union, happened upon the line and tried to blow the whistle on what he considered substandard work.
But there was no one to call.
Pennsylvania's regulators don't handle those pipelines, and acknowledge they don't even know where they are. And when he reported what he saw to a federal oversight agency, an inspector told him there was nothing he could do, either.
Because the line was in a rural area, no safety rules applied.
"It's crazy," said Terry Langley, the union official, worried that any problems would literally be buried. "It seems to me that everyone is turning a blind eye."
In Pennsylvania's shale fields, where the giant Marcellus strike has unleashed a furious surge of development, many natural gas pipelines today get less safety regulation than in any other state in America, an Inquirer review shows.
Hundreds of miles of high-pressure pipelines already have been installed in the shale fields with no government safety checks - no construction standards, no inspections, and no monitoring.
"No one - and absolutely no one - is looking," said Deborah Goldberg, a lawyer with Earthjustice, a nonprofit law firm focusing on the environment.
Belatedly, the state's elected officials and regulators are trying to catch up. The legislature is poised to give the state Public Utility Commission authority to enforce federal safety rules in the shale regions, as in other gas-producing states.
Still, because of a long-standing gap in the federal rules - the same issue that affected the line near Waynesburg - the new law would leave many gas pipelines unregulated over vast swaths of rural Pennsylvania, especially in the very shale regions that are ground zero for pipeline construction.
These new Marcellus Shale "gathering" pipelines that connect to the wells are going unregulated, even though they are large-diameter, high-pressure pipes - as powerful and potentially dangerous as the transmission lines that cut across the continent.
Last year, 21 people died and 105 were hurt in 230 gas-line accidents in the United States, according to federal data, the highest death total in a decade.
This year, 16 people have died in gas explosions, including five people in Allentown and one in Philadelphia. The accidents in this region were all due to failures in old cast-iron pipelines, not the type of lines being installed in the shale regions.
Like many other lines crisscrossing the state's Marcellus Shale regions, this pipe was big - a high-pressure steel line, 20 inches in diameter, large enough to help move a buried ocean of natural gas out of this corner of the state. It was also plenty big enough to set off a sizable explosion if something went wrong.
There was trouble on the job. Far too many of the welds that tied the pipe sections together were failing inspection and had to be done over.
A veteran welder, now an organizer for a national pipeline union, happened upon the line and tried to blow the whistle on what he considered substandard work.
But there was no one to call.
Pennsylvania's regulators don't handle those pipelines, and acknowledge they don't even know where they are. And when he reported what he saw to a federal oversight agency, an inspector told him there was nothing he could do, either.
Because the line was in a rural area, no safety rules applied.
"It's crazy," said Terry Langley, the union official, worried that any problems would literally be buried. "It seems to me that everyone is turning a blind eye."
In Pennsylvania's shale fields, where the giant Marcellus strike has unleashed a furious surge of development, many natural gas pipelines today get less safety regulation than in any other state in America, an Inquirer review shows.
Hundreds of miles of high-pressure pipelines already have been installed in the shale fields with no government safety checks - no construction standards, no inspections, and no monitoring.
"No one - and absolutely no one - is looking," said Deborah Goldberg, a lawyer with Earthjustice, a nonprofit law firm focusing on the environment.
Belatedly, the state's elected officials and regulators are trying to catch up. The legislature is poised to give the state Public Utility Commission authority to enforce federal safety rules in the shale regions, as in other gas-producing states.
Still, because of a long-standing gap in the federal rules - the same issue that affected the line near Waynesburg - the new law would leave many gas pipelines unregulated over vast swaths of rural Pennsylvania, especially in the very shale regions that are ground zero for pipeline construction.
These new Marcellus Shale "gathering" pipelines that connect to the wells are going unregulated, even though they are large-diameter, high-pressure pipes - as powerful and potentially dangerous as the transmission lines that cut across the continent.
Last year, 21 people died and 105 were hurt in 230 gas-line accidents in the United States, according to federal data, the highest death total in a decade.
This year, 16 people have died in gas explosions, including five people in Allentown and one in Philadelphia. The accidents in this region were all due to failures in old cast-iron pipelines, not the type of lines being installed in the shale regions.
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