Hi there,

There has never been a more urgent time for courageous, daily, independent news. Media is essential to the functioning of a democratic society. Can you support Democracy Now! with a $15 donation today? With your contribution, we can continue to go to where the silence is, to bring you the voices of the silenced majority – those calling for peace in a time of war, demanding action on the climate catastrophe and advocating for racial and economic justice. Every dollar makes a difference. Thank you so much!

Democracy Now!
Amy Goodman

Non-commercial news needs your support.

We rely on contributions from you, our viewers and listeners to do our work. If you visit us daily or weekly or even just once a month, now is a great time to make your monthly contribution.

Please do your part today.

Donate

Vancouver, Washington: 100 Blockade Tracks to Protest Oil-by-Rail Shipments

HeadlineJun 20, 2016

In Vancouver, Washington, more than 100 people formed a human blockade across railway tracks to protest the transportation of oil by rail. The action came after a Union Pacific oil train derailed in Mosier, Oregon, earlier this month, causing a massive fire and prompting evacuations. Mia Reback of Portland Rising Tide spoke as activists sat on the tracks.

Mia Reback: “Behind me right now over 100 people are sitting in on the rail tracks owned by BNSF, where oil trains are frequently sent through Vancouver, Washington. We’re responding to the recent oil train derailment in Mosier, Oregon, where an oil train derailed, catching fire, spilling oil into the Columbia River and polluting the city’s aquifer, and also calling for an immediate end to oil trains and fossil fuel infrastructure as a response to the climate crisis.”

Earlier in the day, the fire chief of Mosier, Oregon, addressed the crowd who gathered before the direct action. Chief Jim Appleton had previously defended the safety of oil by rail, but he has become an outspoken opponent of the shipments following the fiery derailment in his town.

Chief Jim Appleton: “Our community would like to see the Mosier derailment and the process of putting our community back together as both the straw that broke the camel’s back and a model for our transition to renewable, global energy. Mosier proves that those trains are too dangerous. Let’s make our policies reflect that new realization and ban those trains.”

Topics:
The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top