Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/346601
Onapercapita basis Californian's now consume over 800 gallons of gaso- line annually, that is over two gallons per day for every man, woman, and child. More and more crude oil from Ca- nadian tar sands and frack- ing wells is coming to us in railroad tank cars to be re- fined in Benicia and southern California. While trains are among the safest means of trans- port, in 2013, there were 155 incidents involving crude oil shipped by train and so far in 2014 there already have been more than 90 incidents in- volving oil spilled along rail- ways. According to a report from the state titled "Oil by Rail Safety in California" no oil came by rail in 2008, about 50,000 barrels in 2009, 6 mil- lion barrels last year and by 2016, 150 million barrels will arrive by train. While "industry is cur- rently investing heavily in rail infrastructure and rail tank cars," it is only a mat- ter of time before lethal ac- cidents and devastating en- vironmental damages to the Sacramento valley increase as more and more oil trav- els by train rather than pipe- line. To make matters worse much of the crude is of the highly combustible North Dakota Bakken range frack- ing variety wherein tank rup- tures conflagrate into of fire- balls of explosion. This should cause Gerber, Tehama, Los Molinos and Red Bluff residents some con- cern as tank cars wend their way through the towns over numerous railroad crossings and bridges. Yes track improvements are being made but human errors and mechanical fail- ures will nonetheless persist to threaten us all. One certain way to re- duce these risks is to reduce your reliance on gasoline and fuel oils. Rather than drive miles for a burger or carton of milk, consider taking the bus, walking or riding your bicycle as I do. With our relatively flat ter- rain and clear skies you have no reason to avoid the exer- cise, waste fossil fuels, dam- age our environment and en- danger our communities. Recently Governor Brown set aside funds for inland oil spill cleanup efforts, but such a gesture may be too little, too late as the wheels of change turn more slowly than the wheels of tank cars traversing our lands like the ones that crashed and caught fire in the town of Lac-Mé- gantic, Quebec, killing 47. According to Union Pa- cific, which operates crude oil trains that pass through the Upper Sacramento val- ley, train derailments have been cut by 23 percent in the past 10 years due to improved track main- tenance and industry safety standards now in effect. But still trains carry- ing combustible fuel are derailing all around the country. Prior to 2010, there were "several" incidents each year involving spilled or mishandled oil during train trips in the United States, and each year since, that fig- ure has climbed. Because of the hazardous nature of oil shipments by rail those of more than a mil- lion gallons were mandated to be disclosed to state emer- gency officials though not the general public. Rail companies argued that disclosing the informa- tion to the public would en- danger trains and communi- ties along their routes, while I submit the real reason is that such announcements raise the level of legitimate safety concerns of those liv- ing near railroads. Although in late June the federal government man- dated that the information be made fully public the details about oil shipments by rail remain obscure. For example, BNSF Rail- way has reported that one train per week loaded with more than a million gallons of Bakken fuel will be pass- ing through Northern Cali- fornia via the Feather River Canyon, though the exact schedule and route for such deliveries are not released. Arguing on our behalf that this is precisely the kind of information that must be shared to ensure safety, state Sen. Lois Wolk (D-Davis) and Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), recently au- thored legislation requiring rail operators transporting hazardous materials provide the funding and informa- tion needed to prepare emer- gency crews statewide for dealing with rail accidents to first responders in com- munities through which oil trains are passing regard- ing when such shipments are made. This to me is a bill that should be passed sooner rather than later by the State of California. Speaking of which our County supervisors will be taking action today on the lo- cally supported proposal to force us into the mythical state of Jefferson absent any substantive details on the fis- cal or practical impacts of the ill advised move. Being leery of pig-in-a- poke proposals I pray those with disciplined thinking give voice to the adverse im- pacts the move will have on public services, employment, revenues, infrastructure and environmental quality. It is bad enough we have problems coming our way pertaining to train safety — let's keep our Supervisors from jumping upon another to give us, not one, but two train wrecks in the making. RichardMazzucchiisare- tired research engineer spe- cializing in energy efficiency and renewable energy. He has travelled extensively and now makes his home in Los Molinos, where he is striv- ing to manifest a sustainable and spiritual lifestyle and operate a barbecue equip- ment and supply business. He can be reached at living- green@att.net. PositivePoint Twotrain wrecks in the making Cartoonist's take Important late- arriving note: Tea Party Patri- ots will host two officials from the Cottonwood mili- tia. They will also review the Super- visors' decision on the State of Jefferson decla- ration. Independence Day seemed like the right time to write some thoughts about "America: Imag- ine the World Without Her," by author Dinesh D'Souza, based on his book of the same name. I saw it on July 2nd in Anderson (it may still there and Redding) and recommend sharing in the applause and National Anthem sing-along at end. Columns are often written prior to traveling, so you're reading it today. Watching a movie called "Belle Starr" from 1941, set in the aftermath of the Civil War, gave me pause to consider one of the "shame on America" argu- ments advanced by the political, academic and cultural left, that Mr. D'Souza disputes. Those de- voted to the anti-American nar- rative cite, magnify and obsess over slavery, segregation and "racial disparity" to this day. Consider that 1) liberals on the Supreme Court actually believed it illegal for the people of a state to attach firm non-discrimina- tion language to their constitu- tion abolishing the use of race in college admissions, etc; 2) part of the Obama administration agenda for so-called "fair hous- ing" and "race-neutral" lending involves ascertaining the racial and economic make-up of subur- ban areas. They then make fed- eral loan guarantees contingent on planners implementing low- cost, subsidized developments carved into existing areas—i.e. the type of urban density and under-classes that people voted with their feet, moving vans and money to get away from. It mat- ters not that lower middle class minority families have also fled the crime, drugs, gangs and wel- fare of cities—the Obamacrat left will tell us, based on race, how to live. The leftist elites' obsession with race stems greatly from narratives that consider no counter-factual evidence to the "America: forever evil because of slavery" paradigm. Conserva- tives such as D'Souza don't ever deny the inherent evil of slavery. The "Belle Starr" movie only re- inforced the human, economic, political and national devasta- tion associated with fighting a war to end slavery—the only such conflict in world history that I know of. I also know that white, English-speaking peo- ple are the primary, if not singu- lar, abolishers of slavery, which exists throughout recorded his- tory, and to this day in primi- tive third-world cultures, and through human trafficking. Just to expand on things we might have forgotten, D'Souza reminds us: Many thousands of white slaves were either forced to come here, or saw the "inden- tured servant" option as a risky but worthwhile chance for a bet- ter life. They weren't treated any better than African slaves; hav- ing an ostensible 7-year term was no guarantee of freedom or of being alive in year 8. It is also useful to find out that there were hundreds of free African- Americans who held (owned) thousands of their own slaves to work their fields. Two historical vignettes high- lighted in "America" were 1) the first female millionaire business owner was a freed black woman who built a thriving hair and personal care empire marketed to other black women through- out the North. 2) It was emi- nently obvious to fair-minded, informed citizens in non-slave states, and observers like French traveler and writer Alexis de Toc- queville, that economies built around the institution of slavery were weak. Denying the fruits of labor to slaves undermined the work ethic. Economic ac- tivity and commerce outside of the slave-labor segment suffered due to perceived unfairness and tipped scales. Tocqueville had only to stand on the Ohio shore of the Kentucky River and see behind him a thriving economy and, across the river, a stagnant, slave-owning economy. Another of the complaints over which the left holds Amer- ica in shame: the idea that the Southwest was "stolen" from Mexico and should, from Texas to Southern California, be re- turned. Most readers find it pre- posterous, in all likelihood, but it is yet another condemnable "fact" in the anti-American arse- nal: America is the greatest thief of other people's wealth and land in, like, forever, dude! You're probably not going to be surprised to learn that the Zinn/Chompsky (two hard left anti-American professors ped- dling this bovine waste) nar- rative is in great demand and popularity on many American campuses. There, young heads emptied of pro-American knowl- edge in their high school civ- ics and history classes become spongy vessels for said waste. In this case, the left relies, as usual, on simplified, one-sided arguments that fall apart upon closer examination. In D'Souza's telling, the residents of Texas, for instance, rebelled against Mexican rule for many of the same reasons that the colonists fought against British rule. This precipitated a war with Mexico that Mexico lost—and lost big when their entire country was effectively subjugated through conquest on the battlefield. The United States gave Mexico back about half, kept the area that be- came the American Southwest, and paid Mexico billions of dol- lars. The Mexicans absorbed into the U.S. after the war lost noth- ing—property, rights, nor live- lihoods. None of their descen- dants appear eager to cross that border, legally or other- wise, back to Mexico. Interview- ing a young man who legally im- migrated and described his life in America, D'Souza heard him glowingly contrast his achieved life here compared with the life he would likely have had in Mex- ico. I'm not feeling any guilt over it, honestly. Don Polson has called Red Bluff home since 1988. He can be reached by e-mail at donplsn@ yahoo.com. The way I see it Le ist anti-American grudge One certain way to reduce these risks is to reduce your reliance on gasoline and fuel oils. Rather than drive miles for a burger or carton of milk, consider taking the bus, walking or riding your bicycle as I do. Sounding off Alookatwhatreadersaresayingincommentsonourwebsiteandonsocialmedia. ThelasttwoFridaysIvolunteereddirectly under that tree for four hours a day making corn husk dolls! D'Lorah Hurton: On oak tree that dropped most of its limbs Sunday damaging Ide Adobe What a loss for the park. It's been years since I was at the park nut I remember the magnificent trees. Jan DeHennis Ries: On oak tree that lost most of its limbs Sunday damaging Ide Adobe Greg Stevens, Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor EDITORIAL BOARD How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151ext. 112 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FACEBOOK.COM/ RBDAILYNEWS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @REDBLUFFNEWS Richard Mazzucchi Don Polson It matters not that lower middle class minority families have also fled the crime, drugs, gangs and welfare of cities — the Obamacrat left will tell us, based on race, how to live. » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, July 15, 2014 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A6