Filed under: maps, Uncategorized | Tags: coaches, economy, government, public employees, USA #1, WTF
Sad-larious.
click to enlarge
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Enefit, eroei, Hrenko, kerogen, oil shale, Orrin Hatch, tons of sense, WTF
The Bureau of Land Management has initiated an environmental review of the right-of-way Enefit needs for its proposed utility corridor, which would connect its mine and processing plant to the Bonanza Power Plant outside Vernal. The corridor would also carry a 16-inch pipeline to Chevron’s east-to-west line that runs 11.5 miles north of the mine, as well as an 8-inch natural gas line, a 30-inch water line and a second 138-kilovolt power line. The pipelines would run underground.
…
The story goes on…
But Hrenko stressed that Enefit’s “retort” process uses no water, although some will be needed for dust control and returning spent shale to the mine for reclamation….
And…
“It’s an extremely efficient process where we produce all the power to operate the project and we’ll put power into the grid,” Hrenko said.
via Hearings set as firm moves forward with Utah oil shale development | The Salt Lake Tribune.
Don’t need water or power but we need a 30-inch water pipe, a natural gas pipeline and a mainline to the nearest power plant.
Anybody ever heard of a driverless train being used, loaded with hazardous materials? Several obvious problems with that scheme.
Rail company spokesman Christophe Journet said the train had been immobilised in a neighbouring village before a scheduled crew change, but for an unknown reason had then started rolling downhill into Lac-Megantic.
Eye witnesses said that by the time the driverless train reached the town it was travelling at considerable speed.
Local media reported 60 people missing, although police officials have not confirmed this.
via BBC News – Canada train blast: At least one dead in Lac-Megantic.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Colorado Air Quality Control Commission, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, EPA, pitchfork, WTF
Colorado health authorities will not fully enforce new EPA rules designed to protect people from air pollution at oil and gas facilities.
The state’s Air Quality Control Commission voted instead for a partial adoption of the federal clean-air rules. They plan to hold public meetings next year to consider full implementation.
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment officials on Thursday issued a statement saying residents already are protected under “state rules that cover many aspects of EPA’s rules.” The statement said the commission worried that adopting the new standards “could potentially trigger unduly burdensome permitting requirements” for companies.
State officials said they would make no further comment on the issue and did not respond to questions Thursday.
via Health department won't enforce all oil and gas well clean-air rules – The Denver Post.
Air Quality Control Commission.
Wouldn’t want air quality to get out of control.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Chevron, Chevron refinery, EPA, EPA investigation, flare, Jack Broadbent, Richmond, Suncor, WTF
People should be enraged about this. Enraged at Chevron, enraged at the fake govt. investigations and blatantly captured regulators that continue to blow sulfur dioxide up the public’s ass.
Air quality officials say Chevron fashioned a pipe inside its refinery that routed hydrocarbon gases around monitoring equipment and allowed them to be burned off without officials knowing about it. Some of the gases escaped into the air, but because the company didn’t record them, investigators have no way of being certain of the level of pollution exposure to thousands of people who live downwind from the plant.
“They were routing gas through that pipe to the flare that they were not monitoring,” said Jack Broadbent, executive director of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, whose inspectors uncovered what Chevron was doing and ordered the bypass pipe removed.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal enforcement unit opened an investigation in early 2012, more than two years after the local inspectors made their discovery, according to air-quality officials and others familiar with the probe. The investigation is still open, and Chevron employees have been interviewed.
via Criminal investigation at Chevron refinery – SFGate.
In case you missed it, years ago Chevron was required to install pollution monitoring equipment as part of one of those sweetheart settlement deals after they were caught violating the rules. Years ago, it was discovered that the plant had installed pipes bypassing this pollution monitoring equipment so the refinery’s unmonitored poison gases could be flared into the open air. Years ago. This became public recently only after the SF Chronicle was able to review records, which they requested as a result of the unrelated fire at the refinery.
Interesting parallels with Denver’s chronically leaking Suncor refinery. A refinery in blatant violation of all sorts of laws, but without any fear of a real crackdown by those public officials who are supposed to do something about it. So the violations continue, for years, until the truth manages to escape the regulators who’ve been keeping it from the public.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: fake choices, how to get 'liberals' to defend or even fight for a fascist system, kill me now, neo-liberals, Obama, Obomney, Robama, Romney, the new fascism, what a joke, Won't get fooled again? Yeah we will..., write in Snuffles the Clown, WTF
Ugh.. Robomney…
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: architecture, arts, cars, counterfeiting, DHS, financial terrorism, forgery, fraud, fully clothed fascism, Naked Capitalism, politics, quotes, rule of law, see something say something, travel, TSA, WTF
Via Naked Capitalism, sign maker and photographer are unknown (to me).
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AT & T, Constitution of the United States, E911, illegal search and seizure, L-S, L-Site, mockery, privacy, private telephone conversations, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, WTF
This is old news, but I thought I’d post it just for giggles.
Speaking of old news. If the United States Constitution is no longer valid, maybe we should get a new one together.
Wiretaps cost hundreds of dollars per target every month, generally paid at daily or monthly rates. To wiretap a customer’s phone, T-Mobile charges law enforcement a flat fee of $500 per target. Sprint’s wireless carrier Sprint Nextel requires police pay $400 per “market area” and per “technology” as well as a $10 per day fee, capped at $2,000. AT&T charges a $325 activation fee, plus $5 per day for data and $10 for audio. Verizon charges a $50 administrative fee plus $700 per month, per target.
Data requests for voicemail or text messages cost extra. AT&T demands $150 for access to a target’s voicemail, while Verizon charges $50 for access to text messages. Sprint offers the most detailed breakdown of fees for various kinds of data on a phone, asking $120 for pictures or video, $60 for email, $60 for voice mail and $30 for text messages.
All four telecom firms also offer so-called “tower dumps” that allow police to see the numbers of every user accessing a certain cell tower over a certain time at an hourly rate. AT&T charges $75 per tower per hour, with a minimum of two hours. Verizon charges between $30 and $60 per hour for each cell tower. T-Mobile demands $150 per cell tower per hour, and Sprint charges $50 per tower, seemingly without an hourly rate.
For location data, the carrier firms offer automated tools that let police track suspects in real time. Sprint charges $30 per month per target to use its L-Site program for location tracking. AT&T’s E911 tool costs $100 to activate and then $25 a day. T-Mobile charges a much pricier $100 per day.
… an AT&T spokesperson referred me to the company’s privacy policy, pointing out a specific line that reads, “We do not sell your personal information to anyone for any purpose. Period.”
via These Are The Prices AT&T, Verizon and Sprint Charge For Cellphone Wiretaps – Forbes.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: centerline, centerline miles, FHWA, highway infrastructure, highways, transportation, What the Florida, WTF
And the western states don’t.
Via http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/pubs/hf/pl11028/chapter1.cfm
Figure 1-7: Toll Road, Bridges, and Tunnels Centerline Miles by State: 2009
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Badger Daylighting, COGC, EOG Resources, fracking, fracking waste, Garden Creek 7-14H, Garden Creek O7-14H, Grove, hydraulic fracturing, radioactive fracking sand, radioactive fracking waste, radionucleides, Weld County, WTF
With articles like this, you’ve got to wonder.
Hydraulic fracturing involves the use of millions of gallons of water, chemicals and sand.
Occasionally, some of that sand is radioactive.
Oh. You don’t say.
The state is investigating a possible inappropriate dumping of fracking-related radioactive sand into an unpermitted pit at an EOG Resources oil well in northern Weld County northwest of Grover.
The radioactive sand dumping occurred March 8 during a state field inspection of an oil well known as the Garden Creek 28-07H well, the Coloradoan’s search of state oil well inspection records revealed.
via State investigating radioactive sand dumping related to fracking | The Coloradoan | coloradoan.com.
Industrialized Cyclist Notepad 