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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

40 still missing in deadly Canada oil train crash

LAC-MEGANTIC, Quebec (AP) ? Hazardous conditions hindered firefighters' attempts Monday to search for some 40 people still missing after a runaway oil tanker train exploded over the weekend, killing at least five people, officials said.

Meanwhile, crews are working to contain 100,000 litres (27,000 gallons) of light crude that spilled from the tankers and has made its way into nearby waterways.

Quebec's Environment Ministry Spokesman Eric Cardinal said special balloons are being used to block the oil from flowing through the sewer system and floating barriers have been set up to stop the oil from heading downstream.

The oil has reached the nearby town of Saint-Georges along the Chaudiere river and there are fears it could flow into the St. Lawrence River all the way to Quebec City.

Cardinal said officials remain hopeful they can contain more than 85 per cent of the spill.

Quebec provincial police Sgt. Benoit Richard said Monday morning there was no searching overnight because the situation remained too dangerous. He said only a small part of the devastated scene has been searched as firefighters made sure all flames were out.

The heart of the town of about 6,000 was leveled in the explosion ? including a pharmacy, library, and a popular bar, Musi-Caf?, where several dozen revelers were believed to have gathered.

Sophie L'Heureux, a manager at the bar, had been working earlier in the night but went home for a rest. She was woken up by the explosion.

L'Heureux said she believed there were about three workers and about 50 people in the bar, including many close friends.

All but one of the train's 73 tanker cars were carrying oil when they somehow came loose early Saturday morning, sped downhill nearly seven miles (11 kilometers) into the town of Lac-Megantic, near the Maine border, and derailed, with at least five of the cars exploding.

The growing number of trains transporting crude oil in Canada and the United States had raised concerns of a major disaster, and this derailment was sure to bolster arguments that a proposed oil pipeline running from Canada across the U.S. would be safer.

"This is an unbelievable disaster," said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who toured the town Sunday and compared it to a war zone. "This is an enormous area, 30 buildings just completely destroyed, for all intents and purposes incinerated. There isn't a family that is not affected by this."

The train's oil was being transported from North Dakota's Bakken oil region to a refinery in New Brunswick. Because of limited pipeline capacity in the Bakken region and in Canada, oil producers are increasingly using railroads to transport oil to refineries.

The Canadian Railway Association recently estimated that as many as 140,000 carloads of crude oil will be shipped on Canada's tracks this year ? up from 500 carloads in 2009. The Quebec disaster is the fourth freight train accident in Canada under investigation involving crude oil shipments since the beginning of the year.

Harper has called railroad transit "far more environmentally challenging" while trying to persuade the Obama administration to approve the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast. Greenpeace Canada said Sunday that federal safety regulations haven't kept up with the enormous growth in the shipment of oil by rail.

Officials with the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway said that despite the disaster, they feel transporting oil by rail is safe.

"No matter what mode of transportation you are going to have incidents. That's been proven. This is an unfortunate incident," said Joe McGonigle, Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway's vice president of marketing.

He said the company believes the train's brakes were the cause. "The train was parked, it was tied up. The brakes were secured. Somehow it got loose," he said.

McGonigle said there was no reason to suspect any criminal or terror-related activity.

Wayde Schafer, a North Dakota spokesman for the Sierra Club, has predicted such a catastrophe ever since crude began leaving the North Dakota by rail in 2008.

"I think anybody could have foreseen this," said Schafer, whose downtown Bismarck office is just two blocks from a rail line that carries several mile-long oil trains daily through the heart of the North Dakota's capital city. "It seemed like a disaster waiting to happen and it happened."

___

Associated Press writer Rob Gillies and Charmaine Noronha contributed from Toronto. James MacPherson contributed from Bismarck, North Dakota.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/40-still-missing-deadly-canada-oil-train-crash-070047328.html

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Monday, July 8, 2013

8, July 1836: Darwin on St Helena and the Birth of a Volcano

The ?HMS Beagle?, with on board amateur geologist Charles Darwin, arrived at the volcanic island of St Helena July 8, 1836, where it stayed until afternoon of July 14, afterwards proceeding its journey back to Great Britain.

Since Van Diemen?s Land Darwin?s written notes and observations had become very fragmentary ? maybe because of the short stops by the Beagle, maybe due Darwin?s homesickness after four years on sea . However Darwin dedicated 15 pages to the general geology of St Helena (aside his rants about the laundry service on board) and ? what he called ? ?St Helena Model?.

Already on the island of St. Jago a young Darwin had noted geological evidence, suggesting that volcanic island did rise from the sea. Now, after his field experience in South America, Darwin was sure of this idea, as he found again layers formed in the sea exposed along the dry shores of the island:

?The successive sheets are either closely united together, or are separated from each other by beds of scoriaceous rock and of laminate tuff, frequently containing well rounded fragments. The interstices of these beds are filled with gypsum and salt; the gypsum also, sometimes occurring in thin layers. From the large quantity of these two substances, from the presence of rounded pebbles in the tuff, and from the abundant amygdaloids, I cannot doubt that these basal volcanic strata flowed beneath the sea.?
DARWIN (1844)

At Darwin?s time the origin of volcanoes was still a geological riddle. One model ? proposed by the eminent German geologist Leopold von Buch (1774-1835) ? stated that volcanoes form like a bubble on earth?s crust: first geologic forces push up the ground and form a mountain. The peak of this newborn mountain is however unstable and as the summit collapses ? forming a volcanic crater ? magma emerges from the underground, causing a volcanic eruption.? Lava and ash where therefore secondary features of an active (strato-)volcano and not the primary ?construction material? of the entire volcanic mountain. Von Buch?s ?crater of elevation? hypothesis was very popular at the time and shared by most European geologists. Two French geologists, Armand Dufresnoy (1792-1857) and L?once Elie de Beaumont (1798-1874), proved even mathematically that slopes of volcanoes were too steep to be formed by solidified lava flows!

Fig.1. Topographic map of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands), published by von Buch in 1814 in his book ?Description physique des lles Canaries, suivie d?ne indication des principaux volcans du globe?.? Von Buch assumed that the radial valleys were fissures caused by the uprising ?volcanic bubble? ? in fact these valleys are formed by fluvial erosion, but von Buch underestimated in the dry climate of the Canary Islands the power of episodic erosion.

However the ?crater of elevation? model proposed very fast rates of elevation and Darwin, based on his previous observations, had already adopted the gradual geology as proposed by geologist Charles Lyell.

Darwin used the observations on St Helena to formulate an intermediate hypothesis (published in 1844 in his book ?Geological Observations on the volcanic islands and parts of South America visited during the Voyage of H.M.S. ?Beagle?) ? volcanoes rise by slow, gradual and episodic events, finally erupting as proposed by von Buch. He also suggests that to settle the debate it was necessary to carefully determinate the inclination of lava flows. In 1850 Lyell demonstrated on a lava flow of Mount Etna that the lava solidified in situ on the steep slopes ? lava flows were therefore not layers inclined by the rise of the mountain, but repeated deposition of lava flows on the slopes formed the entire volcano:

??we must abandon the elevation-crater hypothesis: for although one cone of eruption may envelop and bury another cone of eruption, it is impossible for a cone of upheaval to mantle round and overwhelm another cone of upheaval so as to reduce the whole mass to one conical mountain.? Lyell in his monographic work ??On the Structure of Lavas which have consolidated on Steep Slopes: with Remarks on the Mode of Origin of Mount Etna and on the Theory of ?Craters of Elevation?, published in 1858.

In the end a volcanic eruption in the Mediterranean Sea will confirm the model as proposed by Lyell and (with some reluctance) supported by Darwin- in 1831 naturalists, on board of the ship ?Etna?, experienced the birth of the island of ?Ferdinandea?, observing that repeated eruptions and deposition of lava and ash were slowly forming a new mountain.

Bibliography:

CHANCELLOR, G.R. (1990): Charles Darwin?s St Helena Model Notebook. Bull. Br. Mus. Nat. Hist. 18(2): 203-228
HERBERT, S. (2005): Charles Darwin, Geologist. Cornell University Press: 485

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/~r/sciam/basic-science/~3/ohTh2txOwbs/post.cfm

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Rugby Union: Gatland?s already looking to 2017 British and Irish Lions tour

Warren Gatland believes the British and Irish Lions could be equipped with ?an incredibly strong squad? for the formidable challenge of tackling New Zealand in four years? time.

It is 42 years since the Lions won a Test series in All Blacks country, but they might easily travel with renewed optimism when 2017 comes around.

Not only did the current Lions triumph at Australia?s expense, claiming a 2-1 series success, they achieved it with a crop of exciting young players ? stars like Leigh Halfpenny, George North, Alex Corbisiero, Sam Warburton, Dan Lydiate and Toby Faletau.

And when the planning begins for New Zealand, it will start from a solid base of world-class talent.

Asked if he thought the Lions could prevail in 2017, current Lions boss Gatland said: ?Yes, I think if we get things right in terms of the preparation and stuff.

?If you look at how young this squad is, a lot of them could be around in four years? time.

?If they are playing well enough and you have got four more years? experience on some young heads, some young shoulders and they are in their late 20s, that potentially makes the Lions squad in four years? time incredibly strong.

?That is something to be excited about. The amount of interest it has created, I am sure the sponsors are pretty happy and the people who are involved in negotiating things for the future of the Lions. You?ve always got to believe that when you go somewhere you go there to win.

?I know we talk about 2005 (New Zealand) being disappointing, and for us the motivation in 2009 (South Africa) was about respect and getting respect back for that jersey.

?The whole focus on this tour was about delivering the Test series win.?

Gatland came in for fierce criticism from all quarters for his third-Test selection, one that contained 10 Welshmen, but no Brian O?Driscoll, who was left out of the 23.

But he revealed an experience he gained while coaching Ireland several years ago gave him an unshakeable belief in how he should approach selection.

?If we had won the series, fantastic. If we had lost, there would only be fingers pointed at myself,? he added.

?We lost an away game to Scotland which cost Ireland a Grand Slam. Tactically, I changed the way we played, influenced by some selections.

?I promised myself I would never do that again, that I would never back down from what I felt would be the right decision.

?On 50-50 calls, sometimes you can be swayed by other coaches, but when you really believe deep down it?s the right decision you have got to back yourself 100 per cent.

?I would rather make what I thought was the right decision, rather than have any regrets afterwards.?

Meanwhile Lions tour manager Andy Irvine wants to see changes to the schedule of future tours.

He said: ?The one thing I would say ? and I passionately believe in this ? is that the scheduling is all wrong.

?We, as a (Lions) board did our damnedest to give Warren more time.

?It is absolutely bonkers that you have a Rabo final and an Aviva final 48 hours before you fly out.

?Believe me, we tried as hard as we could to change that.

?I am not sure if we can change it in four years? time, but thereafter, once the SANZAR agreement (the touring deal between the Lions and Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) comes up for negotiation, make no mistake, our boys will get more time with the players.

?They have to, because it is unfair on the coaches and the players.

?There is a legally-binding contract in place.

?Unless both parties agree to changing that contract, you can?t break it. We are powerless to break it, unless we have the agreement of the New Zealand Rugby Union, or alternatively, the clubs back home.

?You try to persuade the Premiership clubs to move their final, or try to persuade ERC (European Rugby Cup) to move their final.

?If you can do it, you are a better man than me.

?We can?t force them to do it. We?ve offered them money and tried to impress upon them how important Lions tours are.

?What we did this year was give the lads an extra two weeks? training, and only the ones involved in the two finals didn?t attend training.

?That was 13 or 14 of them, but Gats would tell you that the preparation this time was better than it was in 2009,? added former Scotland star Irvine.

Source: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/rugby-union-gatland-s-already-looking-to-2017-british-and-irish-lions-tour-1-5833253

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Election-related killing reported in Mexico

At least one person has died in election-related violence Sunday in Mexico, where 15 states are holding gubernatorial, legislative and mayoral elections, officials said.

Ramon Delgado Valencia was killed when unidentified individuals fired shots at the campaign headquarters of Reveriano Perez Vega, the mayoral candidate of the governing Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, in Coxquihui, a city in the Gulf state of Veracruz, officials told Efe.

The attack occurred around 9:00 a.m. in Coxquihui, where one person was killed and three others were wounded in a shootout on June 17.

Delays in the opening of election precincts were reported in numerous cities across Mexico.

The biggest office up for grabs on Sunday is the governorship of the northwestern state of Baja California, a post that the PRI lost in 1989.

Conservative National Action Party, or PAN, chairman Gustavo Madero said he was unable to vote because of a "trick" that involved moving his election precinct in Chihuahua City to "a false address."

"They padlocked and chained the precinct where he was supposed to go and put up a change-of-location sign with a false address," the PAN said in a statement on its Web site that included a video showing Madero trying to enter the closed building.

Some 30 million Mexicans are eligible to vote in the elections and nearly 1,800 offices in 14 states are up for grabs.

A total of 1,348 mayoralties and more than 400 state legislative seats will be in play in the elections, which are being held in Aguascalientes, Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz and Zacatecas states. EFE

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/latino_foxnews_com/home/feed/~3/1HBWzYnY6lw/

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Sunday, July 7, 2013

NYC?s race for mayor heats up

ASTORIA, QUEENS (PIX11) ? With a little more than two months left until the New York primaries, mayoral heavyweights blanketed the boroughs this weekend.

Current City Council Speaker Christine Quinn spoke to voters at the North Shore Towers in Queens.

While former MTA Chair and Republican candidate Joe Lhota held a press conference on the Brighton Beach Boardwalk.

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio held a meet and greet outside Prospect Park.

de Blasio says from now until the September 10th primary he expects long days filled with campaigning.

?There?s going to be a lot of 15 and 18 hour days and I think the fact is this is how you win,? he said.

Some of the candidates say making public appearances and actually shaking hands is the best way to connect with voters.

But for those who?ve spent more time in front of the cameras, like Anthony Weiner, face to face meetings are a chance to push their platforms directly to voters.

?It?s something, particularly in communities like this, that are the same type of middle class aspirational communities that I?m fighting for in this campaign,? Weiner said.

Voters in Astoria say as the election grows closer, they expect to see more candidates at events like this one. But ultimately they say shaking a candidates hand isn?t going to make or break their vote for mayor.

?I think what?s most important is what they believe and what they say,? resident Uwvie Obodo said.

And of course, that they follow through on both.

Source: http://pix11.com/2013/07/07/nycs-race-for-mayor-heats-up/

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