This is not anywhere near good enough! We must act, not react.
Hoping and praying are not good enough. That is living in La La Land. We must realize that we have to transition to sustainable fuels that will not kill us and our planet. Nature gave us the sun and the wind, natural energy that does not have to be turned into poison before we can benefit from it. There is no end for these sources and they are there for the using.
Interesting but not surprising side note: on the nation news tonight (Nov. 1) the only interest here was the possible rise in gas prices, and where this might happen. No mention of danger, pollution, dirty fossil fuels, only the economic factor.
Even as we see these pipe ruptures and deaths from pipelines, we are at this moment digging holes to put more pipes into our fragile limestone spring area of Florida. We must change our leadership who would profit from this.
We have this moment at hand to make a start. DEFEAT AMENDMENT 1, spread the word, time is short.
The Horn News has published the following article.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
-A river is like a life: once taken, it cannot be brought back-
“We’ll just hope and pray for the best,” Bentley said.
Deadly pipeline blast ROCKS Alabama
November 1, 2016 l
An explosion along the Colonial Pipeline in rural Alabama killed one worker and injured several others Monday not far from where the line burst and leaked thousands of gallons of gasoline last month, authorities said.
(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Colonial Pipeline Co. said in a statement late Monday that one worker was killed at the scene, and five others were taken to Birmingham-area hospitals for treatment.
The blast, which sent flames and thick black smoke soaring over the forest, happened about a mile west of where the pipeline ruptured in September, Gov. Robert Bentley said in a statement. That break led to gasoline shortages across the South.
“We’ll just hope and pray for the best,” Bentley said.
Georgia-based Colonial said in a brief statement that it had shut down its main pipeline in the area.
A track hoe — a machine used to remove dirt — struck the pipeline, Colonial Pipeline said in a more detailed update late Monday night. Gasoline was then ignited and caused the blaze, the company said.
Phil Montgomery / Alabama Forestry Commission via AP
In September, the pipeline leaked 252,000 to 336,000 gallons of gasoline and led to dry fuel pumps and price spikes in several Southern states — for days, in some cases. There was no immediate indication whether Monday’s explosion near Helena southwest of Birmingham would lead to similar shortages.
Plagued by a severe drought after weeks without rain, the section of the state where the explosion happened has been scarred by multiple wildfires in recent weeks, and crews worked to keep the blaze from spreading across the landscape.
Coleen Vansant, a spokeswoman with the Alabama Forestry Commission, said crews built a 75-foot-long earthen dam to contain burning fuel, which will be allowed to burn itself out. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Monday night that the blaze had been contained but it was unclear how long the fire may take to burn out.
Two wildfires caused by the explosion burned 31 acres of land, Vansant said.
Houses around the blast scene were evacuated, and Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jeff Hartley said it wasn’t clear when people might be able to return home.
“There’s a large plume of smoke; there’s a large fire. We’re not sure exactly how it started or what caused it,” he said.
(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Firetrucks were still arriving on the scene hours after the explosion, and ambulances were parked along a highway nearby.
“We’ve got first responders entering the area, and a lot of them,” Hartley said.
Bentley said the explosion seems to have been an accident.
The injured workers were taken to Birmingham hospitals by helicopter and ambulance, the governor told WBRC-TV in a live interview. Their conditions weren’t immediately known.
Eight or nine subcontractors were working on the pipeline when it exploded about 3 p.m. Monday, Shelby County sheriff’s Maj. Ken Burchfield told Al.com.
“Colonial’s top priorities are the health and safety of the work crew on site and protection of the public,” the company said in a statement.
Colonial Pipeline, based in Alpharetta, Georgia, transports more than 100 million gallons of products daily to markets between Houston and New York City, serving more than 50 million people, it says on its website. Those include petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel.
Thanks for the in-depth view of this ongoing tragedy.
Carolyn Baker
As you can see from the fiery blast depicted, the DANGERS of fracked gas pipelines are very real. Two things are certain about gas Pipelines and their high pressure Compressor Stations. They all leak and can explode without warning. It’s not a matter of “if”, but “when!” That is why it’s so important Sabal Trail Pipeline, which would be a constant threat in our region, be stopped.
RIGHT NOW, long swaths of forests have already been clear cut for Sabal Trail Pipeline construction! This pipeline would go UNDER our beloved Suwannee River and inside Suwannee River State Park and through parts of Hamilton, Alachua, Suwannee, Marion and other FL counties along a pipe route cutting through FL, GA and Alabama!!!
Search online for lists of “Pipeline explosions.” This company has a bad reputation for explosions!
Sabal Trail route is less than a mile from Madison County’s beautiful Blue Springs & Lime Run Springs and can be harmed even by the digging!!! Be sure friends and relatives are aware. So few know this is happening!!
Campers and boaters are present 24-7 in Suwannee River State Park and their lives should not be endangered by such a massive fracked gas pipeline which could explode without warning. The Pipeline route is close to City of Lee, FL and only 18 mi. or less from City of Madison, FL.
This high pressure THREE FOOT diameter pipeline’s path would cut through our Floridan Aquifer endangering our sole source of water for our region and for most of Florida. It would go through fragile caverns under our Suwannee –What happens if it caves in and leaves long pipe spans unsupported? The Army Corp is also allowing the pipeline company to fill important wetlands which endangers our environment and take decades to recover –if it ever can..
There are real questions that require real answers. Pipeline companies have no interest in our lives. Often rural gas pipelines have less stringent safety requirements than pipelines in more populated areas –even often using thinner pipe–obviously, rural lives and our safety matters less to pipeline companies!!!
Right now, both Duke and FL Power & Light have existing pipelines providing plenty of gas, so this pipeline is largely unnecessary and many believe much of the gas would be exported from Fl ports profiting big oil companies while endangering lives of Floridians, Georgians and folks in Alabama who live along pipe route – WHILE IT INCREASES the need to frack more gas, which no one wants!!
Heavy vibrations occur within these extreme high pressure pipelines often CAUSING sinkholes –yet another reason our sinkhole prone area is an unsafe region for such a massive pipeline! Suwannee River State Park has many sinkholes making it a totally unstable for such a Pipeline.
One should ask WHY US Corps of Engineers (USACE) failed to react to and study discrepancies in Sable Trail plans when these were pointed to them out repeatedly by WWALS Geologists and Santa Fe River group! Commissioners in Madison, Hamilton and other counties in our region wrote strong letters urging Army Corp to study this issue and our concerns; Instead, as in the Dakotas, Army Corps gave their go-ahead to Sabal Trail while ignoring residents and without adequate study of this terrain which is completely unsuited for such a pipeline!
Many families have already lost valuable properties to eminent domain.
I hope you’ll be moved to get in touch with Jim Tatum of Our Santa Fe River group, who wrote the most recent column and Merrillee Jipson of Sierra Club and Our Santa Fe River–and/or WWALS Watershed Coalition’s John Quarterman, of the River Keepers Alliance, some of whom are encamped near Sabal Trail’s Pipeline route and who could use your help as they take a strong stand to protect our aquifer, our Rivers and beloved State Park, our homes and properties –our lives and ALL that is OURS to treasure –so it will be here for the next generation!