West Virginia train derailment
The wreckage of an oil train derailment in Mount Carbon, W.Va., still smolders 48 hours later. On Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, federal investigators got a closer look at the derailment site, but it still wasn't safe for a thorough examination of the damage. Their work is further complicated by subzero temperatures in the coming days. No one was killed when the 109-car CSX train from North Dakota to Yorktown, Va., derailed on Monday, but one man was treated for minor injuries. His house, and truck, were destroyed in the derailment. (Curtis Tate/McClatchy/TNS)
Members of groups opposed to oil pipelines who are planning recruiting drives will wish to hold their next event somewhere besides West Virginia. Specifically, they'll want to stay well away from the tiny town of Mount Carbon, not far from Charleston. Folks in that region, where 14 tanker cars carrying crude oil derailed and burst into flames on Monday, know firsthand what can happen when there are no pipelines to transport oil.
The explosions that followed the accident sent gigantic fireballs skyward and ignited blazes that were still burning a day later. At least one home was destroyed by the fires, and crude oil leaked into a nearby stream.
Think oil pipelines are scary? The residents around Mount Carbon would undoubtedly have a very different take.
One statistic tells the chilling and dangerous tale: In 2009, some 21,000 barrels of oil per day were transported by rail. Today, trains move an astonishing 50 times that amount.
Talk of alternative energy is fine, but so little of it is based in the here and now. The actual alternative to moving crude oil via pipeline â€" today, in the real world â€" is to move it by train. Those who would wish to rely on the sun and the wind and energy sources that haven't yet been developed will be waiting for quite some time before their clean dreams are a big piece of our day-to-day.
Fossil fuels remain the lifeblood of our economy. While some who visit Whole Foods, ride a bicycle or drive there in a Prius, a peek out back, to the delivery area, tells a very different story. There, one will see large, diesel-fueled trucks delivering the organic foods and the green snacks and the soy beverages.
Any talk about meeting the energy needs of our nation needs to focus not only on where we'd like to be, but also on where we are today. Any talk about what we don't want â€" because it is thought of as unclean or unsafe or just so retro â€" must focus on the actual alternatives that are available to us. Those who don't like pipelines are going to get trains. That's reality. Wishing it were otherwise doesn't change a thing.
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