Earlier this week, the oil industry criticized new safety standards released by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Right on cue, barely 48 hours later, an oil train derailed and exploded in North Dakota, and proved that the new standards probably don't go far enough.

Before this week, there had already been five oil train explosions in North America this year alone, and that number is likely to increase as more and more crude oil is shipped by train. In response to the numerous disasters, the Department of Transportation has implemented new safety rules, which have Big Oil complaining about costs and transport time.

The DOT has instituted a new, lower speed limit of 50 mph on trains carrying flammable materials, and a limit of 40 mph through urban areas. In addition, all trains carrying oil must have updated braking systems, better classification of materials, and operators must abide by new protocols.

While those increased standards are marginally better, the Think Progress Blog points out that the new rules actually rescind one important safety requirement that went in to place last year.

For a short time, railroads were required to tell states when flammable shipments were coming through, but these new rules leave that burden on the states by simply providing a phone number that officials can use to find out about potentially dangerous rail cars.

So, it's understandable that environmental groups and some lawmakers are upset about these new rules. Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington state said that these new rules "let the oil trains roll." She added, "It does nothing to address explosive volatility, very little to reduce the treat of rail car punctures, and is too slow on the removal of the most dangerous cars."

And she's exactly right. The only safe oil trail is the one that doesn't exist, and the only way to ensure the safety of our communities is to stop drilling for oil once and for all.

 

-Thom

 

(What do you think? Tell us here.)

 

Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... Ian Millhiser: Injustices: The Supreme Court's Nearly Unbroken History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)

 

Be sure to check out our newest video: RESTORATION - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio & Thom Hartmann, directed by Leila Conners / Visit GreenWorldRising.org to check out all the videos: CARBON, LAST HOURS & GREEN WORLD RISING - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio & Thom Hartmann, directed by Leila Conners

 

 

Big Picture Rumble:
- Jean Card, Jean Card Ink/U.S. News & World Report    
- Ari Rabin-Havt, The Agenda (SiriusXM Progress 127)    
- Jennifer Kerns, Washington Times/ The Blaze  

 

Conversations with Great Minds - Ian Millhiser, Injustices: The Supreme Court's Nearly Unbroken History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted/Think Progress Justice     

Friday's Daily Stack 

Hour One: If it's Friday, it's "Brunch With Bernie"... the honorable Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) joins Thom with all the news from our nation's capitol and as always he'll be spending the hour taking your calls and answering your questions too...
Follow Bernie:     campaign site.

Article: "Senate Budget Throws 27 Million Off Health Insurance" by Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Article: "Senate to Vote on Disastrous Republican Budget" by Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Article: "Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement" (TPP) by EFF.

Article: "North American Free Trade Agreement" (NAFTA) by Wikipedia.

Article: "General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade" (GATT) by Wikipedia.

Article: "Permanent normal trade relations: U.S. and China" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Sen. Bernie Sanders Says America Needs 'Political Revolution' in 2016" by Ben Siegel.

Book: "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine.

Article: "Bernie Sanders Says More Than 200,000 People Have Signed Up to Help His White House Bid" by David Weigel.

Article: "Sanders hires Obama digital veterans for 2016" by Julie Pace.

Article: "Bernie Sanders on Gun Control" by OnTheIssues.

Article: "Sanders, Boozman Introduce 10 Million Solar Roofs Bill" by Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Case: "Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission" (2010).

Article: "Senate Easily Passes Bill for a Voice on Iran Nuclear Accord" by Jennifer Steinhauer.

Article: "Sanders Files Bill to Break Up Big Banks" by Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Article: "The Week in Review Friday, May 8, 2015" by Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Article: "Wisconsin Republicans Would Spend Millions To Micromanage Poor People's Shopping" by Alan Pyke.

Article: "Scott Walker's Corporate Tax Breaks Come Back To Haunt Him" by Alice Ollstein.

Article: "Triumph of the Unthinking" by Paul Krugman.

Article: "UK Election 2015 results: At-a-glance" by BBC.

Article: "UK Election Results 2015" by BBC.

Article: "Rent-seeking" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Henry George" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Rentier" by Wikipedia.

Site: Washington State Coalition to Amend the Constitution (WAmend).

Article: "Remarks: John Kerry With Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir" May 7, 2015.

Article: "Pic Of The Moment: Jeb Bush Says Is His "Most Influential Adviser" On Foreign Policy Is..." by EarlG.

Article: "Just Don't Do It, Sanders Urges Obama on Nike Trip" by Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Video: Walmart TV Spot, 'Raise in Pay'.

Book: The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard.

Article: "The Force Behind the Nike Empire" by Jackie Krentzman.

Article: "Watch Obama's speech at Nike: live stream" by Bruce Ely.

Site: "USITC Tariff Database".

Article: "America's poor are 'envy of the world,' says richest Congressman" by Tami Luhby.

Case: "Buckley v. Valeo", 1976.

Article: "Contract with America" by Wikipedia.

 

Talk Radio News Segment:
- Luke Vargas 

Article: "Russia and China sign raft of trade deals to deepen ties" by Reuters.

Article: "The Rape of Nanking, 1937" by John Rabe.

Article: "World War II casualties" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Pollsters and pundits make the wrong call on UK election" by Lionel Barber.

Article: "Jim Messina trounces David Axelrod in British elections" by Nick Gass and Kevin Robillard.

Article: "Five million votes but just two seats. UKIP and Green set to campaign for electoral reform" by .

Article: "'An AFFRONT to democracy' - Ukip would have won 83 SEATS under a 'fair' voting system" by Rob Virtue.

Law: "Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011" (UK) by Wikipedia.

Book: "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations", Adam Smith, 1776.

Articles: On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation by David Ricardo ("On labor" 1814, "On profits" 1816, "of wages").

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Article: "TRNS News Notes- 5/8" by Victoria Jones.

Article: "TRNS News Notes- 5/7" by Victoria Jones.

Article: "Scott Walker Gave Corporations Cash To Create Jobs, Forgot To Check If They Actually Used It" by Alice Ollstein.

Article: "New Balance: 'It's literally us against every other athletic shoe manufacturer in the world'" by Whit Richardson.

Site: Bernie 2016  

Book: Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon.

Article: "How Slavery Made the Modern World" by Greg Grandin.

Book: The Librarian's Guide to Employment in the Information Age by Ted Bloom.

Article: "Price Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act".

Article: "Electoral history of Bernie Sanders" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Texas Passes Ban on Fracking Bans (Yes, You Read that Right)" by Cole Mellino.

Book: "The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America--and What We Can Do to Stop It" by Thom Hartmann.

Quote: "We have met the enemy and he is us" - Pogo".

Article: "Robots Are Rising, Will Cause Layoffs".

Article: "Building work starts on first all-robot manufacturing plant in China's Dongguan" by He Huifeng (China building all robot manufacturing plant).

Article: "The World's First Self-Driving Semi-Truck Hits the Road" by Alex Davies.

Article: "Bank of America Curbs Financing of Coal Industry after Years of Activist Pressure" by Amy Goodman.

Article: "Sanders paid nothing for BernieSanders.com" by Julian Hattem.

Article: "Ralph Nader on Bernie Sanders, the TPP "Corporate Coup d'�tat" & Writing to the White House" by Democracy Now!.

Book: Return to Sender: Unanswered Letters to the President, 2001-2015 by Ralph Nader.

Quote: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" - Mark 12:17".

Bible: "Matthew 25:31-46 (New International Version)". "All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats."

  

Monday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET 

 

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