The smell is quite horrendous outside and especially in our home

[HarveyDarkey]

There is a very strong smell of oil in our vehicles," resident Chris Harrell told RT http://on.rt.com/zq7mx9



“The actual leak occurred on the street directly behind my house and flowed down,” resident Chris Harrell told RT

[BlueToTheBone]

1. Did you know that Jason Rapert co sponsored a bill HB1052

that would provide eminent domain for pipeline companies. Did you see him at his photo op today? If he slid just a bit, maybe he would roll in the tar sands and someone could offer him a feather pillow.

[ZRT2209]

6. which is more slimy? him or the oil

[lark]

13. He's more slimy.

The oil is what it is, he has a choice and chose to be an ignorant, sucking up to big oil dipstick.

[Art_from_Ark]

34. Please tell me HB1042 is now deader than a doornail

Last edited Tue Apr 2, 2013, 01:58 AM - Edit history (2)

If it isn't, it damn well should be.

Bird kills in Beebe, massive fish kills in the Arkansas River, and now this shit. Someone needs to get the state legislators' heads out of their respective anal crevices.

On edit: Whoops-- it looks like the bill was actually HB1042. At any rate, it's good that the bill was killed.

[Cannikin]

41. After spending all evening arguing on Twitter..

He and the other sponsor, Rep Nate Bell, killed the bill today. It was due to the exposure this burst brought to it. A silver lining, I suppose.

[Art_from_Ark]

42. Thanks for the update

It's sad that it had to take this kind of disaster to knock some sense into those legislators.

[Cannikin]

48. I'm afraid I have to retract that.

Now I'm told it's being retooled and isn't dead. Not sure what changes are being made.

[Art_from_Ark]

54. They need to just kill the damn thing

I guess this is what happens when we get a goddam Republican legislature.

[madrchsod]

2. the pipeline is 40yrs old?

i thought it might be chinese pipe but it looks like it ain`t.

[malaise]

3. Bet that's not a 1% neighborhood

so it doesn't matter

[tech3149]

11. Not 1%'s but not "trailer trash" neighborhood.

These poor people invested some serious money to buy those homes. Even if they are compensated in full for their loss we will all pay for the damage.

[malaise]

12. Only the 1% count

The oil companies and their enablers don't gie a flying fugg.

[nicky187]

49. Hmmm....

So it's ok to pollute lower SES neighborhoods? #sarcasm

[99Forever]

4. Damn.

Just awful.

I weep for our Mother Earth.

[caballojm]

14. The Earth will be fine.

It will adapt and move on without us. There's something very odd about being part of a species that's willingly bringing about its own extinction.

[99Forever]

17. That all depends on what you consider fine.

I do however share that it is odd that we are so callous about even our own demise, (Well, some are anyway.) all in the name of the god of Corporate Profits.

Welcome to DU, we need your voice here.

[caballojm]

23. Thank you,

I've been reading the DU for years. I don't know why it's taken me so long to start posting.

[AAO]

28. Welcome, Señor! Or shall I say, welcome to posting!

[AAO]

27. Yes, it is sadder than the saddest days. Human Beings - MORONS!!!!

[vlyons]

25. Welcome to the Age of Kali Yuga

[KoKo]

5. K&R!

[life long demo]

7. This is so sad and so wrong

But will they change, no unfortunately, there's money to be made. They are ravaging the land.

[benld74]

8. Oh Sure they'll be able to clean that RIGHT up! nt

[freshwest]

9. In the media they will! But not on the net.

[randome]

10. Right, this isn't going away.

A disaster of this magnitude in actual neighborhoods may do more to accelerate our transition to cleaner energy than all the Congressional pontificating of the past decade.

Or so I hope.

[malaise]

47. Much more coverage this morning

This is not going away

[littlemissmartypants]

15. #Keystoned eom

[libodem]

16. oil stinks

Like swamp ass. Hope it gets better soon.

[They_Live]

18. Where's the Exxon representative?

assure us that everything is just fine. Pour some nice white sand and hide your mess.

[phylny]

44. My understanding is that a whole lot of them flew there

yesterday, considering my husband's meeting in Houston for next week was canceled.

[CoffeeCat]

50. They can't hide this...

When BP destroyed the Gulf, we couldn't access the ocean and see the damage firsthand. They covered it up with Corexit and by the fortunate geography, which for them, left so much destruction unseen.

I also remember BP using our Coast Guard to force reporters from taking photos of wildlife, in some locations.

You can't ban people from their own driveways. You can't stop people from seeing this.

This is huge. And it's visible. And there's not a darn thing that the oil brigade can do about it.

This is an awful tragedy and I am sorry for these people. However, this is one of the consequences of kow towing
to big oil--and squashing alternatives. America needs to see this.

I hope my husband is wrong, but he said, "Oh this will blow over. These homeowners will be handsomely compensated, in exchange for shutting up. It's how our country works. Hush money for compliance."

And also...that bill needs to die. That is really over the top. If the oil companies had eminent domain over the land through which those pipes run--they'd own that entire neighborhood--the yards, driveways, streets and the earth underneath those homes. Wow. And they could never be charged with crimes or sued for damages, because they would technically own the land. See, this is the kind of stuff that our lawmakers do behind our backs. No one would have ever known if that bill had passed. But those types of laws hobble "We The People" and give so much abusive power to the corporations.

[knitter4democracy]

19. We here in Michigan know that smell.

It hovered over Marshall and Battle Creek for months. That spill looks as bad or worse than ours was.

[freshwest]

21. It's a constant thing around refineries. Eats the paint off houses and irritates the lungs.

[knitter4democracy]

35. It gives me severe headaches.

I can't be around it at all.

[freshwest]

36. I can't be around it anymore. It did its damage on me already.

Migraines, nausea, trouble breathing and the fumes go on for miles and miles, an acrid, pervasive stench of several kinds. This event in AR puts it in a home environment so people pay more attention. But we've sacrificed many thousands of acres to this business.

[knitter4democracy]

37. Amen to that.

Honestly, we have to find ways to replace it and fast.

[freshwest]

40. There are plenty of replacements. It's a race between the Koch brothers and the other energy barons

and those of us who want to have decent planet to live on!

See you later, take care.

[caseymoz]

20. This is getting to be a regular thing.

Every spring, the environmental catastrophe. It's getting to be what the migration of butterflies used to be.

[Phlem]

22. Not to make light of this matter but when I read your title

I thought there was a GOP parade running through town.

Back to your post, This is awful. I'm so sorry you have to deal with this. If had the money this would certainly convince me to buy an electric vehicle. Our infrastructure is in a sorry state yet we give banks free money. This just pisses me off.

-p

[Arctic Dave]

24. I remember when we used laugh at the soviets because

their infrastructure was so poor.

Who's laughing now.

[socialist_n_TN]

32. A buddy of mine told me in the mid 90s........

when we were discussing the collapse of the USSR, that we were going to collapse too. We just didn't know it yet.

[Arctic Dave]

33. I would agree with that in the least hyperbolic way.

This country does not have the political will to do the things that will stop it's ultimate downfall.

[uponit7771]

39. +1

[AAO]

26. They'll have to move eventually. The neighborhood won't recover.

[Coyotl]

29. Anytime you can smell a petroleum product like this, you are being poisoned and drugged

quite literally via fumes.

On edit: And exposed to known carcinogens.

[magical thyme]

45. ^^^^ this

The people and animals inhaling those fumes are ingesting poison.

[JaneyVee]

30. Gee, who would have thought that pumping dirt & sand through a pipeline would cause erosion?

[Fawke Em]

53. The same people who would have never guessed an airplane

could be used as a weapon.

[tularetom]

31. It wasn't bad enough that they let them build the pipeline

They made it worse by letting some asshole developer build homes practically on top of the friggin thing.

I have an uneasy feeling that these homeowners are going to get hosed.

[Ruby the Liberal]

38. HD - I don't do facebook, but saw this link:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022598443

Can you or someone you know post these pics and this one from yesterday out there to get the word out? This media blackout is bullshit.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2593737

[malaise]

43. Way too Early had decent coverage

a few minutes ago

[sorefeet]

46. You ain't seen nothin yet

Those pipes are paper thin from wear and there are going to be many more leaks. Wait till they get this one fixed and get her all pressured up again. Not if but where will the next one be.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

51. From the title I thought this was going be William Rivers Pitt's first diaper change...

[Newest Reality]

52. That's a toxic environment

and that stuff is very hard to clean up.

Ah, but the kochery, (new word I am going to coin) of the Koch Bros is afoot and they want that XL pipeline like the economic, dragon crackheads they are.

kochery: (coke-ur-ee)

Concerted and relentless subterfuge of any system, economic or political or personal for the sake of control, power and increased profits.

See: kochism, kochistic, kochology, kochified.

Ex:

"When I arrived at work, I could sense that some kochery had been going on in upper management."

"Most of American politics has become a form of rampant kochism. In fact, the kochification of the political and economic system functions in contradistinction to the assumed rights and values of the populace."

Wonder if that's been done yet, or if it can become commonplace?

"I found out my last relationship was kocked-up when I realized it was about my money."