Oil Spill One Of Worst Pollution Disasters In Israel's History, Official Says

[Purveyor]

Source: Haaretz

Rehabilitation will take months, if not years, Environmental Protection Ministry official says; Police rule out foul play after pipeline breached during maintenance work.

By Zafrir Rinat, Shirly Seidler and News Agencies | Dec. 4, 2014 | 11:34 PM

Millions of liters of crude oil gushed out of a breached pipeline in southern Israel early Thursday, causing what one Environmental Protection Ministry official called "one of the gravest pollution events in the country's history."

The official, Guy Samet, said there is a seven-kilometer (4.3 mile) long river of oil flowing through the Evrona Nature Reserve in southern Israel, some 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) north of Eilat.

Firefighters, police, Environmental Protection Ministry officials and oil pipeline maintenance teams were dispatched to the site of the spill, and managed to curtail the flow after about two hours.

The breach occurred during maintenance work that was part of preparations for the international airport under construction in Timna, in southern Israel. Once the leak was discovered, pipeline company officials shut the pipeline's valves – but not in time to prevent the spillage of millions of liters of oil.

Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.629958

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[Jesus Malverde]

1. Russian oil on it's way to asia.

In 2003, Israel and Russia made an agreement to supply Asian markets with Russian oil delivered by tankers from Novorossiysk to Ashkelon and then reloaded onto tankers in Eilat for shipment to Asia. In other words, the oil would flow in the direction opposite to the one intended when the pipeline was originally constructed. This route from Europe to Asia is shorter than the traditional one around Africa, and cheaper than the one via the Suez Canal.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Thank you for your helpful information. n/t

[Derek V]

2. Not a big deal, really.

They'll just dump all the toxins on Gaza.

[Divernan]

4. Can someone forward this to milk-both-sides-of-the-issue, HRC?

Having overseen the state department's vetting of Keystone, HRC is well able to understand and interpret the dangers of oil pipelines, particularly Bakken crude pipelines. She uses the disingenuous excuse that she cannot comment on it because the issue is currently in the hands of her successor. However, that is the ONLY issue still active within the state department on which she remains mum. When it comes to WAR and issues which have value to the Military Industrial Complex, she has a lot to say - i.e., Syria, the ongoing conflict with ISIS and talk over nuclear weapons with Iran. Will this environmental disaster in Israel move her to speak out against Keystone? When pigs fly!

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/01/politics/hillary-clinton-keystone-league-of-conservation-voters/index.html

(Headline): Hillary Clinton's awkward Keystone day.

Hillary Clinton has been dinged by both liberals and conservatives for declining to take a position on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. But on Monday, her Keystone dilemma will be on full display as she helps raise money for people on both sides of the issue within hours of each other in New York City.

The former secretary of state and likely 2016 presidential candidate will raise money for Sen. Mary Landrieu, the embattled Louisiana Democrat who linked her political future to Keystone ahead of a runoff election. But she’ll also boost the League of Conservation Voters, a deep-pocketed environmental group that has been fighting the pipeline – and Landrieu’s bill – tooth and nail on Capitol Hill.

As secretary of state, Clinton oversaw the permitting process for the pipeline, which would carry tar sand oil from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Citing her past role, Clinton has abstained from weighing in on the issue. It’s nowhere in her recent memoir about her time as America’s top diplomat, “Hard Choices,” and she has dodged questions about it in two countries

.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/01/politics/hillary-clinton-keystone-league-of-conservation-voters/index.html

Clinton's refusal to comment on the pipeline is not new.

The former secretary of state has repeatedly dodged the Keystone question and gave the issue zero mentions in her 2014 memoir. Clinton usually tells interested audiences -- usually groups in Canada or at environmental events -- that she doesn't want to comment on an issue currently in the hands of her successor, Secretary of State John Kerry.
The Keystone pipeline ...

But Keystone appears to be one of the only issues where Clinton follows that rule. The former first lady regularly comments on other issues currently on Kerry's plate, like Syria, the ongoing conflict with ISIS and talk over nuclear weapons with Iran.

[MisterP]

5. not the first time in the area, actually

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x226364
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1810841