Transportation

"Thousands of U.S. schools sit along rail corridors used to carry toxic substances such as crude oil and would be at risk in the event of a derailment, an environmental group said on Tuesday as it called for a temporary halt on oil trains."

"Officials have unveiled plans for a grassy bridge over a Southern California highway that would provide a safe and natural passage for mountain lions and other animals migrating between wilderness areas."

"JUNEAU -- The new boom industry in Skagway is tourism, providing the bulk of the jobs and at the height of the summer, regularly giving the big cruise port the lowest unemployment rate in the state."

"They rumble past schools, homes and businesses in dozens of cities around the country — 100-car trains loaded with crude oil from the Upper Midwest. While railroads have long carried hazardous materials through congested urban areas, cities are now scrambling to formulate emergency plans and to train firefighters amid the latest safety threat: a fiftyfold increase in crude shipments that critics say has put millions of people living or working near the tracks at heightened risk of derailment, fire and explosion."

"Railroad tank cars equipped with defective valves still will be allowed to transport crude oil and other hazardous materials through the end of the year, despite a March directive from federal regulators requiring their replacement within 60 days."

"ANCHORAGE -- President Barack Obama on Tuesday will propose a faster timetable for buying a new heavy icebreaker for the U.S. Arctic, where quickly melting sea ice has spurred more maritime traffic, and the United States has fallen far behind Russian resources."

"With warming seas creating new opportunities at the top of the world, nations are scrambling over the Arctic — its territorial waters, transit routes and especially its natural resources — in a rivalry some already call a new Cold War."

"Newly released documents show that firefighters responding to an oil train derailment and fire last year in Lynchburg, Va., waited more than two hours for critical details about the train and what was on it."

Chinese authorities have told news media not to report independently on the hazardous chemical explosion that killed more than a hundred people in Tianjin. No live broadcasting, interpretation, or social media reporting is allowed. Only state-controlled media can be used. Many of the dead were firefighters, who may not have known the hazard they were confronting. There are signs that the Chinese government has been suppressing information about firefighter deaths.