Call for volunteers around the world to monitor oil trains via webcam

Vancouver City Hall live webcam http://www.cityofvancouver.us/cmo/page/vancouver-webcams#esthercam  *** You may have to refresh the screen to get real time images.****

Vancouver Action Network has discovered that Vancouver City Hall has a publicly accessible webcam pointed at the railroad tracks which we can now use to monitor for oil trains.  We are calling on volunteers around the world to help us monitor 100% oil trains coming through our town.  It is easy to identify the 100% oil trains because they are 1 mile long and only contain black cylindrical rail cars with the red diamond shaped placard 1267.  Please monitor this Vancouver City Hall webcam and use Twitter to send a Tweet containing the time(am/pm listed on the webcam), direction of train travel (left to right across the screen is westbound),  city, and the hashtag  #waoiltrainwatch

Please search in your cities for webcams which show railroad tracks and start a Train Watch using them and Twitter.    If you have any questions please contact us.

Washington State Train Watch to Utilize Twitter for Monitoring #waoiltrainwatch

Vancouver Action Network is proud to announce that due to the success of our first Train Watch efforts from April 16-27, 2014 that we are continuing the program. We are taking this action in response to the DOT's Emergency Order requiring railroads to disclose any shipments of more than 1 million gallons of oil or roughly 35 oil rail cars to State Emergency Management Agencies. VAN volunteers feel that it important to help enforce this Emergency Order and possibly bust the railroads for violations and Train Watch is the perfect tool for this purpose.

For more info on the DOT Emergency Order of May 7, 2014 http://www.dot.gov/briefing-room/emergency-order Any railroad carrier or person failing to comply with this Emergency Order is subject to civil penalties of up to $175,000 for each violation or for each day it is found to be in violation (49 U.S.C. 5123).

Thanks to the many volunteers who called and texted in your train watching activities! To make the program more decentralized we have started a Twitter feed on our blog and Facebook account. Train Watchers will need to sign up for a personal Twitter account. You don't have to use your real name when setting up your account. When you see a 100% oil train in Washington state you can Tweet the train's direction of travel, time, location and the hashtag #waoiltrainwatch. This information will show up on our blog and Facebook pages and will be used as a publicly accessible reference document. Please make sure that the information you tweet is accurate to the best of your knowledge so that our data remains credible. If you haven't ever used Twitter don't worry it isn't that hard. If you can send an email, text, or a social media site like Facebook you can send a Tweet.

Here's the printable version of our new flyer Be an Oil Train Monitor.

Thanks for your continued support. Take care, Matt Landon with VAN

Washington State Train Watch & Monitoring April 16 - April 27!

If you are from Vancouver, Columbia Gorge, Spokane, or Everett, we need your help.  Call us at 503-765-7176 immediately if you see an oil train at any time during April 16 - 23 for VAN's oil train air pollution monitoring.  Please forward this to your friends in these key areas, especially those living in Spokane.  All the trains we will be monitoring will be coming through Spokane.  For information on identifying the Bakken crude tanker cars, please see the Snohomish County Sierra Club's website at http://snocogreennews.org/trainwatch/, Sightline Daily at http://daily.sightline.org/2014/03/19/oil-trainspotting-in-the-northwest/ and http://daily.sightline.org/2014/04/10/oil-trainspotting-part-2/, as well as The Oregonian at http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/03/how_to_tell_an_oil_train_in_or.html.  I've added a Google Doc quarter sheet flyer with our contact information.

We are also actively recruiting volunteers to assist us with our oil train air pollution monitoring program in Vancouver, WA.  For more information about our project, please see our blog post here.  If you are interested in fieldwork, please contact us at vancouveractionnetwork@gmail.com or 503-765-7176.

Our project also happens to coincide with the Snohomish County Sierra Club's Train Watch 2014.  While VAN is mainly interested in oil trains, the Sierra Club will be watching for oil and coal trains from April 21 - 27.  Please visit their website at http://snocogreennews.org/trainwatch/ for more information on how you can help them.

Join VAN's volunteer and internship program

Vancouver Action Network is proud to announce the start of our internship and volunteer program.  If you are a college student, a student of life, or just want to join a winning team and gain or hone skills, you can help us out!  VAN is offering meaningful guided and self guided intern and volunteer opportunities in Vancouver, WA.   Long distance volunteer opportunities exist as well so you can help out from wherever you currently live.  Check the following links for more information about our intern and volunteer activities and do get in contact with us.  **Note- you don't have to fill out an application to volunteer with VAN.** Thanks, the VAN volunteers 

 Intern and Volunteer descriptions 

Intern and Volunteer handbook and application