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A game of political musical chairs has set off a transition that will hand Big Oil the keys to the influential Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. What's worse, the whole thing could have been avoided.

As the debate on fracking heats up in the UK, politicians are keen to point out that the process is safe. The influential Conservative MP Peter Lilley appeared on TV the other night and arrogantly dismissed any concerns with fracking. “Any problems with the environment, safety and health can be satisfactorily managed”, he told the audience.

Ten years from now we could be seeing over four times more crude oil transported by rail throughout the US and Canada, some 4.5 million barrels per day. Are we comfortable with that?

As the European Commission continues to deliberate as to whether to adopt its landmark climate change legislation, called the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD), there is increasing evidence that planned pipelines in North America could turn Europe into a significant market for the Canadian tar sands.

And on it goes. One accident after another. But this time a major disaster was averted by a whisker. On Monday a freight train, which was carrying fracked and highly flammable shale oil from North Dakota, derailed on a bridge over the Schuylkill river in South Philadelphia.

According to a report commissioned for the hearings into health impact caused by the tar sands, some local doctors are reluctant to treat patients who draw connections between the industry and their personal health problems.

The string of oil by rail accidents in recent weeks has forced regulators in both Canada and the US to re-appraise the safety of oil by rail.

If the Governor were to be truly serious about protecting Californians struggling with the drought, he would put a halt to fracking in the state immediately.

Rock legend Neil Young continued his week-long “Honor the Treaties” tour of Canada yesterday by likening the tar sands to a war zone.