BlackRock Will Evade Responsibility for East Palestine Ohio Environmental Disaster
BlackRock, Vanguard, billionaire banksters are profiting on environmental despoliation, disease, war, and untold death.
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Ignore this girl’s potty mouth and listen to what she says about East Palestine.
The woke are all getting red pilled by the Ohio Disaster, she sounds familiar…..
— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) February 13, 2023
Meanwhile, in a repeat of EPA boss Christine Todd Whitman’s declaration that Manhattan’s air was safe to breathe following 9/11 (400,000 people were exposed to toxic dust and debris),
health, safety and environmental officials said the air quality in and around East Palestine is what it was before authorities conducted a controlled burn of vinyl chloride from an tanker involved in a 150-car train derailment. That burn on February 7 produced a black cloud that could be seen for miles.
According to the “Compendium of environmental standards,” exposure to “flammable, toxic and narcotic” vinyl chloride “damages the liver, kidneys and spleen; malignant tumors may occur. Toxic concentrations in air may occur without producing an alarming odor. VC is definitely carcinogenic and teratogenic (deformities and skeletal changes on inhalation) as revealed both by animal experiments and human exposure.”
Remember when they said the air over New York was safe after 9/11, only to later admit they were wrong.
Remember when they said that other thing was safe? pic.twitter.com/XOmhbsVylQ
— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) February 13, 2023
In 2005, the EPA, in a “review of VC toxicology, which was drafted with substantial input from the chemical industry… weakened safeguards,” and its assessment downplayed cancer risks, according to the Network of the National Library of Medicine. (Emphasis added.)
The trend toward increasing industry participation allows corporate interests with products under regulation to more effectively recommend acceptable limits of public exposure to their own products and wastes, while placing an unrealistic burden on the U.S. EPA scientists and the public to provide adequate peer review and oversight. Public confidence is undermined when commercial interests, instead of scientific evaluations, shape public health policy.
Norfolk Southern railroad didn’t bother to inform the local government it was moving extremely hazardous material through East Palestine. It also neglected maintenance on its trains. A video of the derailment shows “what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment,” according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The “top holders” of Norfolk Southern stock include The Vanguard Group (the world’s largest mutual fund company), BlackRock (the $10 trillion “Evil Empire”), JP Morgan (a long rap sheet of crimes), Wells Fargo (fined billions for misconduct), and other “investment” firms.
“In its operations, BlackRock pursues a sustainability strategy that seeks to decouple company growth from the firm’s impact on the environment, while increasing the efficiency and resiliency of BlackRock’s operations,” declares a BlackRock “environmental sustainability” webpage.
Meanwhile, in a perfect example of doublethink, the mega “financial services” corporation has invested billions in the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
“Even though BlackRock says that it will focus on environmental sustainability, it continues to invest in companies that slash and burn the planet’s lungs,” explains Code Pink.
BlackRock is cashing in on the destruction of the Amazon by investing millions in oil, mining, and agribusinesses that not only destroy the rainforests but displace indigenous communities. Additionally, BlackRock decided to invest its money in the Brazilian meatpacking company JBS, another company that contributes to deforestation.
BlackRock and Vanguard are heavily invested in the business of organized murder for profit. The “investment” corporations own over 39 million shares of Lockheed Martin. Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and General Dynamics are also “significantly owned by BlackRock and Vanguard.”
Never mind the Bizarro World aspect of BlackRock’s deceptive “environmental sustainability” PR lies. Investments in the death merchant complex are associated with the Pentagon’s dismal record on environmental protection.
“Widespread conflict in populated rural areas jeopardizes vital public health campaigns,” writes H. Patricia Hynes, a former professor of environmental health at the Boston University School of Public Health, and director of the Traprock Center for Peace and Justice.
Likewise, modern war and militarism have a staggering impact on nature and our lived environment — by the kinds of weapons used (long-lived concealed explosives, toxic chemicals, and radiation); the “shock and awe” intensity of industrial warfare; and the massive exploitation of natural resources and fossil fuels to support militarism. By 1990, researchers estimated that the world’s military accounted for 5-10 percent of global air pollution, including carbon dioxide, ozone-depletion, smog and acid-forming chemicals. The Research Institute for Peace Policy in Starnberg, Germany calculated that 20 percent of all global environmental degradation was due to military and related activities.
Vanguard also claims it is dedicated to “sustainability goals,” and declares it will reach “carbon neutrality throughout our global operations in 2025,” according to its website. Meanwhile, the corporation holds at least $86 billion in coal, making it the world’s top investor in the industry. Other bankster operations, including Citigroup, Barclays, and 381 commercial banks, are also invested in coal.
The American taxpayer will be obliged to pay for the criminal behavior of Norfolk Southern, BlackRock, and Vanguard. On Tuesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine demanded Congress respond to the expanding crisis, including the pollution of the Ohio River (the Ohio River Basin covers 204,000 square miles, encompassing areas in 15 states, including over 25 million people, totaling 10% of the US population).
“If a water supply is contaminated, vinyl chloride can enter household air when the water is used for showering, cooking, or laundry,” notes the National Cancer Institute.
East Palestine is experiencing a major environmental crisis and a serious threat to the health of millions of Americans. Norfolk Southern is responsible for allowing the disaster to happen, and its BlackRock investor will not be held responsible. “In a press release, Norfolk Southern said it [has] distributed more than $1 million to more than 700 families in the area to reimburse expenses incurred due to the evacuation,” reports WVXU in Cincinnati.
They also said they have donated air purifiers to residents, completed more than 300 in-home air tests with more than 100 additional tests scheduled and are currently testing well water in the area. A Potable Water Working Group has been created to monitor drinking water. Private wells are being prioritized.
Air purifiers and well monitoring will not address future liver, spleen, kidney, and lung cancers of East Palestine residents, in addition to the health of millions of other people in Ohio and surrounding states.
The response will likely follow a well-tread pattern: Norfolk Southern will be fined and awareness of its criminal behavior will be allowed to fade into the background, as the Flint water crisis has.
In Flint, Michigan residents have suffered nearly a decade of drinking water contaminated by pathological bacteria and lead poisoning.
“I’m frustrated by the water issue in Flint,” then Gov. Rick Snyder’s chief of staff, Dennis Muchmore, wrote in an email. “I really don’t think people are getting the benefit of the doubt. These folks are scared and worried about the health impacts and they are basically getting blown off by us (as a state we’re just not sympathizing with their plight).”
Norfolk Southern and BlackRock will not face serious consequences for the East Palestine disaster.
Moreover, the crisis does not seem to be on the radar of climate warriors Al Gore and Greta Thunberg. While the crisis has resulted in passing news coverage, it has not received the media attention it deserves. In fact, a reporter demanding answers was thrown to the floor during a news conference, handcuffed, and arrested.
East Palestine, Ohio should be on the front page of every newspaper in America. pic.twitter.com/wDPcIoDOio
— Congressman Troy E. Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) February 14, 2023
Finally what 5 days later, I see them report about Palestine Ohio! How can we ever go back to depending on the news? This should have been reported just as quickly as 9-11 and help should have been on the way ! pic.twitter.com/jWBrltcDLY
— Johnny Midnight ⚡️ (@its_the_Dr) February 15, 2023
what the east palestine, ohio train derailment chemical fire looked like from an airplane
— Shibetoshi Nakamoto (@BillyM2k) February 15, 2023
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This article was originally published on the author’s blog site, Kurt Nimmo on Geopolitics.
Kurt Nimmo is a regular contributor to Global Research.
Featured image is from the author
