Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline opponents protest ‘ticking time bomb’ in Michigan Great Lakes
Updated 4:43 PM;
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The crude oil still pumps and protests are growing.
For two days since after midnight on May 12, Calgary, Canada-based Enbridge has continued to defy Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s orders to stop pumping oil through its 68-year-old Line 5 that dips through the the Great Lakes exposed on the bottomlands of the Straits of Mackinac.
Supporters, including Republican politicians, the Canadian government and other U.S. states claim the economic value supported by the transport of 540,000 barrels or 23 million gallons of oil per day is too great to lose.
NationofChange
Climate and Indigenous protesters across 4 continents pressure banks to #DefundLine3 In solidarity with Indigenous leaders, we are calling for fossil fuel divestment to protect the water and climate, and the health and survival of Indigenous communities.
From fake oil spills in Washington, D.C. and New York City to a
“people mural” in Seattle spelling out “Defund Line 3,” climate and
Indigenous protesters in 50 U.S. cities and across seven other countries spanning four continents took to the streets on Friday for a day of
action pushing 20 banks to ditch the controversial tar sands pipeline.
“Against the backdrop of rising climate chaos, the continued
“If we’re going to build back better, as Biden says, we’ll need to end dangerous pipeline construction, prevent all new fossil fuel infrastructure, and Build Back Fossil Free,” said Brooke Harper of the environmental advocacy group 350.org in a statement Thursday.
According to 350.org, over 300,000 people across the country have signed petitions demanding Biden stop the Line 3 and the Dakota Access (DAPL) pipelines, which the group delivered to the administration, along with hosting a digital rally on those projects and calls for considering the climate in decisions about future ones.
“Fossil fuel companies have destroyed our planet and harmed our communities irreparably, specifically Black, Indigenous, and communities of color,” said Harper. “Now we’re rising to secure the livable future we all deserve, which means an end to Line 3 and DAPL and the enactment of a climate test.”
Protesters demonstrate against the Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline in northwestern Minnesota on Dec. 17, 2020. (Sarah LittleRedfeather/Honor the Earth)
Native tribes and faith leaders are together calling on President Joe Biden to intervene in the ongoing construction of the long-contested Line 3 pipeline in northern Minnesota.
Nearly 3,800 people have signed a petition organized by Interfaith Power & Light. The petition, along with a separate letter signed by 345 faith leaders and organizations, asks that the president use executive actions to stop the $2.6 billion Enbridge Energy project a 1,097-mile replacement pipeline that, once complete, would transport daily 915,000 barrels of Canadian tar sands oil, which produces larger quantities of greenhouse gas emissions than typical crude oil.