News and updates from the Great Lakes state.
Freighter Fails in Great Lakes Highlight Line 5 Risks
After the devastating collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Michiganders are not ruling out a similar tragedy in the Great Lakes. After obtaining a public records request from the U.S. Coast Guard, a new report in the Detroit News discovered that Great Lakes freighters lost control or power more than 200 times between 2012 and May 2022, and crashed with stationary objects more than 60 times over the same decade. While the News notes that a freighter crash similar to the Key Bridge tragedy is unlikely with the Mackinac Bridge, there is a profound risk of damaging Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac.
Oil & Water Don't Mix Responds to Michigan Public Service Commission Decision on Line 5 Tunnel Permit
A federal court ruled on June 16th that Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline is in trespass on the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reservation and that it constitutes a public nuisance by posing an imminent threat of rupture that could devastate the Band’s drinking water, plants and wildlife, and the region’s economy. The court required a segment of the Line 5 pipeline to be shut down within three years. Enbridge's response of an appeal and proposal to re-route the pipeline does not protect the Band, their treaty-reserved territory, or the Great Lakes from the threat of Line 5.
Line 5: Tribal Nations and Advocacy Groups Respond as Enbridge Appeals Shutdown Order
A federal court ruled on June 16th that Enbridge's Line 5 pipeline is in trespass on the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa reservation and that it constitutes a public nuisance by posing an imminent threat of rupture that could devastate the Band’s drinking water, plants and wildlife, and the region’s economy. The court required a segment of the Line 5 pipeline to be shut down within three years. Enbridge's response of an appeal and proposal to re-route the pipeline does not protect the Band, their treaty-reserved territory, or the Great Lakes from the threat of Line 5.
New Report Shows the Current Landscape of Public Power in the Midwest
In the last year the Public Power Project collaboration has investigated the state of public power across the Midwest looking towards the necessary transition to renewable energy. With record temperatures and rapid changes in weather patterns, the urgency of finding new ways to support communities in this transition is worthy of study.
REI members nationwide rally at REI stores this week, following company inaction
Spanning 12 cities in 11 states from September 19th - 23rd 2022, REI customers will deliver a petition with more than 130,000 signatures demanding action on PFAS “forever chemicals”
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