EXTRACTED: Daily News Clips 10/11/21
PIPELINE NEWS
StopLine3.org: AS OIL SPILLS ADD URGENCY TO CALLS FOR BIDEN TO ACT, INDIGENOUS & CLIMATE JUSTICE ACTIVISTS PREVIEW MAJOR PROTESTS AT THE WHITE HOUSE
CBC: Line 3 did something rare for a pipeline that exports Canadian crude: It got built
StopLine3.org: WATER PROTECTORS TO DELIVER 1 MILLION PETITIONS TO STOP LINE 3 OIL PIPELINE
Associated Press: O.C. oil pipeline may have been damaged up to a year before spill
Los Angeles Times: Pipeline company evades questions over a 15-hour gap before reporting oil spill
Augusta Free Press: Legislators raise issue with Lambert Compressor Station Permit
KMA: CO2 pipeline landowner meetings this week
WRIC: Residents say pipeline company left them in the dark
Catholic News Service: Adorers of Blood of Christ lose court battle challenging natural gas pipeline
Civil Beat: Amid ‘Political Concerns,’ Navy Kept Quiet About Red Hill Pipeline Leaking Into Pearl Harbor
Indian Country Today: Standing Rock women highlighted in documentary
WASHINGTON UPDATES
New York Times: Biden to Restore Three National Monuments in Utah and New England
Denver Post: Hickenlooper targets no-bid auctioning of drilling rights on public lands
STATE UPDATES
Reuters: Alaska says its planned LNG project will help Asia cut carbon emissions
Bakersfield Californian: Judge orders Kern to halt oil permitting pending court review
EXTRACTION
NPR: We need to talk about your gas stove, your health and climate change
CLIMATE FINANCE
Press release: Stop the Money Pipeline Responds to JP Morgan Chase joining Net-Zero Alliance
OPINION
Star Tribune: Line 3 opponents can savor this defeat
SC Times: What if nature has rights, and that helps humans?
Traverse City Record-Eagle: Letter: Enbridge is stalling by proposing a Line-5 Great Lakes tunnel
PIPELINE NEWS
StopLine3.org: AS OIL SPILLS ADD URGENCY TO CALLS FOR BIDEN TO ACT, INDIGENOUS & CLIMATE JUSTICE ACTIVISTS PREVIEW MAJOR PROTESTS AT THE WHITE HOUSE
10/8/21
“In the wake of a major oil spill in Southern California and a new disaster at an oil refinery in Texas City, TX, a coalition of hundreds of Indigenous, climate, and social justice organizations is preparing to arrive in Washington, DC next week for five days of major protests that will urge the Biden Administration to act to curb fossil fuels. Indigenous and climate justice activists previewed those mobilizations in the context of even more fossil fuel disasters that are endangering public health while accelerating the climate crisis. “We want you [President Biden], with a stroke of your pen, to declare a climate emergency,” said John Beard, Jr., Founder, Chairman and CEO of the Port Arthur Community Action Network. “We’re going to keep escalating the rhetoric, escalating the actions, escalating the call for justice, and Biden is going to have to hear us. Either he's going to be forced to act, or we're going to force others to force him to act. But there can be no compromise here. It's got to be done.” The Build Back Fossil Free Coalition is planning five days of protests and civil disobedience at the White House next week under the banner of "People vs. Fossil Fuels." [Full details are included below]. They're calling on the Biden Administration to use its executive authority to declare a climate emergency and immediately stop new fossil fuel projects and crack down on existing production.”
CBC: Line 3 did something rare for a pipeline that exports Canadian crude: It got built
Alexander Panetta, 10/11/21
“A phenomenon recently unfolded that represents a rarity in this era of vocal opposition to Canadian fossil-fuel projects. A major pipeline project exporting oil from Canada was just completed and it began operating with relatively little national attention. The Line 3 project attracted much less scrutiny than Keystone XL from American protesters, media and politicians. It didn't even appear to be the top pipeline story in Canada last week — that distinction likely belonged to Line 5, which is escalating as a political irritant between Canada and the U.S.,” the CBC reports. “However, the process of getting the pipeline built through Minnesota illustrated the risks of completing such a project in this era… “Andrew Leach has a new paper out in the Alberta Law Review that suggests we're unlikely to see any brand new oil export pipelines ever built from Canada. Leach said the project is unlikely to prompt a flood of new investment in Alberta. Pipelines are, in his estimation, a sideshow to the main factor that drives investment decisions in the oilsands: Global oil prices… “There will be several days' worth of protests this week in Washington against this and other pipeline projects and Line 3 opponents are still hoping to block it in tribal and federal courts.”
StopLine3.org: WATER PROTECTORS TO DELIVER 1 MILLION PETITIONS TO STOP LINE 3 OIL PIPELINE
10/11/21
“On Tuesday, October 12th, more than 100 Indigenous leaders and supporters who have been resisting the construction of the expanded Line 3 tar sands pipeline will deliver one million petitions asking the Biden Administration to stop the project pending a full environmental review. The group of 100+ water protectors will rally, hold ceremony with Anishinaabe drummers, and speak outside the headquarters of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, calling on Jamie Pinkham, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works to conduct a full federal environmental impact statement to assess the Line 3 pipeline’s threats to human rights, water, and climate.”
Associated Press: O.C. oil pipeline may have been damaged up to a year before spill
10/10/21
“An underwater oil pipeline off the Southern California coast was likely damaged by a ship’s anchor several months to a year before it ruptured and sent oil spewing into the ocean and then onto some of the area’s best-known beaches, investigators said Friday,” the Associated Press reports. “Coast Guard Capt. Jason Neubauer, chief of the office of investigations and analysis, told AP after the first strike it’s possible other ships’ anchors subsequently struck the steel pipe that brings oil to shore from three platforms out at sea. Investigators previously said a large section of the pipe was bowed after being struck and dragged along the seabed. It remains unknown when the slender, 13-inch (33-centimeter) crack began leaking oil, and investigators will pour over a year of data on ship movements near the area of the break. No ships have been identified as suspects at this point… “It now appears many factors played a role in the pipe’s failure – possible repeated anchor strikes, stresses from being dragged along the seafloor and the corrosive forces of seawater… “So far, the impact on wildlife has been minimal — 10 dead birds and another 25 recovered alive and treated — but environmentalists caution the long-term impacts could be much greater. As cleanup continued on the shore and some beaches reopened Friday, though the public still can’t go in the water. Anchor strikes on pipelines are relatively rare, but have caused problems in the past. An Associated Press review of more than 10,000 reports submitted to federal regulators found at least 17 accidents on pipelines carrying crude oil or other hazardous liquids have been linked to anchor strikes or suspected anchor strikes since 1986.”
Los Angeles Times: Pipeline company evades questions over a 15-hour gap before reporting oil spill
BY ANITA CHABRIA, LAURA J. NELSON, ADAM ELMAHREK, 10/9/21
“When workers for the company operating the Elly drilling rig saw oil in the water miles from the California shoreline, they didn’t immediately call authorities. Instead, they dialed the company’s risk management firm,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “At 8:55 a.m. Saturday, an emergency response employee at the crisis company Witt O’Brien’s informed federal authorities that a leaking pipeline had sent crude oil pouring into the water off Orange County, turbocharging the U.S. Coast Guard’s investigation of a substantial spill that residents miles inland said they could smell. That was 15 hours after the first reports of oil in the water, at 6 p.m. Friday, began trickling in. This gap between Friday evening and Saturday morning remains one of the least understood and potentially vital parts of the oil spill, filled with unanswered questions and contradictions. Why was the rig’s first call not to federal regulators? Did a pipeline alarm go off in the early hours of Saturday morning? And when exactly did the oil company, a subsidiary of Amplify Energy Corp., stop pumping crude oil? Figuring out what happened during that 15-hour period could help determine whether more could have been done to limit the scope of the spill and damages it caused. Amplify Energy Chief Executive Martyn Willsher has been evasive about those crucial hours, offering information that conflicts with state and federal records and providing vague responses to questions at news conferences before bowing out of a media appearance Thursday.”
Augusta Free Press: Legislators raise issue with Lambert Compressor Station Permit
10/7/21
“Roanoke Del. Sam Rasoul is among a coalition of 15 state legislators in calling for the denial of the air permit application for the proposed Lambert Compressor Station,” the Augusta Free Press reports. “Of the 300 submitted comments, more than 90 percent asked the VADEQ and the VA Air Quality Control Board to reject the draft permit,” Rasoul said. “As representatives of the people, we echo the concerns raised by the public, including that environmental justice issues were inadequately addressed, public outreach and community engagement efforts during the review process were lacking, and that site suitability analysis was insufficient.” Significant health and environmental concerns have been raised about the siting of the Lambert Compressor Station, which would connect the Mountain Valley Pipeline to the proposed Southgate Extension. The extension would cross 73 miles into North Carolina. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has twice rejected the Southgate permit application, and the MVP mainline currently lacks multiple federal and state authorizations, which are required for construction to proceed.”
KMA: CO2 pipeline landowner meetings this week
Mike Peterson, 10/11/21
“Officials with Summit Carbon Solutions is holding a series of public landowner meetings on the carbon dioxide pipeline planned for a good portion of the Midwest,” KMA reports. “Two meetings take place today: one for Mills County residents at noon at the Lakin Community Center at Malvern, and a Fremont County meeting at 6 p.m. at the Waterfalls at 907 Hartford Avenue in Farragut. More meetings are scheduled for Thursday in Page County at noon at the Shenandoah Public Library, and in Montgomery County at 6 p.m. at the Montgomery County Ag Society Gold Building in Red Oak. In a previous interview with Radio Iowa, Iowa Utilities Board spokesman Don Tormey says plans call for the pipeline to carry carbon dioxide from ethanol plants in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Minnesota to an underground storage facility in North Dakota. “After all the meetings have concluded, the company has to wait at least 30 days to file a petition with the IUB for a new pipeline permit,” Torrey told KMA. “Once they file, that gets reviewed by the board and staff and there are several steps in the process. For example, setting a public hearing date, setting dates for testimony and exhibits to be filed, that sort of thing.”
WRIC: Residents say pipeline company left them in the dark
Jakob Cordes, 10/10/21
“Allen Novak found out about the proposed pipeline the same way many residents of Hanover County did, by way of a letter from Chickahominy Pipeline, LLC requesting his permission to survey his farm,” WRIC reports. “...Details provided in the letter are scarce. In a copy obtained by 8News, the company lists the five counties the project would run through – Louisa, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent and Charles City – but doesn’t provide any other information about the purpose of the pipeline or details of its proposed route… “Novak told WRIC he didn’t send anything back to the company, and doesn’t plan to grant permission if they do come knocking. But in the meantime, he’s talked to his neighbors, and found many – but not all – of them received similar letters. He says they pieced together what they believed to be a portion of the route CPLLC is interested in, running directly through his farm and into a neighbor’s backyard… “For members of Concerned Citizens of Charles City County, or C5 for short, the nascent fight against the Chickahominy Pipeline is a familiar one. The group, which formed in June 2019, originally had two potential gas plants to contend with in a county of just under 7,000 residents… Now C5 and Citizens Against Chickahominy Pipeline, along with county governments, competing gas companies and national environmental organizations, are gearing up for a long regulatory fight before the SCC.”
Catholic News Service: Adorers of Blood of Christ lose court battle challenging natural gas pipeline
By Dennis Sadowski, 10/4/21
“A religious order that has been challenging construction of a natural gas transmission line through its Pennsylvania property for years expressed disappointment that a federal court judge dismissed their lawsuit rooted in religious freedom claims,” Catholic News Service reports. “Attorney Dwight Yoder, representing the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, told CNS the dismissal of the lawsuit by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Schmehl was not surprising, given the judge’s similar decisions in earlier claims against construction the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline and its builder, Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Reading was grounded in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA. The Adorers had sought a trial to present evidence about the practice of their faith and their belief that as Christians they are called to protect creation from desecration. “We think the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was adopted by Congress and Congress gave specific instructions. It’s supposed to trump and preempt other federal laws,” Yoder said. “Congress instructed the judiciary to apply that law to protect religious liberty. In this case that’s not what’s happening here. They’re protecting fossil fuel companies. We disagree with the court’s analysis.”
Civil Beat: Amid ‘Political Concerns,’ Navy Kept Quiet About Red Hill Pipeline Leaking Into Pearl Harbor
Christina Jedra, 10/8/21
“It was the end of January, just days before the U.S. Navy was set to appear in a hearing before the Hawaii Department of Health that would determine the fate of its Red Hill underground fuel facility. A particularly inconvenient time for a leak. And yet, an oil sheen in the water of Pearl Harbor had been growing since March 2020, and a nearby pipeline connected to the Red Hill facility had just failed a leak detection test,” Civil Beat reports. “In a Jan. 21 email, a Navy captain said he was worried about the optics. So-called “historical” releases, such as from fuel-soaked soil near Pearl Harbor, were one thing. But an active leak from an in-use pipeline would reflect poorly on the Navy at a crucial moment. “There are significant political concerns if this were to become an ‘active’ leak,” he wrote. “Activist organizations will use this to advance their anti-Red Hill narrative … at a sensitive time as the contested case hearing begins and legislative season starts.” “...The records show that the Navy had enough evidence to conclude the leak was active as early as January according to state Department of Health standards, but officials waited months to report it to the department amid concerns it would hamper its ability to secure a state permit… “Sierra Club Director Marti Townsend said the Navy’s lack of transparency means “we really can’t trust them.” “That they can’t be forthcoming with the public and the Department of Health about active leaks means that we really can’t trust them when it comes to making the most protective decision possible about the Red Hill fuel tanks. Their judgment is faulty.” “...As contested case hearings were happening, “a relatively significant amount” of fuel was being released into Pearl Harbor’s water every day, according to a Feb. 4 email a Navy captain wrote to colleagues. That Navy official, too, was concerned about how the release might impact the Red Hill permit. “This release into the harbor is not only an environmental concern but also a concern as it relates to the Red Hill fuel system,” he wrote.
Indian Country Today: Standing Rock women highlighted in documentary
Vincent Schilling, 10/8/21
“A breathtaking and heartfelt new documentary highlighting a four-year battle of Native women-led water protectors in the #NoDAPL movement has recently secured a spot on Fuse TV,” Indian Country Today reports. “End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock” premiered on Fuse TV — a video-on-demand streaming platform that focuses on empowering and cultural-based content — on June 25, a date marking the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Bighorn. The documentary is part of the Peabody and Emmy award-winning Fuse Docs franchise, and was directed and produced by Shannon Kring and co-produced by Pearl Daniel Means. The documentary also features some of the internationally recognized drone footage from Native journalist Myron Dewey… “In an interview with Indian Country Today, Kring said she decided on telling a documentary story that was based on the contributions of the women leaders at the Standing Rock camp. Kring said the course of the filming was difficult and stressful, she often questioned her own safety and the safety of water protectors.”
WASHINGTON UPDATES
New York Times: Biden to Restore Three National Monuments in Utah and New England
By Coral Davenport, 10/7/21
“President Biden is expected to announce on Friday that he will use his executive authority to restore sweeping environmental protections to three major national monuments that had been stripped away by former President Donald J. Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter,” the New York Times reports. “Mr. Biden will reinstate and slightly expand the original 1.3 million acre boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument, and restore the original 1.8 million acre boundaries of Grand Staircase-Escalante, two rugged and pristine expanses in Utah that are defined by red rock canyons, rich wildlife and archaeological treasures. He will also restore protections covering the Atlantic Ocean’s first marine monument, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, an expanse of sea canyons and underwater mountains off the New England coast… “Mr. Trump’s 2017 decision to slash Bears Ears by nearly 85 percent alarmed paleontologists, environmentalists and Native American groups. Bears Ears is rich in fossils dating back to hundreds of millions of years and is an important cultural landmark for tribal nations… “But in a joint statement, Utah’s congressional delegation called the president’s decision a “devastating blow” to its efforts to find a lasting solution that could not be changed with each administration. “Rather than take the opportunity to build unity in a divided region and bring resources and lasting protections to sacred antiquities by seeking a mutually beneficial and permanent legislative solution, President Biden fanned the flames of controversy and ignored input from the communities closest to these monuments,” said the statement, which was signed by Utah’s two senators and three representatives, all Republicans.
Denver Post: Hickenlooper targets no-bid auctioning of drilling rights on public lands
BRUCE FINLEY, 10/7/21
“A century-old federal law designed to boost energy development allowed the government to sell drilling rights without taking bids on 38% of U.S. public land that officials leased to oil and gas companies over a 16-year period. More than 527,000 of those acres — going for as little as $1.50 an acre — were in Colorado, federal records show. This noncompetitive process has its critics, including U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, who introduced a bill Thursday to require competitive bidding,” the Denver Post reports. “Noncompetitive leasing encourages speculation on public lands at taxpayers’ expense,” Hickenlooper, a Democrat who long has been seen by political observers and lawmakers as an ally of the oil and gas industry, told the Post. “Westerners lose out when large swaths of land are set aside for speculation — instead of conservation or recreation.” The Competitive Onshore Mineral Policy via Eliminating Taxpayer-Enabled Speculation (COMPETES) Act says federal land managers “shall not issue onshore oil and gas leases except through a competitive bidding process.” “The Bureau of Land Management is required to hold online lease sale auctions for parcels that individuals or companies nominate anonymously to be auctioned for possible future drilling. Bidding can bring in $100 an acre and more, but the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 also allows noncompetitive leasing. If nobody bids in an auction, BLM officials offer drilling rights for two years for a $75 application fee at a bargain rate of $1.50 an acre.”
STATE UPDATES
Reuters: Alaska says its planned LNG project will help Asia cut carbon emissions
10/7/21
“Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC) said on Thursday that its proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project would reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Asia by allowing power generators to use a cleaner fuel than coal,” Reuters reports. “The state-owned liquefied natural gas (LNG) and pipeline developer released a study concluding that overall greenhouse gas emissions from Alaska LNG natural gas would be 50% less than burning Chinese regional coal, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 77 million tonnes per year. The study, produced by energy and environmental experts from EXP, SLR Consulting, and ALG (Ashworth Leininger Group), also showed that Alaska LNG had a lower greenhouse gas intensity than other LNG export projects on the U.S. Gulf Coast and Australia. "When you look at the environmental benefits achieved by completing our project, it strengthens our position," Frank Richards, president of AGDC, told Reuters… “Alaska LNG is one of several of North American LNG export projects that have for years been seeking customers to sign long-term contracts needed to finance construction of their multi-billion dollar projects.”
Bakersfield Californian: Judge orders Kern to halt oil permitting pending court review
BY JOHN COX, 10/7/21
“Kern government has been ordered to stop issuing oilfield permits until late April at the earliest, when a judge will decide whether the latest version of the county's controversial oil-and-gas zoning ordinance complies with the terms of a court order last year that had halted such permitting,” the Bakersfield Californian reports. “But in a win for local oil producers, the ruling Wednesday by Kern County Superior Court Judge Gregory Pulskamp upheld permits issued by the county after the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously March 8 to approve the revised ordinance. In halting Kern's permitting activity and scheduling an April 28 court hearing on the matter, Pulskamp found that county officials lacked authority to "unilaterally determine" that the ordinance's newer iteration satisfied the California Environmental Quality Act requirements of a court ruling in February 2000 that led to the suspension of new permits. The ruling does not necessarily mean local oil producers won't be able to get new permits from the state, which were generally the only approvals required prior to the adoption of Kern's original oil and gas ordinance in late 2015. But Wednesday's order does end, at least temporarily, the county's collection of air-quality fees meant to help offset local drilling's emissions.”
EXTRACTION
NPR: We need to talk about your gas stove, your health and climate change
Jeff Brady, 10/7/21
“Americans love their gas stoves. It's a romance fueled by a decades-old "cooking with gas" campaign from utilities that includes vintage advertisements, a cringeworthy 1980s rap video and, more recently, social media personalities. The details have changed over time, but the message is the same: Using a gas stove makes you a better cook,” NPR reports. “But the beloved gas stove has become a focal point in a fight over whether gas should even exist in the 35% of U.S. homes that cook with it. Environmental groups are focused on potential health effects. Burning gas emits pollutants that can cause or worsen respiratory illnesses. Residential appliances like gas-powered furnaces and water heaters vent pollution outside, but the stove "is the one gas appliance in your home that is most likely unvented," says Brady Seals with RMI, formerly Rocky Mountain Institute. The focus on possible health risks from stoves is part of the broader campaign by environmentalists to kick gas out of buildings to fight climate change. Commercial and residential buildings account for about 13% of heat-trapping emissions, mainly from the use of gas appliances. Those groups won a significant victory recently when California developed new standards that, once finalized, will require more ventilation for gas stoves than for electric ones starting in 2023. The Biden administration's climate plan also calls for government incentives that would encourage people to switch from residential gas to all-electric.”
CLIMATE FINANCE
Press release: Stop the Money Pipeline Responds to JP Morgan Chase joining Net-Zero Alliance
10/8/21
“Today, JP Morgan Chase updated its Environmental and Social Policy Framework, demonstrating its new membership in the Net Zero Banking Alliance ahead of COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland. Just under two weeks ago, Stop the Money Pipeline hosted a press briefing on Greenwashing with Congresswoman Katie Porter, outlining all the ways we expect financial institutions to issue greenwashed climate policies around COP26. In the briefing, Reclaim Finance Just Transition Analyst Paddy McCully noted the greenwashed nature of the Net Zero Banking Alliance and similar alliances, and the alliance’s failure to adopt and enforce a policy of prohibiting financial institutions from investing in new fossil fuel developments. “The International Energy Agency was clear earlier this year: there is no need for investments in new fossil fuel infrastructure beyond 2021,” said Jackie Fielder, communications coordinator for Stop the Money Pipeline. “Chase has made sure through its billions of dollars of investments, that we remain in a fossil-fueled climate spiral for generations to come. Chase’s new climate commitments are completely compatible with increased emissions, increased deforestation, Indigenous displacement and human rights violations.”
OPINION
Star Tribune: Line 3 opponents can savor this defeat
Winona LaDuke is the co-founder and executive director of the Indigenous-led environmental justice nonprofit, Honor the Earth, 10/9/21
“It's somehow fitting irony as Indigenous Day approaches on Oct. 11 — once known by another name — that a new Columbus is about to pump oil through Line 3, the last tar sands pipeline. That is the colonial-like corporation Enbridge,” Winona LaDuke writes for the Star Tribune. “Maybe President Joe Biden will think about this one and stop the dirty oil from burning our rivers and air. The Indian wars could be over. After all, no one needs this pipeline, plus it's the dirtiest and most expensive oil in the world to extract and produce. In one narrative, the Canadian corporation won. Columbus conquered anew, proof that might and money remain the rulers. Then, there's another. That's the Ballad of the Water Protectors — a movement born in the battles in northern Minnesota and North Dakota, a movement that will grow and transform the economy of the future. How do we know this? Well, no one wants to finance more tar sands. Other telling signs, and some new red flags, include: The Canadian oil industry estimated that a lack of pipeline capacity reduced the industry's income by tens of billions of dollars before the pandemic started. The tar sands industry couldn't afford to approve and build new extraction facilities during the curtailment, and now, in part due to the pandemic, it still can't. Uncertainty about Line 3 caused by Indigenous people and water protectors encouraged massive divestment from the tar sands by non-Canadian investors… “Put another way, the pipeline opposition campaign stopped the tar sands industry dead in its tracks.”
SC Times: What if nature has rights, and that helps humans?
Linda Larson, 10/10/21
“Nature may have legal rights, and those rights could help human habitat,” Linda Larson writes for the SC Times. “Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources is being sued by the White Earth Band of Ojibwe for its water permit for Line 3 construction. Wild rice is included in the lawsuit because in 2018 the tribe gave wild rice, a sacred grain called mamoomin, rights… “The tribe gave wild rice the rights to “exist, flourish and regenerate.” Humans have rights. Americans are proud of their rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as stated in the Declaration of Independence. Should nature have those same rights, too? In a Minnesota Public Radio article, Dale Greene, a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, stated that nature and humans share a relationship. “They're providing life to us. It just makes perfect sense that it's a living, providing, spiritual being, in the form of water or food." Other tribal nations have created similar laws that give nature rights. Could this become a widespread phenomenon? It’s not far-fetched. After all, the court case Citizens United decided that corporations are people and have the right to free speech. The executive director with the Earth Law Center in Colorado, Grant Wilson, suggests that in the future the rights of nature will be a mainstream idea.”
Traverse City Record-Eagle: Letter: Enbridge is stalling by proposing a Line-5 Great Lakes tunnel
Barbara Stamiris, 10/10/21
“Enbridge is stalling by proposing a Line-5 Great Lakes tunnel. It may sound great, but on closer look, the tunnel is a pretense which keeps an unsafe 1953 pipeline operating well beyond its intended 50 years. The California oil spill shows us all too clearly the danger of a pipeline in a busy shipping lane,” Barbara Stamiris writes for the Traverse City Record-Eagle. “When Gov. Whitmer ordered Line 5 shut down, Enbridge sued to operate it until its replacement in a tunnel was ready — years from now. Since escape clauses in the 2018 tunnel agreement let Enbridge back out without penalty, courts, state and federal regulators will deliberate for years about a tunnel unlikely to be built. The tunnel’s real purpose is to keep Line-5 earning $1.76 million/day (Enbridge 6/30/20 estimate) for as long as possible… “A 99-year oil tunnel is an unsound investment for Enbridge, Michigan or anyone as the world turns away from fossil fuels. Don’t believe the tunnel pretense. Shut down Line-5. Save the climate. Save the Great Lakes. Now — before we are the headline story.”