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Every nation on Earth besides Syria and Nicaragua signed the Paris Agreement, which commits nations to lower their carbon emissions to avoid catastrophic Climate Change. Since then, the US has not kept up its part of the bargain! Other forms of energy have been ready to roll out at a large scale for some time now, but the US still clings to fossil fuels and its environment will pay because of it! A University of Michigan study has called the Straits the worst possible place for an oil spill in the entirety of the Great Lakes. They cite that the pipes were built more than 60 years ago and the currents on the bottom of the Straits (10 times that of Niagara Falls) puts enormous stress on the pipes. “A University of Michigan 2014 study funded by the National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes Regional office found that in a worst-case scenario, more than 700 miles of Great Lakes shoreline could be significantly contaminated.” (Greenpeace) Current Enbridge data shows that Line 5 has lost 26% of its wall thickness due to corrosion. Line 5 has already leaked more than 1 million gallons of oil inland. Line 3 was also the source of the largest inland oil spill in the U.S. on March 3, 1991 when 40,000 barrels (1,680,000 gallons) spilled in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
“Of the 307 incidents mentioned before, 291 were crude oil spills, 9 were refined petroleum product spills, and 7 were highly-volatile liquids (HVL). These incidents led to the release of 66,059 barrels (2.8 million gallons) of hazardous liquids, of which nearly all (66,041 barrels) were crude oil. Of this total, more than 20% (13,410 barrels) was never recovered. Forty-three of Enbridge’s spills are considered “significant,” meaning they resulted in more than 50 barrels (2,100 gallons) released.” (Greenpeace) Alberta’s tar sands are among the dirtiest and most carbon-intensive fuel sources on the planet, with greenhouse gas emissions 30% higher than standard crude oil. To produce one gallon of tar sands oil, 6 gallons of water have to be used and contaminated. Minnesota has already begun to show signs of Climate Change! The summer of 2018 saw a cyanobacteria algal bloom that stretched for 50 miles through the waters of Lake Superior, driven by warmer waters and agricultural runoff. Climate scientists say that by the end of the century “the Minnesota summer climate will generally resemble that of current-day Kansas.” (UCSUSA)
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