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By: Jacob Philip Summary. Canadian oil company Enbridge's recently constructed Line 3 pipeline runs southeast from Canada’s oil sands region across northern Minnesota and into the western tip of Lake Superior near the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. Throughout it’s construction this pipeline was highly contested not only because of the risk of a potential oil spill somewhere along the route, but also because the set route violates multiple indigneous land treaties with the United States government. Despite this, the project was completed at the end of September this year and Enbridge claimed that it was fully operational by the beginning of October. However, this has not stopped climate activists and indigenous water protectors from continuing their protests, even in the face of over 900 activists being arrested. Alongside this, Enbridge has reimbursed Minnesota state and local police over 2.4 million dollars for surveilling and arresting anti-pipeline activists, even going so far as to pay for things such as meals and hotels for officers from other regions of the state. Activists continue their fight even in the face of such conditions because this pipeline has more than doubled carbon emissions for the state of Minnesota. Additionally, even though the Minnesota Court of Appeals has claimed that the project meets state and federal clean water standards, there was no federal environmental impact assessment completed prior to pipeline construction. Activists have said that they intend to continue protests until the pipeline is no longer operational, while Enbridge has stated that they have no intentions of closing Line 3 in the foreseeable future. Why we should care? I think that we should care about this topic because it sets a precedent for the construction/decommission of other pipelines such as Michigan's own Line 5.  Photo Credit: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2021%2Faug%2F10%2Fprotesters-line-3-minnesota-oil-gas-pipeline&psig=AOvVaw2NReRT2Iefh51gIlvGrXj5&ust=1635895842854000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCODLwoqp-PMCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD Example Article(s). https://www.democracynow.org/2021/10/11/people_vs_fossil_fuels_winona_laduke https://www.mprnews.org/story/2021/07/16/the-line-3-oil-pipeline-project-what-you-need-to-know https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/05/line-3-pipeline-enbridge-paid-police-arrest-protesters I found this article interesting because I think it is something we should all be concerned about given the climate crisis. Personally I do not believe that anything that would double the carbon emissions of an entire state should be constructed in the modern day and while I am by no means an expert/authority on energy resources I feel comfortable saying that there has to be a better way to meet our energy needs. Alongside this the whole time I was researching it was really frustrating to learn about just how much Enbridge seems to have gotten away with in this situation with little to no regard for the population or environment. Science in Action.
Dr. David Schindler was an ecologist at the University of Alberta. Dr. Schindler did research on tar sands extraction proving that the process creates many pollutants in the surrounding environment, disproving the statement that Enbridge and the Canadian government had put out saying that these pollutants were "naturally occurring".
14 Comments
Emma Cockerill
11/3/2021 12:30:42
Firstly I can't express how heartbreaking it is to see yet more native land taken without permission and contaminated. Personally, I think native Americans deserve far more than what they were allotted by the government in the first place. To continue to purge and ravage their land again and again across the country seems to make such an agreement completely invalid. Their communities seem to have no support or protection from the police. Cases like these are all too familiar to the rest of us immigrant American people, but we too have no protection when showing support during the protests. The Dakota Access pipeline was a very similar situation. https://apnews.com/hub/dakota-access-pipeline-protests
Kamaya Hayes
11/4/2021 10:48:55
I think that’s is very disheartening that people aren’t getting the proper infrastructure that they need to survive. I know that anything comes at a risk but its different when know what the outcome could be. Oil spills can be detrimental to humans, plants, and animals. So i think the government needs to take more time when considering things as important as these. 11/4/2021 11:21:57
It's so upsetting how the people building the pipeline don't take into account the Indigenous community. The pipeline is literally intruding their land and breaking a law, I can't imagine having something on my property and not having action or awareness brought to it. And having 900 activists arrested is insane. I feel like pipe line issues don't get enough awareness that they deserve.
Lindsey Wheaton
11/5/2021 09:41:11
It's kind of crazy that they're saying they won't close down the pipeline anytime soon despite the backlash. It is tragic that this is being done on native land so if something goes wrong it is their land that will be destroyed, and their water that will be poisoned.
Buck Patrick
11/8/2021 08:51:44
This is an interesting article. I never knew this was happening. I would assume it would be hard for there to be an oil spill. Wouldn't Enbridge want to keep the oil in the lines in order to maximize profit as well as avoid a potential lawsuit? And wouldn't they go through extra effort to make sure it is safe. This company only makes money if they do their job correctly and will all safety precautions so they would go to extra lengths to make sure this pipeline is safe. I would be interested in learning how the pipeline changes carbon emmisions. My assumption is that it happens during the extraction process but I really don't know. Good article, great writing and research. Thanks for taking your time to teach us!
Jackson Vosburg
11/8/2021 14:11:01
I think it is incredibly disheartening, but not surprising, for the government to listen to a major corporation over what the people want. We see this time and time again no matter which party politicians happen to be in. This is just one of many cases where public health and interests are ignored for wealth from major corporations. It is sad to see, but I am not sure how we can fix it.
Abby Plonka
11/8/2021 14:17:34
It’s really sad to see how much some companies don’t care about the land that they are destroying, and that they aren’t doing anything to address the backlash. It’s very unfortunate that a majority of companies care more about making money than the potential negative effects they can have on the people and the environment. There should be stricter laws and harsher punishment for those that exploit protected land.
Ximena Mazariegos
11/8/2021 14:54:38
During the summer I heard a lot about the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline and the protests that were going on around it. I did a research assignment on this and I learned that not only is the pipeline breaking treaties by endangering the water resources of Native Americans but it also crosses the Mississippi River twice therefore endangering water resources for many more people. I'm glad people aren't giving up on stopping this pipeline.
Collin Houston
11/8/2021 16:40:20
It's really sad to see an oil pipeline being built and even being built on Native land. I swear the treaties with Native Americans are always being broken and it's honestly appalling. Also the amount of issues that can occur because of that pipeline are really concerning. If a leak was to occur lands and habitats would be destroyed.
Hailey Bernys
11/8/2021 22:10:39
It’s so crazy to me how people let alone big companies can know how bad things are for the environment but, still ignore it and let it keep hurting the environment. Something like this where there is so much awareness and people fighting to change things to help the environment it should not be ignored. How can you ignore and lock up people trying to protect the environment and the world as we know it. Sooner or later none of it will matter once we run out of clean air and the basic necessities to live as we do now. I didn’t even know of this topic until I saw your post and I’m just in shock at how blind people are to these issues in the sense that they just ignore it for profit. Instead of arresting and fining the people trying to help the earth we should be arresting and fining the companies and people destroying the earth. It just simply does not make sense.
Rachel Mangulabnan
11/8/2021 23:29:02
The fact that they arrested 900 people and have no intentions of slowing down anytime soon is yet another instance where they put profit over people. Indigenous people have constantly but pushed of their lands and moved around and around throughout history as if they are disposable. The fact that even the small amounts of land designated as theirs should be protected but is being disrupted and destroyed is enraging. Of course it has and will only continue to harm the wildlife, ecosystems and nature around as well. It is so disheartening and frustrating especially considering the fact that people have been speaking up and trying and begging to be heard and they are only met with anger and arrests. I am just not sure what more they/we can do.
Juliana Witt
11/11/2021 20:17:36
I've never heard about this pipeline or many pipelines in general. I know that they do a lot of damage to the earth in many different ways especially altering many ecosystems. I do not like the idea there was a lot of opposition but it was still built anyway. Everyone says that regular citizens have a voice but when things like this are built and have so much opposition it makes me feel like our voices go unheard.
Madalynn Matson
11/16/2021 15:56:17
Communities indigenous to America have been disrespected time and time again, from when Europeans first colonized the area to this day, where people are fighting to defend their land from Line 3. Indigenous people are almost never consulted when it comes to what happens to their land, and the consequences are clear.
Sobhie Nazal
12/21/2021 23:37:55
Wow, this was a very great presentation and you wrote it very well and properly. This was very interesting for me to learn about considering I didn’t really know much about this pipeline or any others to be honest. I never really looked into pipelines this much before but I’m glad to have learned something new from this. I also agree that it’s shocking to know how much Enbridge has gotten away with this and I feel like they shouldn’t have the ability to continue to get away with causing more climate problems and issues for our world. Leave a Reply. |
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December 2021
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