Letters 11-02-2015

Oct. 30, 2015

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Show Us The Pipeline Data

I really want to believe Enbridge engineer Tom Prew. His newspaper ads says Enbridge’s Line 5 at the Straits crossing is the most monitored "segment" of its entire system. Despite being a decade beyond its anticipated life, all is supposedly fine: "As engineers, we can clearly see from the data..."

Then why declare that data (inspection reports, engineering protocols and repair records) as confidential?

What do you have to hide? Show us the data only you can clearly see! Keeping any data from review by independent engineers is an unacceptable insult and red flag to everyone in Michigan. Unfortunately, Governor Snyder and Attorney General Schuette are apparently content with that confidential response, but they have appointed yet another taskforce of non-engineers to do review things (the Governor does not need another Flint pipeline debacle).

Close monitoring of the Straits pipe is fine, but what about the other 635 miles of Line 5 – most of it running close to wetlands, streams and Michigan lakes – like Burt and Mullet? Since 1988, there have been fifteen failures in Line 5, spilling more than 260,000 gallons of oil. This non-Straits, 62-year-old pipe is thinner and more like Line 6 that ruptured into the Kalamazoo River in 2010. Enbridge’s inspection data showed cracks in Line 6 almost five years before it ruptured. Unfortunately, its protocols for greater inspection and repair were apparently not triggered.

Why then should Michiganders trust these PR assurances now?

Leonard Page, Cheboygan

My Climate Heroes

Thank you Express for the story on local climate change activism. And thank you for featuring everyday folks instead of celebrities or politicians. I’m OK with "prominent" people touting their green agenda. It certainly doesn’t hurt, and it might motivate some. But you know who motivates me? The person right here, in my neighborhood, the one I see beside me at work, school, or on my favorite trail. He makes choices that I can make, too. She exercises her political will, as I can too, to influence leaders and bring about change.

Our future, if fossil fuels continue unchecked, is daunting. Our leaders seem more determined than ever to dig in to their ideologies rather than collaborate on solutions. Because of this, as Ms. Dell and Ms. Madigan point out, people often don’t know where to start. What this piece says to me is, "start here!"

I know some of the faces on your cover. I have called them my climate heroes, but I think I will stop using that term. "Hero" evokes someone larger than life, doing things that no one else can do. This is large, but it IS our life, and your story illustrates that there are many things each of us can do. I hope this coverage inspires your readers to learn about climate solutions and talk to members of Congress often, building the political will to sustain our only home.

Cathye Williams, Thompsonville

Other Pipeline Possibilities

Everyone seems to be focused on Line 5 pipeline’s safety and probability of corrosion or other failures devastating the Great Lakes. Let’s not focus only on the failure of the line itself, but on other types of line breaches that could cause the same results. In my memory there have been two incidences of ships dropping anchor in the Straits and hooking electric lines. One was a U.S. Navy ship that took out the power to Mackinac Island; the other was, to my memory, a freighter that snagged an unused line between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The second snag happened in the very area where Line Five is located. It ripped out the line from both sides of the Straits. A few hundred yards more or less would make all the discussion moot at this point.

A question I have is, in the event of a ship snagging Line 5 and causing rupture, would Enbridge’s insurance pay for the ensuing devastation? I think not! It wouldn’t be Enbridge’s fault, so why would they pay? Just try to get the money out of a ship flagged in Monrovia or some other flag of convenience. That would leave the taxpayers on the hook for the bill. Just saying.

C. Heilman, Mackinaw City

Rent Too High

The rent is too damn high in and around Traverse City. I will be on my way out of the region in pursuit of a more affordable living situation congruent with affordability.

The reason this letter is three sentences is because it is just as simple as that.

Joe Connolly, Traverse City

Drugs Mean More

This letter is directed to those folks who use recreational drugs. I would like you to realize that when you are buying recreational drugs that come from or through Mexico, you are financing organizations that are just as guilty of horrendous, depraved atrocities that are being committed by ISIS (the Islamic Caliphate in Syria and Iraq). Through your purchases, you are supporting the torture and killings of many innocent people. Think about it, please. Gracias.

Charlie Weaver, Kalkaska