By: Noah Marshall-Rashid, Co-owner, American Spoon
Allowing Line 5 to continue operating under the Straits of Mackinac puts our state closer and closer to a potential economic and environmental catastrophe.
As a business owner, I am acutely aware of the misinformation Enbridge has repeated as it seeks to keep Line 5 operational and create a new tunnel underwater. They say gas prices will spike without Line 5 – which has been found to be untrue. They say they are doing all they can to ensure the pipeline is safe – which also has been found to be false.
Enbridge has a terrible track record in terms of safety and transparency and should not be trusted to operate Line 5 in our Great Lakes.
Removing Line 5 would eliminate a looming threat to our “Pure Michigan” way of life, and the small businesses that rely on tourism. It would also encourage more clean energy alternatives that would be safer for our state – meaning less reliance on foreign oil.
We know Michigan’s best resource is its people. We can support jobs for thousands of Michigan residents by breaking our ties with Big Oil and instead investing in more clean energy technologies to fuel our future.
These technologies are cleaner and safer for the environment – protecting our Great Lakes and the air we breathe. That, in turn, is better for so many of the small businesses like mine that rely on people to visit communities across the state of Michigan.
We see the Big Three moving in this direction by manufacturing more electric vehicles. We see this with utility companies like Consumers Energy adding more wind and solar farms. Michigan residents themselves are making clean energy choices every day, so let’s not stop there.
We all know Line 5 is a ticking time bomb. We need to protect our air, land and water for future generations. I hope Gov. Whitmer will do what’s right and shut down Big Oil in our Great Lakes for the sake of our economy and environment. The future is bright for clean energy like wind and solar. Let’s shut down Line 5 and leave risky underwater pipelines and the dangerous oil it transports in the past.
