As the saying goes: “It ain’t what you say, it’s the way that you say it,” I have taken my audacity pill today and have changed this to:
“It’s ain’t what you say, it’s when we heard you say it.” That’s my bumper sticker suggestion that all politicians should fear when tailgating a loyal electorate.
A stuck on my shoe topic that won’t go away, (and I won’t let it) is the Line 5 melodrama playing out before our eyes, and that has the potential for becoming a horror story we will all be forced to pay dearly for some day and that day is rapidly approaching.
Last November, the governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer declared that she wanted Line 5 shut down on or by May 12, 2021.
The reason for this is that she considers the line, “an unreasonable risk” to the state. Meaning the line could spring a leak and threaten the water quality of the state of Michigan.
That was November, this is now.
This week, this same state leader declared that, due to a prolonged cold snap she was declaring a State of Emergency, and said, “While I am confident that our state has the energy supply we need to get through these cold winter days, we aren’t taking any chances.”
Well, there’s a wakeup call for you!
If, as the governor wishes, Line 5 is shut down, then the state of Michigan’s supply of propane will be cut by 55%, I assume that there is a contingency plan to provide propane from some source other than the Sarnia, Ontario refining hub?
But I guess I’ll have to wait for the 11:00 o’clock news on that one. Probably be a long wait.
On the Canadian side of this problem, it looks like Suncor and Imperial Oil are drumming their fingers and assuming the worst that Line 5 will be closed. They will be forced to up the ante up the volume of crude that will be delivered by rail.
The risks of a spill by derailment are astronomically higher than a Line 5 leak, which has not happened in the 70 years of operation.
The increased delivery costs by rail are also in the stratosphere. Rail also generates more emissions than pipelines. The cost of air pollution and greenhouse gases is double that of pipelines.
My comment to governor Whitmer: “You can’t have your environmental cake and eat it, too.”
Closing Line 5 may be great for photo ops, and green energy sound bytes on the news, but it doesn’t serve the consumers well.
Perhaps a piece of humble pie is needed.
Who knows, you may like it after knowing all the facts, and your voting consumers in Michigan will love it.
– Roger McKnight – B.Sc., Senior Petroleum Analyst
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