The whole Line 5 pipeline situation under the straits of Mackinac, as I uncover more and more, seems to be a symptom to a larger, bi-national problem and lack of plan. 

Proponents say the pipeline critical to the economy and energy infrastructure. Opponents say a double pipeline under the great lakes - especially one that’s not buried - poses a special threat to the unique fresh water resource that is the Great Lakes.

What if both concerns are true?

And what if I told you that it’s a pipeline that provides half of the province of Ontario’s fuel needs and two thirds of Quebec? That’s around 23 million people that are reliant on this thing. 

It turns out Michigan draws a small percentage of the product, and most of it - possibly more than 90% - is pulled out of the ground in Canada, then starts in Wisconsin, goes through Michigan - and back to Canada. 

So do we want to cut off our neighbor and ally without a backup plan? 

But also… should we as a state demand more for bearing so much environmental risk? Should we set a real plan in motion because we’re transitioning out of needing so much fossil fuel?

Spending the last week pouring over numbers, getting through the FUD - fear uncertainty and doubt - pipeline maps, all of that - made me question a lot about how fundamentally we’ve constructed our energy future.

My guest to help unpack this is Warren Mabee. He’s the Director of the Queens institute for energy and environmental policy of the Queens Institute, based in Kingston, Ontario.  

As always, if you have feedback, guest ideas, or questions - my email is jer@dailydetroit.com.

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