Water is Life. The Line 5 Oil Pipeline Threatens So Much of It.

By Ben Jealous For years, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and other tribes of the Great Lakes region have been leading a true David vs. Goliath fight against the Canadian oil giant Enbridge Energy. & Enbridge’s 71-year-old Line 5 oil and gas pipeline, which trespasses through sovereign tribal lands, is an environmental disaster waiting to happen. And not just for the tribes.& Every day, the pipeline carries nearly 23 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas from Wisconsin to Ontario, Canada. It has already leaked 35 times over its lifespan and is only getting more dangerous. In addition to running through the reservation of the Bad River Band, it crosses the Straits of Mackinac between Lakes Michigan and Huron. With one-fifth of the entire world’s surface freshwater, more than 40 million people get their drinking water from the Great Lakes. That includes the residents of major US cities like Chicago, Milwaukee and Cleveland. And of course, replacing our outdated fossil fuel infrastructure with renewable energy is essential to addressing the climate crisis and keeping our air breathable.& Bad River Ojibwe Youth Leader Alexus Koski says, “it is sometimes difficult to remain hopeful about our future but...