All of us at MN350 see Enbridge’s line 3 proposal as a direct threat to our environment, climate, and communities. Enbridge, a company with a fraught history of spills and poor cleanups, wants to build a line across over 200 of Minnesota’s valuable wetlands and bodies of water, including the Mississippi river. Enbridge is wrong to think Minnesotans will accept an investment in fossil fuels in the middle of a climate crisis. Here are some of the reasons we know we can win this fight.
Crowd at the Gichi-Gami Gathering, September 28th in Duluth, MN.
1. We have won before! Grassroots work, such as the legal challenge by the all-volunteer organization Friends of the Headwaters, stopped Enbridge’s Sandpiper pipeline in 2016. Across North America, A number of other tar sands pipelines have been scrapped or stalled due to fierce opposition.
2. People are rallying across the country and the world to fight pipeline construction projects. We are part of a greater movement to end our dependence on fossil fuels, meaning there is wide social support for this fight.
3. Line 3 is not wanted by Minnesotans. 94% of the public comments submitted for the Evidentiary Hearings on Line 3 opposed the pipeline.
4. We have built an immense record of evidence for why the pipeline is unlawful and unnecessary. Minnesota’s own Department of Commerce recommended against approving this project. Administrative Law Judge Ann O’Reilly (who built the record) stated that the costs to MN of building a new pipeline on a new corridor far outweighed the benefits. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources raised serious concerns with Enbridge’s route. Dozens of experts and multiple sovereign tribal nations helped show that this project would be the wrong choice.
5. We are committed. Pipeline fighters have been staging actions, risking arrest, and building community action for five years.
6. We are gaining recognition across the country.
7. There are still several smaller permits that need state approval before Enbridge can go forward with construction.
8. The market is in our favor. Demand for petroleum use in Minnesota has fallen 19% since 2014. Without pipelines, oil transportation and use would be dis-incentivized further. Midwest refineries are already at full capacity, and fossil fuels are being phased out by renewable energy.
9. Renewable energy is growing faster in Minnesota than fossil fuels, producing jobs at a faster rate than any sector of the fossil fuel industry.
In the face a global climate crisis, Line 3 is a direct threat to our collective future. Sign this Pledge of Resistance and help create a world with clean water, clean energy, and a healthy climate for all people.
Additionally, you can get more involved by joining our Pipeline Resistance Team to plan actions such as protests or canvasses to stop line 3.