Olde Posts Addenda (5)

  Since all of the news is "breaking" these days, here are some more stories which have broken and are related to older news items in MM.

War Is Also Bad For Animals
  Back in the spring of 2019 in MM I called to your attention the "Factlet" that in the fall of 1939 the pet-loving Brits chose to "put down" around 400,000 of them. The grim details are found in: Factlet (2) - The Brits and Their Pets.  Such an astonishing figure will need verification and it is found in a book mentioned in that post: The Great Cat and Dog Massacre: The Real Story of World War Two’s Unknown Tragedy by Hilda Kean.

   To the library of books about awful things that have happened to animals, another can be added: Humans and Other Animals in the Deadliest Conflict of the Modern Age, John M. Kinder. It is published by the University of Chicago Press where this description is found:
   A new and heartbreaking history of World War II as told through the shocking experiences of zoos across the globe. As Europe lurched into war in 1939, zookeepers started killing their animals. On September 1, as German forces invaded Poland, Warsaw began with its reptiles. Two days later, workers at the London Zoo launched a similar spree, dispatching six alligators, seven iguanas, sixteen southern anacondas, six Indian fruit bats, a fishing cat, a binturong, a Siberian tiger, five magpies, an Alexandrine parakeet, two bullfrogs, three lion cubs, a cheetah, four wolves, and a manatee over the next few months. Zoos worldwide did the same. The reasons were many, but the pattern was clear: The war that was about to kill so many people started by killing so many animals. Why? And how did zoos, nevertheless, not just survive the war but play a key role in how people did, too?"
The author of the book was asked five questions which are also available and answered in the related U of C blog.
  For a review of the book see: "With World War II on the horizon, animal keepers in cities around the world had to face one question: What would happen to their charges?" By Sophy Roberts, Wall Street Journal, April 18, 2025.

War Is Certainly Bad For Humans

   Although the Vietnam war ended fifty years ago, even those of you born in this century will certainly have seen at least one of the two photos provided in: "Napalm Girl" and "Napalm Girl" (Again). "Napalm Girl" is still alive and is living in Ontario. The photos mentioned can be seen in the posts above and will not be shown again here. In the second post, it is noted that questions have been raised about the "authorship" of the "Napalm Girl" photo. Since it was written, the questions have been addressed and the 97 page report is linked in this article:
"The Associated Press Won’t Change ‘Napalm Girl’ Photo Credit: A documentary called “The Stringer” called into question whether Nick Ut actually took the famous photograph in Vietnam. The AP’s year-long probe couldn’t prove otherwise," Scott Nover & Jada Yuan, The Washington Post, May 6, 2025.

The End of the Crickets

Like Buddy Holly They Are No More

   De Bono, one of the last of the local reporters, has been dutiful in his reporting on the demise of Aspire, the London cricket factory. I also have been devoted to this subject and a future historian will find in this post all they need to know about the failed aspirations of this London enterprise. I will offer first, the latest and surely the last cricket story which is provided by Mr. De Bono. Then follow the MM posts which are largely based on his reporting. I did contribute a bit about Kricket Krap, a by-product the Aspire folks may have overlooked. And, if you are still not interested I should mention that the company was seen to be part of a conspiracy. 
   Mr. De Bono is a professional and his titles are clearer and first sentences better than mIne:
"Cricket Producer in Receivership: City Plant Still Going as Aspire, Reportedly $41.5M in Debt, Seeks Buyer or Financing," Norman De Bono, The London Free Press, May 14, 2025.
"By Jiminy, London's cricket dreams have run into a financial roadblock as menacing as, well, a massive can of Raid."
  Now, here is one of my titles and you will likely spot the difference:

"ENTOMOPHAGY"
  I will skip my first sentence and go to the second paragraph by the professional:
 "Norman De Bono (the reporter) revealed that, London will become home to the world’s largest indoor cricket farm with Aspire Food Group opening a 100,000-square-foot plant here that will act as a launch pad to bring bugs, as food, to the North American market....At the plant, crickets will be hatched and grown on-site and will become a tasteless, odourless protein powder that will be sold as a food additive, and will also be used to make protein bars.
That post is the one that mentions Kricket Krap which is sold by a company in Georgia so you shouldn't buy any right now.
  Here is the post which reveals that this cricket business is just part of a scheme by Davos-types who want to force us to eat insects in communist Canada.  Crickets and Conspiracies.

Trashy News
  That is a more attractive title than "News About Trash", about which I have provided many posts since there is plenty of trash. The new title about trash is all you need and I will spare you the details which are hardly needed: "On a Remote Australian Island, the Birds Are So Full of Plastic They Crunch: Seabirds Have Been Fishing Plastic From the Ocean and Feeding it to Their Chicks, Researchers Say. One Bird Was Found to Have Ingested 800 Pieces," Victoria Craw, The Washington Post, May 16, 2025.
For more proof that the plastic is piling up and that there is now something called "sea snot", see below:
Flotsam and Jetsam
More Flotsam
More Trash
Marine Mucilage in the Sea of Marmara 
Polluted RIvers

The Bonus:
  I couldn't help but notice that one of the authors in the articles cited above provides an example of an inaptronym (Kinder in the article about killing) and another an aptronym (Craw in the last article about birds ingesting plastic.) About that subject see: Aptronyms. 
Amen

   

Olde Posts Addenda (3)

     More "Breaking News" to add to the older news items already provided in Mulcahy's Miscellany. 

New Dead Fish
  Back in June 2023, I offered you many "Dead Fish Headlines" (too many) which I suggested were, "More Signs of the Times." I will offer only one more now, but it is a big one:
"Iowa Fertilizer Spill Kills Nearly All Fish Across 60-Mile Stretch of Rivers: Officials in Iowa and Missouri estimated that nearly 800,000 fish had died in waters that flow into the Missouri River," By Mitch Smith and Catrin Einhorn, NYT, March 29, 2024.
   “I refer to this one as ‘the big one,’” said the official, Matt Combes, an ecological health unit science supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation. He added: “Calling something a near-total fish kill for 60 miles of a river is astounding and disheartening.” The latest die-off started, Iowa officials said, when a valve was left open over a weekend on a storage tank at NEW Cooperative, an agricultural business in Red Oak, in southwestern Iowa. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which learned of the spill on March 11, said this week that 265,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer spilled into a drainage ditch and into the East Nishnabotna River, which flows into the Nishnabotna River and then the Missouri River."

What Were the Odds?
   That a lot of people would lose a lot of money when gambling was legalized, wagering made easy over the Internet and actively promoted on your TV. People here in Ontario seem more worried about the selling of six-packs in the 7-Eleven which bothers me not at all. I think, however, that rather than betting you start investing in gambling treatment centres.
  In MM, this subject was discussed in "On Betting" and raised again under the heading "Don't Bet On It" in "Beyond the Palewall (8). Now, in support of my suspicion that things are not going to go well see: "Sport's Betting is Bad for America's Financial Health: New Data Shows It",(sic), By the Editorial Board, The Washington Post, Sept. 14, 2024. Here is the first paragraph:

"The new National Football League season will see plenty of records set on the field — and it’s expected to hit new heights off the field, too: specifically, the American Gaming Association projects that legal wagers on games will reach $35 billion, a 30 percent increase over last season. Most of that betting will involve online betting apps. In part, the growth reflects the fact that three new states — Maine, North Carolina and Vermont — have legalized legal sports betting, raising the total to 38 states and the District. And partly the projected growth reflects new incentives sportsbooks are offering gamblers: in-app live-streaming of games, platform upgrades to allow faster in-play betting, digital wallets and the ability to make multiple bets simultaneously. X is awash with sites offering tips and techniques for increasing the odds."
Here's more:
"In short, legal sports gambling is creating a pathway to financial distress for vulnerable individuals. States that legalized sports betting were often instructed by their legislatures to set aside some funding from the tax receipts to deal with problem gambling and addiction. But reporting and research show a huge disparity between how much states tax the betting industry....
Legal sports gamblers have had their fun for half a decade now — and some have paid a high price. Congress should draw on that experience, and the new data, to design guardrails."

Censorship On Campuses 70 Years Ago
   I gather that if I was to wander up to the campus close by, that I would have to be careful about what I might say, unless it sounded very much like what everybody else is saying. In a post about "Academic Freedom & Free Speech" I indicated I was in favour of both.
   On another occasion, I wrote about an episode at the University of Western Ontario way back in 1953 when the students heckled and interrupted a speech by (are you ready), the Very Reverend, Dr. Hewlett Johnson, Dean of Canterbury. Back then the students didn't like the "progressive" views of the "Red Dean." (See, "Free Speech & Ontario Universities.")
    I thought of this because I just read about a Republican defending free speech during that same year in the United States. Things have changed. Now, both the conservatives and the progressives want to restrict the expression of ideas with which they do not agree.

"In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower — a Republican — told graduating students at Dartmouth College, “Don’t join the book burners.” 

Referring to Americans drawn to communism, Eisenhower added, “Even if they think ideas that are contrary to ours, their right to say them, their right to record them, and their right to have them at places where they are accessible to others is unquestioned, or it isn’t America.”

   The above was written in relation to "Banned Books Week" in the United States which is about the promotion of banned books rather than the burning of them. It was found here: 

"Banned Books Week Begins on Sunday,  With draconian laws jackbooting across the country to suppress books, intimidate librarians and muzzle teachers, this annual commemoration of our freedom to read has never felt more vital. (A Florida school district banned a book about banned books.)"
From: "The Book Club Newsletter," Ron Charles, The Washington Post, Sept. 20, 2024.
For more olde posts that are related to free speech:

"Cowards in Coventry"
"S.W.I.N.E."  "Students Wildly Indignant About Nearly Everything"

"Dawkins Not Talking"

WEATHER Feelings

"BUT, IT FEELS LIKE...." 
   The screen shot above was taken on the 24th of April when we returned from the south where we had ventured in search of warm breezes and some colour -- other than grey. If you are familiar with Fahrenheit you may recognize that the predicted temperature that day was below 50, although you should notice that it was going to feel even cooler, before things begin to feel much hotter. Apparently the weather in any season is now intolerable for many who feel it is too hot or cold. My complaint is not with the weather and it is a complaint with which you are familiar.
   Since I am not yet in blogging mode and far more important things should be undertaken, I will present here past pronouncements related to this subject. Out of fear of repeating myself, I went looking for them and you might as well benefit from my research since Mulcahy's Miscellany has no index. Besides, some of the posts contain better writing by other people. This list is not exhaustive and more weather-related items are found in, for example, the very popular feature "Beyond the Palewall." I need to remember this if I am low on subject matter and tempted to bring up the weather again.

"The Human Suffering Index" 
   The HSI sums things up pretty well as does the illustration by Edward Munch which you will recognize. Also included is, "The Dead of Winter" which helpfully includes a typically contrarian argument about the virtues of Fahrenheit over Celsius" for reporting the temperatures we feel. 

"The Wind Chill" is about it and also the "HUMIDEX," both of which are typically exaggerated as these quotations indicate:
"But why does every winter day have to be described as colder than it really is? Listen to the radio and count how often the announcer says: “ … but it’s going to feel like …” Increasingly I’m even hearing wind chill given more prominence than the actual temperature."
and:
"Here’s an example. On one day in a recent summer, I found Detroit and next-door Windsor with temperatures near 28 C. The Weather Network gave Detroit a “feels like” reading of 30.5. But in Windsor, Environment Canada had a humidex of 38."

"Weather Statement" includes an illustration which indicates that the "Summer" in Canada occupies only a tiny bit of our calendar and that soon we will be saying, "So Long Summer." 

The Bonus: The Answer to the Question, "What is a "Nice Day?"
"Have A Nice Day."

Post Script: Things Could Be Worse

All that is needed is another man and a horse.

 

  To make you feel better, I will suggest that you would feel worse if you were to wake up in Lahore, Pakistan, which is illustrated above and described below (from, the Washington Post, April 22, 2024, "As the Concrete World Comes Apart, I Hope For More Flowers in the Cracks," Mohsin, Hamid:)

"The first thing that strikes me about the world is that it is has become poisonous. We cannot breathe. From November until February, the blue sky is hidden behind a low ceiling of gray. This is not from clouds but from smoke. It is uncanny to take a flight in these months, to burst only seconds after takeoff into the blindingly bright light and see not a city but a gray blanket below. The cooler months used to be months of outdoor sports and running around with my cousins and shielding eyes with the blades of our hands from the sun. Now they are months when the land receives too little heat to push the smoke into the heavens, and so it settles all over the riverine plains, prevented from proceeding north by the mass of the Himalayas, choking us.
My children are not permitted to do outdoor sports in these months. Indoors, they sleep to the whirring sound of air purifiers, machines I had not imagined until recently. When we played in the winter as children, we would quench our thirst by working the shaft of the hand-pump in my grandparents’ house. Now, our children do not go out to play. The hand-pumps are all dry. We have depleted the aquifer. A machine bore is required to obtain water from hundreds of meters down, and that water too has been contaminated. Our world has become poisonous: The fireflies are gone, the children cough like smokers, the water is full of heavy metals. The economic miracle we have been promised has arrived, and it is a miracle of despoliation."

LINE 5 AGAIN

 

STILL UNDER THE WATER AND UNDER THE RADAR

   Just over a couple of years ago I wrote about Line 5 and in the post you will see a picture of the the Sarnia-Lambton MP, Marilyn Gladu pointing toward a sign indicating that many in the area would lose jobs if Line 5 was shutdown. Background was provided along with some sources and you can read it here. 

  If you are like many others, you probably don't recognize Line 5 which is not as well known as Keystone or even the long ago Maginot. It carries fossil fuels from Alberta all the way to Sarnia and beyond. It helps keep things running and people warm. A couple of years ago, Governor Gretchen in Michigan ordered it shut down, which is why I wrote about it. Now a judge in Wisconsin again has ordered it shut off. Canada has objected again and the oil continues to flow. 

  I find it curious that the issue is not much discussed. The more recent Line 5 ruling involves Indigenous rights because the pipeline passes through land occupied by the Lake Superior Chippewa in Wisconsin. I can understand why many don't care about that and I realize that it is likely that you are about to stop reading.

  But, the earlier shut down ordered by Governor Whitmer was requested because of environmental concerns. The pipeline, you see, runs under the Straits of Mackinac and it is argued that a rupture of it would be devastating for not just one Great Lake. Line 5 turned 70 this year and perhaps, in 'pipeline years', it is older than both President Biden or aspirant Trump and age is a factor that should be considered. As well, pipelines can be treated just as roughly as presidential candidates.  Plus, there have been other spills involving Enbridge pipelines including one fairly close by in the Kalamazoo River.

  Even more curious is the fact that it is the Canadian government that opposes the shutdown. It would be less curious, perhaps, if the government was a Tory one. It is not surprising, however, that even Trudeau wants to keep things as is, since state, provincial, federal, international, Indigenous, labour and environmental actors are involved and most Canadians seem not to be worried about a pipe that may not burst.

Sunset on the Mackinac Straits

  Sources:

   This recent piece explains the situation well. It is found in a publication with a fine subtitle: "Michigan Pipeline Standoff Could Affect Indigenous Rights Across the US," Mike Shriberg, The Conversation: Academic Rigour, Journalistic Flair, August 16, 2023. It was republished in The Detroit Free Press on Sept.10, under this title: "Proxy Fight in Straits Could Decide Who Gets to Draw a Line in Sand." The text is presented here and parts of it are bolded by me for emphasis. It is followed by the more recent shutdown ruling.

As the author of the article says at the end, "Your Turn."

The article:

"Should states and Indigenous nations be able to influence energy projects they view as harmful or contrary to their laws and values? This question lies at the center of a heated debate over Enbridge Energy's Line 5 pipeline, which carries oil and natural gas across Michigan and Wisconsin.

Courts, regulatory agencies and political leaders are deciding whether Enbridge should be allowed to keep its pipeline in place, with upgrades, for another 99 years. The State of Michigan and the Bad River Tribe in Wisconsin want to close the pipeline down immediately.

My expertise is in Great Lakes water and energy policy, environmental protection and sustainability leadership. I have analyzed and taught these issues as a sustainability scholar, and I have worked on them as the National Wildlife Federation's Great Lakes regional executive director from 2015 until early 2023.

In my view, the future of Line 5 has become a defining issue for the future of the Great Lakes region. It also could set an important precedent for reconciling energy choices with state regulatory authority, and Native American rights.

A Canadian pipeline through the US Midwest

Line 5, built in 1953, runs 643 miles from Superior, Wis., to Sarnia, Ontario. It carries up to 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids daily, produced mainly from Canadian tar sands in Alberta.

Most of this oil and gas goes to refineries in Ontario and Quebec. Some remains in the U.S. for propane production or processing at refineries in Michigan and Ohio.

Controversy over Line 5 centers mainly on two locations: the Straits of Mackinac, and the Bad River Band Reservation in Wisconsin, where the pipeline crosses tribal land.

Line 5 crosses through the open water of the Straits of Mackinac in twin pipelines that rest on the lake bottom in some stretches, and are suspended above it in others. The route lies within an easement granted by the State of Michigan in 1953.

The Straits of Mackinac are one of the most iconic settings in the Great Lakes. They include hundreds of islands and miles of shorelines rimmed with forests and wetlands. Scenic Mackinac Island in Lake Huron, a popular resort area since the mid-1800s, is Michigan's top tourist destination.

The straits also have long been spiritually important for Great Lakes tribes. Michigan acknowledges that the Chippewa and Ottawa peoples hold treaty-protected fishing rights that center on the Mackinac region.

The Line 6b spill

In 2010, another Enbridge pipeline, Line 6b, ruptured near the Kalamazoo River in southern Michigan, spilling over 1 million gallons of heavy crude. Line 6b is part of a parallel route to Line 5, and the cleanup continues more than a decade later.

The spill, and Enbridge's slow, bungled response and lack of transparency, led to scrutiny of other Enbridge pipelines, including Line 5.

In a 2014 analysis, University of Michigan oceanographer David J. Schwab concluded that the Straits of Mackinac were the "worst possible place" for a Great Lakes oil spill because of high-speed currents that were unpredictable, and reversed frequently. Within 20 days of a spill, Schwab estimated, oil could be carried up to 50 miles from the site into Lakes Michigan and Huron, fouling drinking water intakes, beaches and other critical areas.

This, and other research, intensified a burgeoning advocacy campaign by pipeline opponents, including regional and national environmental organizations, Indigenous leaders and advocates and a newly formed network of local and regional businesses.

Pipeline supporters include the American Petroleum Institute and others in the fossil fuel industry, many conservative lawmakers, several key labor unions and the government of Canada. They argue that the current pipeline is safe, violates no federal laws and is a key piece of infrastructure that helps keep energy costs low.

Michigan revokes its easement

After years of scrutiny, including the formation of the Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board and two expert reports commissioned by the state, analyses showed that Enbridge was violating provisions of its easement. Most notably, the section of Line 5 that ran under the straits lacked proper anchors and coating, increasing the threat of a rupture. The state concluded that the easement violated the public trust doctrine — the idea that government should protect certain natural resources, including waterways, for public use.

State reports concluded that the highest risk for rupture was from anchor strikes. Environmental nongovernment organizations found that Line 5 had already leaked more than 1 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids. On April 1, 2018, a boat anchor struck the pipeline and nearly ruptured it, temporarily shutting Line 5 it down.

In 2019, Gov. Rick Snyder was succeeded by Gretchen Whitmer, who pledged in her campaign to close Line 5. Seeking to avert a shutdown, Enbridge proposed building a tunnel beneath the lake bed to protect the pipeline.

But after more analysis — and another anchor strike that temporarily shut down the pipeline again — Whitmer issued an order in November of 2020 revoking Enbridge's easement and giving the company six months to close Line 5. The state sought a court order to support its decision.

Instead of accepting state orders, Enbridge resisted. The company argued that Michigan lacked authority to tell it how to manage the pipeline, that the project had not required an easement in 1953, and that building the tunnel would mitigate any risks.

Enbridge sued Michigan in federal court, arguing that pipeline safety regulation was a federal issue, and that the state had no authority to intervene in what was essentially international commerce.

Challenging state and tribal authority

Enbridge also faced pressure from the Bad River Tribe in Wisconsin, where some 12 miles of the pipeline runs through the Bad River Band reservation and across the Bad River. Enbridge's easement on parts of the reservation expired in 2013, and in 2017 the tribal council voted to evict Enbridge from their land, calling the pipeline a threat to the river and their culture.

When Enbridge continued operating Line 5, the tribe sued the company in federal court in 2019, charging it with trespass, unjust enrichment and other offenses, and sought to get the pipeline closed.

Today, Michigan's case against Enbridge is bogged down in jurisdictional battles. But on June 16, 2023, the federal judge overseeing the Bad River case ruled largely in favor of the tribe and ordered Enbridge to stop operating the pipeline on tribal land within three years. Enbridge vowed to appeal the ruling, but is also seeking permits for a 41-mile reroute of Line 5 around the reservation.

A national precedent

Line 5 is more than a Michigan issue. It has become a focus for national activism and is a major diplomatic issue between Canada and President Joe Biden, who has worked to balance his ties with organized labor and his support for a clean energy transition, and has avoided taking a side to date.

To continue operating Line 5, Enbridge will have to convince the courts that its interests and legal arguments outweigh those of an Indigenous nation and the State of Michigan. But if the courts rule against Enbridge, it would be the first time an active fossil fuel pipeline has been closed due to potential environmental and cultural damage.

The outcome could set a precedent for other pipeline and fossil fuel infrastructure battles, from the mid-Atlantic to the Pacific Coast. Ultimately, in my view, Line 5 is an under-the-radar but critical proxy battle for how, when and under what authority the phasing out of fossil fuels will proceed.

Mike Shriberg is a professor in the School for Environment & Sustainability at the University of Michigan, a former Great Lakes Regional Executive Director for the National Wildlife Federation, and a former gubernatorial appointee under Gov. Rick Snyder to the Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

Your Turn

Mike Shriberg

The New Shutdown Order

"Undo Line 5 Shutdown Order, Federal Government's Filing Urges U.S. appeals Court, The Canadian Press, Sept. 18, 2023

WASHINGTON — "Ottawa is urging a U.S. appeals court to reverse a Wisconsin judge's order that threatens to shut down the Line 5 cross-border pipeline by June 2026.

Forcing a shutdown would violate Canada's treaty rights, government lawyers argue in an amicus brief filed today with the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

A Wisconsin court ruling in June gave Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. an ultimatum: reroute the pipeline around an Indigenous reserve within three years or shut it down.

Enbridge plans a 66-kilometre detour to replace the 19-kilometre stretch that runs through the sovereign territory of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa.

Both sides are appealing the decision — Enbridge wants more time to finish the reroute, while lawyers for the band want the taps turned off for good.

The band and its environmental allies fear a spill inside an ecologically sensitive and flood-prone Lake Superior watershed on the Bad River reserve."

Dead Fish Headlines

 

More Signs of the Times

  You may have noticed many recent news stories with headlines such as the ones provided below. They all relate to dead fish in the Gulf of Mexico, the ones pictured above.

“Dead Fish Wash Ashore on Texas Gulf Coast: A Biblical Plague”
“Tens of Thousands of Dead Fish Wash Ashore on Gulf Coast Texas”
“Why Hundreds of Dead Fish Washed Ashore in Texas”
“Hundreds of Thousands of Dead Fish Are Washing Ashore”

  There are many others and I decided to troll and find more. A simple search yielded many from all around the globe. I will just provide the headlines because I am too lazy to type or paste the full source. Trust me, unfortunately they are all real and recent and there are many more than I have presented.

From elsewhere in North America:

“Dead Fish Washing Up on Shores of Lake Washington” (Washington state)
“Dead Fish and Other Aquatic Animals More Common in Summer Heat” (Michigan)
“Why Dead Fish are Washing Up on Michigan Shores" 
“Biologist Explains Uptick in Dead Fish Floating Along Riverfront” Paducah (Ohio River)
“Annual Spring Die-off of Lake Erie Fish Causing Concern”
“Dead Fish Spotted at Canyon Lake” South Dakota"
"Dead Fish Surface at Sunset Park Pond” Nevada
“Dead Fish in Grenadier Pond Being Investigated” (Toronto)
“Locals Still Concerned Over Dead Fish in RIver (Tenn.)
“Hundreds of Dead Fish Die From Spawning Stress in Iowa Lakes”

From the UK:

“Dead Fish Found Floating in Earlswood Lakes” 
“Ballinderry River: Fish Kill Investigated in County Tyrone”

From the Middle East and Africa:

“Authorities Probe Suspected Poisoning of Dead Fish in Sea of Galilee”
“Fish Deaths Near Rio Tinto Mine in Madagascar Dredge Up Community Differences”

From the Far East:

“Dead Fish Raise a Stink in Sursager Lake Once Again” (India)
“Thousands of Fish Dead in Dal Lake” Authorities See Thermal Stratification as Reason” (India)
“Almost 400 kg of Fish Found Floating Dead on Nam Ngao River” (Laos)
“35 Tons of Dead Fish Wash Up in China Lake”

Last, But Not Least - Australia:

“Dead Fish Found in the Darling River at Menindee”
“NSW Chief Scientist to Lead Inquiry Into Menindee Fish Kill”
“Millions of Dead Fish Wash Up Amid Heat Wave in Australia”
"Thousands of Fish Flushed Out of the RIver Murray"
“Tonnes of Dead Fish Pulled From Darling in River Cleanup”
“Thousands of Dead Fish Surface on Gold Coast”

I did not include magazines in my search, but here is one example that relates to the picture above" "Millions of Dead Fish Are Rotting in an Australian River," Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, March 21, 2023. I also excluded stories about the fish killed in Ukraine - "“Footage Shows Dead Fish in Kakhovka Reservoir After Dam Flooding."

  The fish are disappearing fast along with farms in Ontario. At least we have our cricket factory. 

For more about our cricket factory see: "Entomophagy" and "Crickets and Conspiracies." 

For more about fish dying from industrial causes rather than unnatural ones see: "Holy Mackeral." 

For headlines that are less depressing see: "Headlines.

ALGAE BLOOMING AND BOOMING

 

   Not much is blooming here in Ontario, but apparently you will find considerable blooming in Mexico - on the water. If you were thinking about heading there to escape our cold spring, you might want to consider the Pacific side. Here is an Associated Press headline from April 30: “Mexican Authorities Say the Problem of Foul-smelling Seaweed-like Algae on the Country's Caribbean Coast Beaches is “Alarming.” Note that even they find it "Alarming." If we just wait a few more weeks we will be able to see blooms closer to home on Lake Erie. 

It's Not the First Time!

  In recent years there have been many sargassum surges in the Caribbean and other oily ones in the Gulf of Mexico. Another recent headline indicated that algae pollution is not a new thing. Here it is. You think we would have learned by now. "Toxic Algae Plagued Ancient Maya Civilization," Rebecca Dzombak, Scientific American, April 1, 2022.  The article is not an "April Fools' " joke. The study on which it is based is found below.

  I just posted about pollution problems on Lake Superior and, unfortunately, about many more. See for example: "Flotsam and Jetsam," "Leaking Oil," and "Polluted Rivers." 

Source: 
  The Scientific American article is based on this research: "Harmful Algal Blooms and Cyanotoxins in Lake Amatitlán, Guatemala, Coincided with Ancient Maya Occupation in the Watershed," Matthew Neal Waters, et al., PNAS, Nov. 22, 2021.

Significance
"Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are dense populations of algae and/or cyanobacteria that can harm aquatic ecosystems by reducing water column oxygen and producing toxins. Whereas HABs are well documented in modern lakes, there has been little research on HABs associated with ancient societies. We inferred the magnitude of past HABs using a sediment core from Lake Amatitlán, Guatemala, which hosted large, prehistoric Maya populations in its watershed and currently experiences toxic HABs. About 1,000 y ago, ancient Maya in the area experienced periods of intense HABs and cyanotoxin concentrations in the lake, which rivaled the degraded conditions in the water body today. Human-associated HABs have affected both modern and ancient societies and deserve attention when exploring past human–environment interactions.

Great Lakes Funding

 

  I noticed the announcement above and it reminded me that recently President Biden and the EPA announced that $1 Billion is going to be spent on cleaning up the Great Lakes. Let's hope it is not too late. One would think that the water in Lake Superior would be superior to the water in the others, but apparently there are problems even in that lake which is farther from the big cities.  The announcement was made in Lorain, Ohio and one of the Areas of Concern being addressed is the Maumee River near Toledo which is a major contributor to the algae bloom close by us in Lake Erie.

   The $1 Billion is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and to make it palatable to some of the very partisan members of Congress promises had to be made that the result would be more than just cleaner water. The economic spin-off can be substantial: In 2018, an independent economic study from the Great Lakes Commission and the University of Michigan found that every Great Lakes Restoration Initiative dollar spent produces an additional $3.35 of economic activity. For older industrial cities, including AOCs such as Buffalo and Detroit, the study found that there may be more than $4 in additional economic activity for each federal dollar spent. A 2020 analysis of the Great Lakes determined that the region supports more than 1.3 million jobs, generating $82 billion in wages annually.

  I did not notice much of a reaction on this side of the lakes. Perhaps most Canadians were more worried about the shutdown of Line 5, the rupture of which could really dirty the lakes. Canadian Press did take notice and this was found in the Toronto Star: "Biden's Billion-Dollar Cleanup Pledge Puts Great Lakes Back in the Environmental Spotlight," James McCarten, March 9.

"Joe Biden, facing a Republican reckoning in November's midterm elections, marked one year since his inauguration with a vow to get out of the White House and brag a little more about his legislative wins….So it was, then, that Biden found himself in Lorain, Ohio, last month, announcing plans to spend no less than US$1 billion on what he called the most significant restoration of the resource "in the history of the Great Lakes." The effort will target 22 of the 25 problem areas, known as "areas of concern," on the U.S. side of the lakes -- a level of commitment that experts, advocates and activists have been clamouring for since the 1990s and beyond."That's a huge thing, you know?" said John Hartig, a U.S.-born conservation scientist who's currently serving as a visiting scholar at the University of Windsor's Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research. Hartig, widely hailed as one of the world's leading experts on Great Lakes remediation, grew up in Detroit before becoming the first graduate to earn a PhD at the institute more than 35 years ago. "Money makes this go, right? You need resources to do it, you can't just talk about it. So these are pretty significant investments."

The same is true on the Canadian side -- and hopes are high that the latest levels of ambition in the U.S. will increase pressure on the federal and Ontario governments to finally finish what they started.
It's happening already: Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault visited Hamilton Harbour on Wednesday to announce major progress on Randle Reef, long the single most polluted area of concern on the Canadian side of the lakes."

Sources:
   This is the news release: "President Biden, EPA Announce $1 Billion Investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Will Significantly Accelerate Cleanup and Restoration of Great Lakes: EPA Projects Work to Be Completed at 22 of 25 Remaining Great Lakes “Areas of Concern” by 2030, Feb. 17, 2022.
   GreatLakesNow provided the Associated Press story: "Biden Infrastructure Plan Gives $1 Billion For Great Lakes Cleanup," Feb. 18, 2022.
"The lakes provide drinking water for 40 million people and underpin the economy in eight Northeastern and Midwestern states and two Canadian provinces. They fueled a 20th century industrial boom that generated wealth and jobs but caused ecological devastation."
 For Canadian Areas of Concern see: "Great Lakes: Areas of Concern."
 I live close to two of the lakes so Mulcahy's Miscellany often has material about them. See, for example, North Of Long Tail (Lake Erie) which also has links to some of the other posts.

The Bonus:
   Here are the "Top Five Great Lakes Stories of 2021."
1. Canada and Ontario mark 50th anniversary of Great Lakes agreement
2. New partnership to publish community water monitoring data from Great Lakes region
3. Great Lakes communities to spend $2 billion combatting climate change
4. Partnership aims to bolster coastal resiliency along Great Lakes communities
5. Circular Great lakes launches to combat plastic pollution.

Oddments (1)

 

   In my last post ("A Gathering of Kestertons"), I indicated that I had to figure out what to call short posts, quickly posted en masse. I have decided to label them "Oddments" and produce some since I have written nothing at all for ten days and still have nothing much to write.  I will try to do better in March, unless the weather improves significantly. 

Line 5

  I wrote about Line 5 a year ago and wondered, since it is cold outside and gas prices are very high, if it was soon going to be shut down. The earlier post contains sources and even a map, but if you have forgotten what Line 5 is, it is the pipeline that provides petroleum products to our general area. Governor Gretchen over in Michigan is worried that it may rupture and ruin our Great Lakes. Most on our side of the Lakes, seem to worry much more about having heat and cheap gas, and not many Liberals note the irony involved. 

   I checked; the pipeline is still open and has not yet ruptured.  Apparently we can relax a bit, according to this headline: "Canada Has Replacements for Line 5 if Pipeline Shuts Down, Report Says," James McCarten, The Canadian Press, Feb. 16, 2022. The replacement is Line 78 and I suppose its rupture will be less devastating. The article is linked above, but it does not give the title of the report mentioned in the title of the article. The reason premium subscribers pay big bucks for access to this blog is that such information is supplied. Here it is: "Closing Enbridge's Line 5 Pipeline: What Are the Options and Alternatives Available," by Environmental Defence Canada. The executive summary indicates:
Enbridge’s Line 5 oil and gas pipeline has been the subject of considerable debate. Opponents want the pipeline shut down due to the risk it poses to the Great Lakes, the largest body of freshwater in the world, while proponents of the pipeline have claimed that a Line 5 closure could trigger an energy crisis. But new research shows that a Line 5 shutdown is entirely manageable and that options exist to meet demand for oil and refined products (e.g. gasoline) in Ontario and Quebec without Line 5. This new research also finds that with a planned shutdown of Line 5, any gas price changes would essentially go unfelt by consumers. Our report summarizes the findings of this research. The full research paper is linked within the report.

A link to the report is provided above, along with the citation, so you will be able to find it if the link rots. Let's hope Line 5 does not rupture, while all of this is being sorted out. 

Quote of the Week (2)

  I hope I am sufficiently far enough down the page that no one notices this quotation. It was obviously not produced this week since such a remark would not now be allowed to surface. I did notice it this week, however, and while it is not a good one to display during "Black History Month", I will do so since it perhaps represents the zetigeist of a different period. Here it is: "In a letter to a friend, describing America, Freeman wrote, "This would be a grand land if only every Irishman would kill a negro, and be hanged for it." (No exclamation point required!!)

I will add that the letter writer is Edward Augustus Freeman who was the Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford. I need not add that I do not endorse the sentiments expressed, since the title of this blog indicates I may have some Irish blood, and like ex-President Carter and Elvis, may even have a bit of black as well. 

Advance Noise Alert

   The days are getting longer, if not warmer, and they will soon be louder. There are many fellows eager to cruise around in the fine weather in noisy cars and they will be joined later by those on motorcycles and crotch rockets, which are usually noisier.  I thought about this because of an article in the New York Times, which indicates that the French are doing something about it: 
"With Sensors on Streets, France Takes Aim at 'Noise From Hell': The French Authorities Are Installing "Sound Radars" in Some Cities to Detect and Photograph Vehicles Making Excessive Noise, Which They Say is a Public Health Hazard," Emma Bubola, Feb. 21, 2022. Here are some sentences from beyond the paywall which you will not be able to surmount:

"When France introduced speed cameras 20 years ago, it drastically reduced the number of car accidents and helped save tens of thousands of lives. Now the government is taking aim at another scourge: the earsplitting noise that has been a fact of life for residents of French cities.

New sensors, or “sound radars,” were placed in seven cities last week as an experiment. The sensors can detect and take pictures of vehicles making excessive noise, a problem that officials say has gotten worse in recent years. The hope is to eventually set a noise-pollution limit and fine those motorists exceeding it....

“If the mayor didn’t buy a radar, we would have bought one ourselves,” said Raphael Bianchi, who lives in the Place de la Bastille in Paris. He said his 1-year-old son was constantly awakened by motorcycles roaring outside their apartment: “It’s unbearable — it’s a constant acoustic aggression.”

The initiative follows a mounting intolerance by the French to street noises, particularly motorcycles and souped-up scooters. According to a study by Bruitparif, a state-backed center that monitors noise in the Paris area, a modified scooter crossing Paris at night can wake as many as 10,000 people.

The center has developed a sensor that is being tested in Paris. At the end of the testing period, in 2023, the city plans to start handing out fines of 135 euros, about $150, to vehicles that break noise-level rules."

 

   You will be pleased to know and I am pleased to be able to offer some Canadian content which indicates that we (or at least the Albertans) are ahead in this regard. Here is what they tried in Edmonton: 
"Microphones on Edmonton Streets Listening for Loud Pipes: Similar to Photo Radar, Cameras With Microphones Set to Target Noisy Aftermarket Exhaust,"

"Four cameras with microphones have been placed throughout the city of Edmonton in an effort to catch drivers and riders with loud exhaust that exceed 85 decibels, the first implementation of this technology in North America.

Along with the four cameras, another four display boards with microphones are being installed at different locations throughout the city.

According to the CBC, city councillors agreed to continue testing the noise-monitoring equipment to determine whether it can be used to enforce extreme noise, similar to how photo radar tickets drivers for speeding. But as this is a test project, there will be no tickets handed out." From, Driving, Aug. 20, 2018. 

The word "Aftermarket" refers to the market for mufflers and "sound boosters" that can increase the sounds your vehicle makes rather than muffle them. 

Some Sources For This Section:

   The NYT article mentions some reports that relate to the health hazards associated with high decibel levels. Here are a couple. By the way, to increase your concern about the noise issue, I should note that the lower classes are more likely to be affected by loud vehicles since social housing is often closer to major thoroughfares. 
The World Health Organization report is: "New Evidence from WHO on Health Effects of Traffic-Related Noise,"March, 2011.

The French report by Bruitparif is available in English: "Transport Noise in Ile-De-France: Exposure to Transport Noise, Particularly in Dense Areas, It a Real Public Health Issue." 

   The decibel laws related to such things are available and vary from city to city. Here is one Canadian source, "Come On, Feel the Noise: How Canada's Noise Regulations Compare City to City," Coleman Molnar, Driving, Mar. 11, 2021. 

Post Script:

 One never knows when such information might be required. For example, residents in our area recently were blinded by "light pollution" which made our back yards light up like Stalag 17 when the prisoners tried to escape at night. The sudden illumination came about when a commercial property nearby, was renovated. The lights have been dimmed somewhat because our dutiful and civic-minded neighbour contacted our local Councillor and the property owner cooperated, even though the London bylaws about "light pollution" are lacking. 

The Bonus For This Section: 

   I recall in my youth, guys in dungarees under cars removing the mufflers all together, or installing "Glasspacks". Such options these days seem better since "backfires" are often emitted as well.

   This all reminded me of the bonus - Suicide Knobs. I learned they are called, more properly - Brodie Knobs. 

Pickleball and Noise Pollution

  If I had any readers who were hotrodders, they would likely chastise me for not also picking on the pickleballers. In my defence, I can only say that I did not realize what a serious problem pickleball noise is. It must be a serious problem since the CBC is concerned, as you will see in this article which has a headline that the headline writer must have enjoyed writing:

Pickleball is One of Canada's Fastest-Growing Sports: But the Paddle and Ball Can Make a Racket - Some Residents Who Live Near Pickleball Courts Have Grown Sour on the Burgeoning Sport," CBC News, Feb. 21, 2022.

"Pickleball has been a blessing for some during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering up exercise, fresh air, and a chance to socialize outdoors. 

But for some who live near pickleball courts, the cacophony that comes with the burgeoning sport can be a curse.  

Many pickleballers play their sport on reconfigured outdoor tennis courts. The sport has ties to tennis, but uses a paddle instead of a racket, and a hard ball instead of a fuzzy tennis ball. The results can be noisy. 

Connie Ball, who lives near pickleball courts in Blue Mountain Park in Coquitlam, B.C., has been fighting against the sound for 18 months.

"You can't go down for a nap," she said of the noise. "It's just invading. It goes right into our home."

The courts in Blue Mountain Park were repurposed in 2020 for pickleball, but after noise complaints from Ball and other neighbours, the city limited play to the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with a one-hour break at noon."

For now, I will remain silent about this subject. 

Castrati 

The Sad Tale of the Castrated Singing Boys

   I realize that this is a rather abrupt shift in subjects, but surely I am far enough down the page to safely bring up this one.  Although some people appear to think that bad things have happened only in modern times and only to members of a certain sex or ethnic group, in fact, awful things have always happened to everyone. You will know about the castrati and these posts are rather longer than expected so I will get to the point. Young boys with good voices were sometimes castrated so they could continue singing as sopranos for the remainder of their much longer careers. The songs were typically sung in Catholic churches where women were supposed to remain silent, but higher voices needed, What is not usually discussed, is the method of making male children into eunuchs. The issue was raised recently and I happened to notice it. At least now you will know how they did it in olden times. I am still not sure how it was done in the more enlightened 18th century. Gents, you might want to wait for my next post and skip this one. 

What method of castration was used for Byzantine eunuchs?

"Although eunuchs were prominent in Byzantium, few sources deal with the technicalities of castration. The matter was considered too sensitive, distasteful and shameful to discuss openly... Thankfully, there is a Byzantine source that offers a detailed description of the operation. It’s the 7th-c. Medical Compendium in Seven Books by a physician named Paul of Aegina, aka Paulus Aegineta. This influential work discusses castration based not only on theory but also the author’s own medical practice — Paul claims to have performed castrations under pressure from certain powerful people. The methods he goes over are two.

That by compression (kata thlasin) is performed thus: children, still of a tender age, are placed in a vessel of hot water, and then when the bodily parts are softened in the bath, the testicles are to be squeezed with the fingers until they disappear, and, being dissolved, can no longer be felt.

The method by excision (kat’ ektomēn) is as follows: let the person to be made a eunuch be placed upon a bench, and the scrotum with the testicles grasped by the fingers of the left hand, and stretched; two straight incisions are then to be made with a scalpel, one in each testicle; and when the testicles start up they are to be dissected around and cut out, having merely left the very thin bond of connection between the vessels in their natural state. This method is preferred to that by compression; for those who have had them squeezed sometimes still desire intercourse, a certain part, as it would appear, of the testicles having escaped the compression."

The above was taken from Quora Digest, Jan. 5 and was provided by, Eleftherios Tserkezis. 

Sources: 

   I am sure there is a good Wikipedia entry relating to this subject. Those of you who are more serious and concerned about the castrati should see:

"Castrati Choir and Opera Singers," Meyer Melicow and Stanford Pulrang, Urology, Vol. III, No. 5, May, 1974.

"Some authors note that as many as 4,000 to 5,000 youngsters were castrated annually, sacrificed through greed on the alter of music."

   "The Age of the Castrato Voice," Fredrich S. Brodnitz, Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders," Vol. 40, No.3, Aug. 1975.

"Castration has been administered for punishment or for cruel revenge of which the great Abelard is the best known example.... The castration of children for the sole purpose of producing a special type of voice is a historic phenomenon of unusual interest."

   "The Keepers of the Bed: Castration and Religion," Vincent J. Derbes, JAMA, Vol.212, No.1, April 6, 1970. 

"Partial or complete excision of man's genitalia, castration, eviration or eunuchism, is the most cruel of all mutilations and not the least practiced. According to ancient tradition, the knowledge of castration was obtained from an animal, the castor or beaver, who practiced it upon himself when being hunted, abandoning his testicles rather than allowing himself to be captured.' 

That is enough for this Sunday and Oddments (1) is done. 

Marine Mucilage in the Sea of Marmara

 

Sea Snot

   Having recently offered you an acronym for our time (S.W.I.N.E.), I provide above a term for our time. It floated to the top in some headlines over the last few weeks. It is unfortunate that the Students Wildly Indignant About Nearly Everything are not more concerned about subjects like Sea Snot. Apparently included within their curriculum for condemnation are only those topics related to identity, race and gender. Or perhaps it is just that such environmental issues are too distressing to discuss and might trigger gloomy thoughts about our future. (I have noticed, by the way, that the CBC now prefaces, even the most benign story with this sentence: WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing.) Consider that before you continue on.

   I was distressed during the first week of June to read about the catastrophe in Sri Lanka, which I always thought would be a highly desirable destination, except for the identity and racial problems, but now the beaches certainly are best avoided. All you need to know is found in the title of this article from The Guardian on June 4: Sri Lankans Face Up To 'Unmeasurable Cost' of Cargo Ship Disaster: Fishing Communities Fear for the Future As Oil, Plastic and Toxic Chemicals Devastate Ecosystem. Five days later, more marine pollution is spotted farther to the East, in the Sea of Marmara. I chose to show you the map rather than the Snot.

   Here is the headline which includes the phrase with which we are likely to become more familiar: "Turkey Launches Massive Effort to Vacuum up Thick Layer of 'Sea Snot' Choking Its Coast," Washington Post, June 9, 2021. Here are some details:

Thick layers of the viscous, slimy mucus colloquially known as “sea snot” have been wreaking havoc along Turkey’s coastline for months, choking harbors and clogging up fishermen’s nets while suffocating marine life. Scientists say that untreated sewage, agricultural runoff and other forms of pollution are responsible for the phenomenon, but that warming water temperatures caused by climate change appear to be making it even worse. The unappetizing muck has become a source of national embarrassment and rising anger. On Tuesday, Erdoğan vowed to designate the Sea of Marmara, which is between the Black and Aegean Seas, as a conservation area. Meanwhile, government officials launched a massive cleanup operation, using tanker trucks with suction hoses that park along the shoreline and effectively act as giant vacuum cleaners. Similar methods have been used to remove toxic blue-green algae from waterways in Florida.

   Although the phrase was new to me, I was surprised that Wikipedia all ready has an entry and not under a more pleasant euphemism. I did go searching, however, to find the first use of the odious words together and found them in this article from 2007, which locates the pollution closer to home. Given that it is the first use that I could find and since this reference is not found in the Wikipedia entry, here it is along with the first few paragraphs.

   "Say Hello to Sea Snot," Abram Katz, New Haven Register, August 19, 2007:

Aug. 19--DIDYMO is heading this way like a belligerent life force from a different planet. It clogs fast-moving, cold rivers with mats of material that literally wipe out the bottom of the food chain. Streams once rich with species of fish, plants and other organisms become aquatic deserts.

No one knows how to stop it.

The culprit, Didymosphenia geminata, is not from another world or even a different country. Didymo has been here for ages.

Lately, it has been expanding its range and changing its preferences for low-temperature, nutrient-poor, water. Biologists fear that other micro-organisms could make similar changes.

Meanwhile, didymo has been found in the northern reaches of the Connecticut River, in Vermont. A boater found a strange clump on a rock and brought it to local biologists for identification. Didymo had arrived.

There's no way to stop it, or even slow it down, biologists said.

So get ready for what is, colloquially, but incorrectly, called "sea snot."

The Bonus: 

   I doubt if you need more snot sources so I will skip to the bonus and provide you with an apercu, since I haven't offered one in a while - Apercu #3. It comes in the form of a rather tasteless bon mot offered by the British footballer, George Best. Warning - If you are a member of the herd of S.WI.N.E. it will likely put your knickers in a knot.

Mr. Best apparently offered this comment about his life: "I spent most of my money on women and drink. I wasted the rest."

Once again, doing due diligence on your behalf, I found this variant in the Wikipedia entry for Best: When asked what happened to the money he had earned, Best quipped: "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds (women) and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."

Among other inappropriate utterances by him, one finds:

"I used to go missing a lot -- Miss Canada, Miss United Kingdom, Miss World..."

"In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol. It was the worst 20 minutes of my life."

Ta-da!

Mission Blue - an organization that is attempting to do something for our oceans.

Mission Blue inspires action to explore and protect the ocean. Led by legendary oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue is uniting a global coalition to inspire an upwelling of public awareness, access and support for a worldwide network of marine protected areas – Hope Spots.

   

LINE 5

    KEYSTONE XL  is probably more recognizable to folks around here than LINE 5 is, but the latter is located closer to our homes and maybe even closer to your cottage. Line 5 is a pipeline that carries lots of petroleum products from Superior, Wisconsin to Sarnia, Ontario and it passes under the Straits of Mackinac which is the focus of concern. It is closer than you think. If the pipes there were to burst, the oil could, depending upon the currents and weather, end up in a Great Lake near you. If it is shut down to prevent such a catastrophe, people around here will lose their jobs and the price of our gasoline will probably go up. 

   Those are the concerns expressed in the article from which the picture above was taken. In it, the Prime Minister is asked for help since Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has ordered that Line 5 be shut down, and it will be in early May unless something is done. Perhaps that is why some 'Yoopers' with long guns showed up at the state house in Lansing, since they may not have enough propane if Line 5 is put out of commission. Perhaps some Canadians would have joined them if the border had been open. There seems to be more concern on this side of the border about the loss of the energy source than there is about the potential despoliation of the environment. Those who favour keeping the pipeline open say it has been there since 1953. Those who worry about the environment say, well, it has been there since 1953!

   The noise over Line 5 and the news about it will surely increase over the next couple of months as will the arguments. So, here are a few sources that will give you a leg up when the subject comes up. I will start with the article containing the picture.

Sources: 

For the company view start here: ENBRIDGE. 
There is a Wikipedia entry: Enbridge Line 5 

"Prime Minister Asked to Help Save Line 5 Pipeline," Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer, Jan. 18, 2021.
Sarnia-area politicians and labour leaders want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to appeal directly to U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to keep the Line 5 oil and gas pipeline running through Michigan, where the state’s Democratic governor has ordered it shut down....
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley wrote to the prime minister this month challenging the legality of the governor’s order and asking Trudeau to speak with Biden directly on the issue. Line 5 carries western oil and natural gas liquids to the refineries, chemical plants and propane users in the U.S. Midwest, as well as Eastern Canada....
This shutdown will put over 4,900 jobs at risk, and jeopardize Ontario and Michigan’s energy supply that we rely on daily,” Greg Rickford, Ontario’s minister of energy, northern development and mines, said in a statement, "Ontario’s four refineries ensure that Ontario, Quebec, Michigan and the entire Great Lakes region are supplied with essential products like home heating fuels, gasoline, diesel and jet fuel,” he said.

"Canadian Officials Displeased With Whitmer's Call to Shut Down Line 5 in Straits

Keith Matheny Nov. 16, 2020, Detroit Free Press.

"U.S. News: U.S., Canada at Odds Over Great Lakes Pipeline," Vipal Monga, The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 20, 2021.

TORONTO -- Canadian and U.S. officials are at odds over the fate of a pipeline underneath the Great Lakes, exacerbating disagreements over energy policy between the two nations as the Biden administration prepares to take office.

Citing environmental concerns, Michigan state officials have told Enbridge Inc. to close its Line 5 pipeline, which carries more than half a million barrels of oil and natural-gas liquids each day from Superior, Wis., to Sarnia, Ontario.

Canadian officials say closing the pipeline would choke off more than half the supply used to make gasoline, jet fuel and home-heating oil for the most populous parts of the country.

The 645-mile pipeline, which is part of Enbridge's mainline system that conveys oil and natural gas liquids from Alberta, feeds refineries in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario and Quebec.

"Pipelines are so vital to the economy and the recovery," said Chris Bloomer, president of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, a trade group. "We're hoping for some pragmatism."

 CBC: Enbridge sues Michigan over Line 5 pipeline shutdown order.

   Although the pipeline has been in place for over 60 years, a few years ago a ship dragging an anchor did some damage to it. At that time, there was talk about enclosing it in a tunnel which would have resulted in many jobs on both sides of the border.
"Coast Guard inspected ship before Line 5 anchor dragging,"Beth LeBlanc, Sept. 13, 2020, The Detroit News.

   You may also remember that Enbridge had a problem over a decade ago with the great Kalamazoo River Oil Spill. 

"Reeling’ From COVID, Great Lakes Biz Group Joins Call for Immediate Line 5 Shut Down,"by Andy Balaskovitz,  Tuesday, June 23, 2020.

This is from the Sierra Club - Michigan and it has good graphics and video: "EVERY DAY 67-YEAR-OLD PIPELINES PUSH NEARLY 23 MILLION GALLONS OF OIL THROUGH THE HEART OF THE GREAT LAKES. WHAT IF THEY RUPTURED?"

Decomission Line 5.

National Wildlife Federation

"Gov. Whitmer’s Historic Decision to Shut Down Line 5 a Game Changing Win for the Great Lakes, Wildlife, Climate." Mike Saccone Nov 13, 2020.

Canada to Michigan on Line 5: “We support its continued safe operation”

Here is a major study from the University of Michigan: "Worse Case Oil Spill Straits of Mackinac."

Here is another major study. It is behind a firewall, but the executive summary is provided here:
"Economic Damages From a Worst-case Oil Spill in the Straits of Mackinac. Journal of Great Lakes Research, Richard T. Maelstrom , et al 45, 2019, p.1130.

This paper presents research on the economic damages from a hypothetical worst-case oil spill at the Straits of Mackinac between Lakes Huron and Michigan. This spill could occur because the Enbridge Line 5 oil pipeline traverses the Straits between Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsula. We quantify potential economic damages to outdoor recreation, commercial fishing, shipping, residential properties, and energy and water supplies. Damages are estimated for two spill scenarios occurring at the onset of the summer tourism season with extensive shoreline oiling. Using evidence from past spills, economic damages would last for between one and two years and would affect locations on the periphery of the spill area, depending on the activity. We project the loss from the worst-case scenario would be at least $1.3 billion.

To further complicate the controversy, there are also Indigenous issues to consider: "The Drilldown: Enbridge's Line 5 Pipeline to Be Challenged by Four Indigenous Nations," Felixe Denson, iPolitics, Aug. 20, 2020. 

To read about the Great Lakes, see my post on "The American Lakes" - Book Series.

The Bonus:

   I mentioned "YOOPERS" above and they are people from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and they likely weren't the only ones involved, if any actually were.  For more on YOOPERS and such things, see my post on UNOBVIOUS DEMONYMS.