the future of the enbridge line 5 oil pipeline may be determined by the upcoming michigan gubernatorial race. incumbent gov. gretchen whitmer has fought to shut the pipeline down to protect the environment of the great lakes region from a potential oil spill, while republican candidate tudor dixon is prioritizing the protection of the pipeline.

enbridge line 5 is an oil pipeline at the floor of the straits of mackinac, built in 1953. according to the sierra club, its original life expectancy was 50 years and critics say a rupture would harm waters across the great lakes. enbridge spokesman ryan duffy says the pipeline is needed to provide heating, fuel vehicles, and power industry. because of ongoing maintenance there isn’t a specific life expectancy for the pipeline.

enbridge is looking to increase safety by replacing the line 5 oil and natural gas pipelines and encapsulating them in a tunnel proposed for construction under the lake bed.

last may, indigenous groups gathered at the heart of the turtle in mackinaw city, michigan, to take action on climate change, protect water, and support the state of michigan’s efforts to shut down line 5.

“water is not a commodity,” said demonstrator elizabeth clark. “it’s a right.”

opponents of the pipeline, including the state of michigan and native tribes at the heart of the turtle gathering, contend it poses a threat to the water supply. 

in november 2020, whitmer mandated the pipeline shut down by may 2021 and took legal action. enbridge ignored the order and filed their own lawsuit challenging state authority over the pipeline. litigation is ongoing and the case was moved to federal court in august 2022.

however, people’s use of oils came before we had engines to burn them. we have always chased fats for their energy. 

before my lindblad expedition trip to southeastern alaska, i subconsciously saw oil as something unnatural and something always damaging to ecosystems and to our own health. i now see oil as just another resource that industrialized societies have exploited and reaped in excess. the way we go about searching for energy, though, can vary from disastrous to or harmonious with nature, and we are at a crucial point in our atmospheric timeline to relearn old and sustainable ways of energy harvesting. 

fish as candles

the revelation began with my introduction to candlefish. on our second day in alaska, i joined a tour of the chilkat valley. with its pristine water and air quality, it is home to the latest salmon run of the year and is thus where eagles congregate in the fall. 

chilkat valley is aptly known as the valley of the eagles for its yearly visit of up to 3,000 eagles that decorate the trees like ornaments. living below the soaring eagles in this part of southeast alaska are the tlingit people who have been able to maintain their artistically expressive and resourcefully subsistent culture. historically, with all that their environment had to offer them, there was enough time for woodcarving, tapestry-weaving, and storytelling. 

“they have so much candlefish that the river turns black during their run,” our naturalist yelled over the bus engine and rattling windows. 

my ears perked up at that new fish name.

“hooligan is another name for candlefish, and it is so dense with oil that once it’s dry, it can be lit like a candle,” he continued. the klukwan clan gathered enough of the candlefish and traded the excess with the nearby abathascan peoples, establishing trade routes that were known as “grease trails.” this oil allowed them to light their homes and communities, as well as store food for up to a year in the oil. the fish itself also offers people half of their daily caloric needs due to the lipid density. agutuk or akutaq was even a pre-freezer ice cream made of hooligan oil, berries, and fresh snow for people in western alaska. the tlingit people who would procure the hooligan oil would mostly use it themselves to preserve berries, such as highbush cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries, year-round.

the fish and its oils provided light, food preservation, and nutrition for people. the grease from the fish is high in unsaturated fats and provides more vitamin a, e, and k than other sources of fat. even meriwether lewis, of lewis and clark, stumbled upon it during his travel and journaled that it was “superior to any fish [he] ever tasted.” with so many benefits and uses, i was amazed i had never heard of this fatty fish. hooligan, however, remains a prized possession only to alaskans. because hooligan is primarily found in southeast alaska, it was not a resource that is known to outsiders and was never harvested on a large scale. 

whales as lamps

 

later that day, back aboard the national geographic sea lion, we spotted and watched a humpback whale join us at the surface. it was bubble-net feeding, creating a tunnel of bubbles in which plankton and small fish would be trapped. then it swam with an open mouth through the middle and burst through the surface. in 2022, it was captured only in our photographs, but if it had been 50 years ago, the spotted whale would have been hunted down. since whales are found in all of the world’s major oceans, they are a prized and sought-out source of oil. 

between the 18th and mid-19th centuries, oil lamps across the united states and much of the western world required oil extracted from whale blubber. while in inuit cultures, whaling is a culturally, spiritually, and materially significant tradition, american whalers went out to sea to harvest profitable carcasses. from when they first arrived to the north pacific in the 1830s, the american whalers over-hunted the waters. and by the 1940s they had pushed north into the bering sea. they were primarily after bowhead whales, since each yielded 100 barrels of oil whereas sperm whales averaged only 45 barrels of oil. 

in addition to the blubber oil, bowheads also provided bristly baleen, of which the baleen plates were cut and filed into corset fixtures, fishing rods, or buttons. the oil was used for lamps, cooking, soap, candles, paint, and mechanical lubrication. since whales provided so much raw material for luxury goods, there is a genre of paintings that glorify the whaling industry for the goods they produced. 

 

whereas subsistent cultures involve the whole community in the hunting, processing, and consumption of a whale, industrial societies left the hunting to the professional whalers, the processing to the factories, and consumption to the elite in societies. 

the commodification of whale oil and baleen were devastating to their populations. in 1853 whaling became the fifth-largest industry in the u.s., where 8,000 whales were killed for the sake of commercial goods. about 20 years later, petroleum wells popped up on the west coast of the u.s., providing an even more accessible and powerful oil. 

oil as explosive modernity

the growth of the new oil industry didn’t correlate with an immediate decline in whale hunting. petroleum-powered engines outcompeted wind-powered sails, and whaleships had a chance to become even more effective. the petroleum industry thus increased whaling efficiency before whaling would be officially banned in 1971. 

 

alaska’s first oil reserves were discovered in 1957, two years before alaska was granted statehood. it was in 1967, though, that alaska became known as an oil hub with the discovery of prudhoe bay’s oil deposits. experts estimated there to be 24 billion barrels of oil, of which 12 billion have been recoverable and so far extracted. 

but today’s oil flow is slowing. the petroleum flowing through the 800-mile trans-alaska pipeline from prudhoe bay is estimated to be about a quarter of its peak flow in the 1980s. not only does the petroleum seem to be slowing, but land sales and industry interest in the region seem to be dropping as well. most recently, the biden administration canceled the cook inlet lease sale which “would have opened more than one million acres for drilling.” 

while this was met with contempt from pro-oil representatives and individuals, the bureau of ocean energy management has canceled lease sales in the region in 2006, 2008, and 2010 due to a “lack” of interest from the industry as well.

having read headlines about alaskan residents relocating towns due to the permafrost-dense soils melting below their houses and infrastructure, i thought all of the state’s residents would be eager to move away from fossil fuels. but while they are feeling the effects of climate change so directly and rapidly, alaskan residents also directly benefit from the alaska permanent fund. the fund provides an annual check to families that is a percentage of alaska’s oil revenues, averaging a payment of $1,600 annually. beyond fossil fuel money however, alaskans can cut down costs by investing in renewables since they already pay almost double the amount citizens in the lower 48 are charged for utilities. 

a future for alaskan energy

on that day on the klehini river when i learned about candlefish, i also learned about a mining operation that has sprung up between klukwan and deishú (now known as haines). across from the river that is home to candlefish, salmon, and eagles, as well as the human residents of the valley, stands a shredded mountainside. known as the palmer project, the mine provides copper and zinc to the metal-heavy electronics and energy markets. here stands the frustrating reality of our industrial society. to continue feeding our energy-intensive lifestyles, we must source the energy from somewhere. 

europe and the united states were once fueled by local vegetable oil, before whales were hunted down in alaska, and later abandoned for oil reserves there and abroad. today, internationally, we are in an era of pushing past fossil fuels to reach mineral-intense electrification. our air may be near free of fossil fuel emissions, but is it guaranteed that our soil and water will be free of leached minerals and chemicals?

 

with four years spent pursuing a bachelors in environmental studies at george washington university, punctuated with my trip to alaska, i continue to be skeptical of an industry-first approach to solving our climate crisis. this is where technological advances paired with profit are expected to spur change. as we’ve seen from how we’ve fueled our societies since the industrial revolution, it is damaging and unsustainable. 

in contrast to phrases we hear in mainstream politics and media like “boost growth,” “revitalize the economy,” and “energy superpower,” the word we often heard in klukwan and describing the tlingit culture was “subsistence.” through art, business, and architecture, even today the tlingit people focus on the renewable and the regenerative. one tlingit woman, jodi mitchell, founded the inside passage electric cooperative, which is an energy group that installs small-scale hydroelectric dams that use slow-spinning blades that small fish can swim through and large fish can swim around. 

mitchell started a renewable energy project that meets human desires and needs as well as those needs of surrounding animals and the land. her work follows the increasingly renewable trend in alaska, where its contribution to state-wide energy has increased by 25% between 2010 and 2019. 

across the state, with many native alaskan-run projects, we see solar projects saving their communities $7,726 each and dams safely built on salmon-rich rivers that plan to soon provide 90% of igiugig’s power. beyond the typical solar and hydro projects we often discuss in the lower 48, alaska also now has biomass facilities that process wood or fish waste and kelp. 

humans, like all living things, need to take resources from the environment in order to survive. but like all other creatures, we collectively need to be more in tune with natural processes so that we don’t continue to strain our environments. 

einstein is quoted as saying, “we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” i deeply believe that we cannot solve an industrial issue with industrial methods. in this time of climate transformation and societal potential, we can use thoughtful technology on a smaller and more local scale to meet our energy needs. not energy wants, but energy needs.

i think it’s time we ask ourselves if we need to hunt a whale when we can just stick with a fish.

––

editor’s note: lindblad expeditions, our planet forward storyfest competition partner, made this series possible by providing winners with an experiential learning opportunity aboard one of their ships. all editorial content is created independently. we thank lindblad expeditions for their continued support of our project. read all the stories from the expedition in our astonishing alaska series.

the course, offered at chapman university, examines scientific communication across a diverse range of audiences and effective methods for strategic framing, developed by the national network for ocean and climate change interpretation (nnocci). as a student in the course, i was thrilled for the opportunity to combine my background in creative writing with my passion for the climate issue to affect change in my community. 

in partnership with tanner’s socio-ecological adaptations & climate resilience (seacr) lab, we developed materials for a communications toolkit addressing the oil spill and its connection to our reliance on fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas, which contributes to climate change. well-equipped by tanner’s immersive and collaborative approach for this course, we worked in teams to identify key audiences within orange county and researched shared, cultural values within these communities to inform purposeful language and effective metaphors. 

identifying and emphasizing a set of shared values like the protection of lands and peoples and the responsible management of resources in science communication unifies diverse communities toward a common goal. metaphors explain scientific concepts and illustrate connections between environmental issues and human action. we employed metaphors approved and tested by nnocci to shift the perception of oil spills as “accidents” to consequences of global reliance on fossil fuels. 

my classmates berkana mcdowell (‘23, environmental science & policy, peace studies, studio art) and lexi hernandez (‘22, environmental science & policy, sociology) developed an infographic advocating for indigenous knowledge and traditional management practices. they employed the metaphor, “indigenous knowledge keepers are scientists without lab coats,” to advocate for the amplification of indigenous voices. 

“there is an umbrella of knowledge systems,” wrote mcdowell and hernandez, “and we need them all.” 

i developed infographics for non-native english speakers living in orange county with eva stanton (‘22, environmental science & policy, sociology, anthropology) and veronica warner (‘23, environmental science & policy), to be distributed in the areas affected by the spill. by researching the linguistic demographics within orange county, we identified mandarin-chinese and spanish to be the most common, non-english languages spoken in the targeted area.

we experienced challenges when we attempted to choose a metaphor for our infographic, and found that most of the metaphors approved by science communicators didn’t translate into mandarin. to accommodate this, we enhanced our messaging through design elements, and compiled a masterlist of community-based solutions in a link.tree, accessible through a scannable qr code.

warner (‘23, environmental science & policy) translated our infographic into mandarin-chinese. 

“this project allowed me to thoroughly understand how oil spills impact society environmentally, financially, psychologically, and socially,” she said. “it was a great experience to work on this toolkit with my classmates because it helped me learn about how this environmental consequence impacts non-native english speakers, a group i never thought to consider for these issues prior to the toolkit.” 

the toolkit includes resources for connecting citizens with civic leaders, a timeline for fishers to determine the toxicity of fish caught in a contaminated area, and “unpacking the oil spill” guidelines for elected officials to implement regulatory action, while an infographic for lifeguards tracks the impacts of the orange county oil spill on human health, and provides guidelines for swimming and recreation. 

an activity designed for k-5 students explores the lasting effects of oil residue in our oceans, emphasizing the importance of protecting our environments. this framework highlights the efficacy of the promotion of science literacy and environmental awareness in schools. students are encouraged to fill out a take-home reflections with their parents to open dialogues within their households and communities about environmental topics. 

tanner emphasized the importance of including our positionality in all of our communications and encouraged us to ask ourselves, “am i the most trusted communicator for this issue? and if not, who is?” we acknowledge that science is not free of bias, and recognize that our communications are influenced by our own perspectives and privileges. as students in higher education, our status as trusted communicators is limited. instead, we must lift up the voices of leaders and trusted messengers embedded in impacted communities. 

the project culminated in a virtual presentation attended by local environmental nonprofit representatives, including oc coastkeeper, la nature for all, california fish and wildlife, and the pacific marine mammal center. 

“being given the opportunity to work on this oil spill communication toolkit was quite impactful. the environmental non-profits that we were able to connect with and aid during this project can take the kit we created and incorporate it into the amazing work they’re already doing in the oc area,” said christian grevin (‘22 history, political science, environmental studies), who worked on an infographic intended to guide nonprofits in connecting citizens to civic leaders.“to be able to give back to the orange county community in a way that not only highlighted environmental issues in our local ecosystems but also brought attention to the broader topic of climate change was incredibly rewarding.” 

each group presented their research and invited attendees to continue this conversation in their spheres of influence. “interfacing directly with the community in this project was such a big opportunity for the students and my research program. i think we made some lasting connections that will facilitate community-driven research in the classroom, a really exciting prospect for all of us,” reflected tanner, “this project will definitely be part of the course moving forward and we will continue to seek out relevant environmental and social issues of pressing concern.” 

we hope this project prompts further discussion and research into oil spills as consequences of human action, and communication gaps between messengers and impacted communities.  

—

orange county oil spill communications toolkit contributors: richelle tanner, amy asmussen, ruby baldwin-smith, max burrous, maya cheav, christian grevin, kate hartshorn, holland hatch, alexis hernandez, ben jensen, hilary lee, kelly ly, berkana mcdowell, eva stanton, hannah waldorf, and veronica warner. 

on friday, nov. 13, michigan gov. gretchen whitmer utilized her executive powers, in conjunction with the department of natural resources director daniel eichinger, to revoke the easement allowing a crude oil pipeline—line 5—to operate in the straits of mackinac. the decision comes after more than 15 months of investigation into possible environmental and safety risks.

enbridge, the energy company operating line 5, will have until may 2021 to shut the pipeline down. enbridge is predicted to fight the easement’s revocation in court, but, until then, will continue to seek the necessary permits to proceed with their tunnel project. the energy company is relying on the michigan public service commission (mpsc) to approve its request in an ongoing contested case.

but a december 9 mpsc meeting may have delayed enbridge’s desired outcome; the board decided that whitmer’s notice fundamentally changes what each party is hoping for out of the permit decision, and the case will revert to an administrative judge to redefine the case’s scope. the decision pleased environmental groups, who see it as a step backward for enbridge.

just miles east of the towering mackinac bridge lies a tiny island suspended in colonial history. mackinac island, the jewel of the midwest, is home to a permanent population of just 473, but hosts over a million visitors each summer.

the island’s culture revolves around resisting modernity. no cars are allowed; all travel must be carried out via bicycle or horse. colonial homes are maintained for tourists’ pleasure, and old-fashioned fudge shops decorate main street. however, just miles west of the lake huron paradise lies a 645-mile, 30-inch-diameter crude oil pipeline constantly at risk of a rupture.

currents running through the straits of mackinac on any given day deliver double the power of the headwaters of the mississippi river, and the lake currents change directions every three days.

imagine a piece of steel wire in the hands of an eager child. the wire is strong, flexible, and able to maintain its shape without difficulty—that is, until it gets bent one too many times. suddenly, all that is left are two fractured, sharp pieces, crumbled under the pressure of the violent contortions.

this is the prognosis of many experts for line 5. the 67-year-old pipeline—designed to last 50 years—has seen better days, and now threatens to wreak havoc on great lakes ecosystems, the public health of local communities and the economies of every state bordering lakes michigan and huron.

“a worst-case scenario is a wintertime rupture in rough seas. it would be catastrophic to those communities and to the environment, the habitats, and the wildlife in the straits. it’s just a really risky, dumb place to put a pipeline. and that’s not counting the other almost 400 water crossings that enbridge themselves say exist,” said nathan murphy, director of environment michigan.

a 2016 study by the university of michigan’s graham sustainability institute formed the foundation of many advocacy groups’ arguments to shut down line 5. the study simulated different possibilities for spills in the straits and how the spill, greatly impacted by current and wind changes, would affect lakes michigan and huron and nearby shoreline.

“line 5 is monitored 24/7 by a dedicated team. if there is a change in pressure or flow, automatic shut off valves on either side of the straits crossing will immediately shut off flow in minutes and activate trained enbridge responders. the bottom line is enbridge will take full responsibility and pay for all costs related to an incident.  further, federal law imposes an obligation on any party responsible for such an incident to pay all costs for cleanup, restoration, and remediation,” said ryan duffy, communications strategist for enbridge.

enbridge inc. has a poor track record when it comes to preventing spills and cleaning them up when they happen. their 2010 pipeline spill in the kalamazoo river has gone down in history as the largest inland oil spill to ever occur. it led to the evacuation of residents and a four-year-long cleanup process that cost enbridge $700 million—$50 million more than its insurance policy.

third-party agencies such as the national transportation safety review board and the environmental protection agency found that enbridge had failed numerous times to implement safety standards, such as confronting documented and growing cracks along the pipeline, that could have prevented the devastating spill.

a line 5 rupture could result in 1.27 million gallons of oil dumped into the lakes, which would not only devastate ecosystems in the great lakes region but also end the delicate economic viability of local communities such as mackinac island, mackinaw city, and st. ignace.

in 2018, tripadvisor ranked mackinac island number one on its “10 hottest destinations for summer” list. the island beat out renowned locations such as nantucket, massachusetts and block island, rhode island.

“mackinac island is the number one tourism destination in michigan. most people, especially in the past season, see it as a great place for outdoor recreation. as you bike around the island, you can look out into the straits and see the mackinac bridge, and just past the bridge is line 5,” said anneke myers, mackinac island city councilperson.

in 2019, mackinac island filed a petition against the michigan department of environmental quality’s decision to grant two permits to enbridge that would allow the company to extend operations of the dual crude oil and natural gas pipeline for another 10 years.

“we draw water right out of the lake. we process the water here on the island. if there was a spill, we’d have to shut that down. we would have no water supply, and we’d have to evacuate all our citizens and tourists that are here. we have an evacuation plan drawn up, in case there was a spill,” said myers.

mackinaw city ferry companies have told island leaders that a spill was to occur, the ferries would be removed from the water, leaving mackinac island residents and tourists with no transportation options to depart the island.

“we’d have no water and no transportation, which would result in the collapse of our economy,” said myers.

enbridge argues that northern michigan relies on line 5 for much of its fuel. “the region–including wisconsin, indiana, ohio, pennsylvania, ontario, and quebec–would see a shortage of 14 million gallons a day of gas, diesel and jet fuel every day (if line 5 shut down). this represents 45% of the supply,” said duffy.

the fate of the pipeline lies in the hands of major michigan government officials, namely, whitmer and attorney general dana nessel.

“whitmer campaigned on the idea of shutting down line 5. here we are, years later, and her actions have been less than we hoped for. enbridge’s contract is with the dnr, which is under whitmer’s jurisdiction, so if she finds out that enbridge is breaking any part of the contract, she can essentially give them notice that the contract is done with,” said holtz.

the line 5 controversy has been trademarked by gubernatorial inaction. former gov. rick snyder is known to have made backroom deals with enbridge to help push the construction of the new tunnel through in his lame-duck period. the whitmer administration has proved slightly more aggressive on line 5, with attorney general nessel leading the charge in the courts.

in 2019, nessel filed a lawsuit against enbridge in which she challenges the validity of the original easement, with the goal being shutting line 5 down permanently. gov. whitmer took over and requested a review of the easement, and in july of 2020, wrote a letter addressed to al monaco, ceo of enbridge, asking that he shut the line down in response to numerous reports of damage.

while government leaders have dawdled and embraced their ambivalent tendencies, line 5 continues to pump 23 million gallons of crude oil each day through the great lakes at its most precarious point, risking michigan’s access to clean water, a healthy environment and regional economic stability in large swaths of the state.

“under longstanding principles of michigan’s common law, the state, as sovereign, has an obligation to protect and preserve the waters of the great lakes and the lands beneath them for the public. the state serves, in effect, as the trustee of public rights in the great lakes for fishing, hunting, and boating for commerce or pleasure,” according to the michigan supreme court.

the state court cannot lawfully relinquish its duty to protect michigan’s natural resources, even though this move has been made by past administrations. it is up to gov. whitmer to take back control over an area that is legally her jurisdiction and shut down line 5, and finally, she has.

the notice issued by the governor’s office and the department of natural resources requires enbridge to cease operations of the pipeline by may 2021, with hopes that this period of time will allow for a peaceful and orderly transition while supporting michigan’s energy needs. whitmer has also filed a lawsuit with the ingraham county circuit court to gain legal support for this action.

“after spending more than 15 months reviewing enbridge’s record over the last 67 years, it is abundantly clear that today’s action is necessary. enbridge’s historic failures and current non-compliance present too great a risk to our great lakes and the people who depend upon them,” said eichinger in the governor’s office’s press release. “our number one priority is protecting the great lakes and we will continue to work with our partners across michigan in pursuit of that objective.” 

it is unlikely that enbridge will take the notice sitting down—either way, this development mentions nothing about the looming tunnel project.

“enbridge remains confident that line 5 continues to operate safely and that there is no credible basis for terminating the 1953 easement allowing the dual line 5 pipelines to cross the straits of mackinac,” states enbridge’s press release responding to the notice.

while a long period of litigation surely awaits this case, environmental advocacy groups celebrated across the midwest as the news broke. whitmer’s bold action indicates a commitment to the health and wellness of the great lakes, a critical component of michigan’s soul, during a time when the state struggles to unify. if successful, residents of the great lakes state can drink, swim, and live peacefully knowing that the ever-lurking threat is no longer.

they thank us and we slip back into the crowd of protestors chanting in the shadow of the madison gas and electric plant. that photo op won’t be the last time i overthink a seemingly easy decision on this hot afternoon, because today is the global climate strike and i’m not attending it — i’m covering it.

as i march with the crowd from mg&e to the steps of the state capitol, it’s hard not to get swept up in the rousing speeches and impassioned chants, but i try to remember the journalistic guidelines i have been taught. 

when i first started at the badger herald, one of the university of wisconsin’s student newspapers, i was quickly taught the basics of unbiased journalism — speak to a representative from both sides, report only verifiable facts and do not post anything political to your social media. many of these “journalism ethics” were then expanded upon and further instilled into me through my classes at uw. 

at the strike, i stood next to my friends who waved large crayola-lettered signs and chanted passionately. as i weaved through the sweaty crowd, i tried to establish my own journalistic guidelines on the fly — i could accept pamphlets but i couldn’t hold a sign, my friends could post pictures i was in but i couldn’t post one myself, i could clap but i couldn’t cheer. 

looking back, i was definitely overthinking things, but my self-imposed limitations do a raise a question many environmental journalists are constantly facing — what is our role in the fight against climate change?

it may seem obvious that as with other global debates, our job is to inform the public and report the facts. but with climate change, these “facts” are often more complicated than they appear. 

climate change first really came into the public sphere in 1988 when dr. james hansen of the national aeronautics and space administration testified in front of a congressional committee and said he was “99 percent certain” that the warming trend of the previous few years was not because of natural variation, but was caused by a buildup of carbon dioxide and other artificial gases in the atmosphere as a result of the burning of fossil fuels. 

this story made the front page of the new york times under the headline, “global warming has begun, expert tells senate.” this article cited several scientists and mathematical models, all indicating that immediate action was needed. the piece included only one sentence acknowledging that some scientists believe the recent warmer temperatures are due to natural fluctuations. 

over 30 years later, the public’s perception of climate change has become increasingly divergent from the scientific discourse. 

ninety-seven percent of climate experts have concluded that human-caused climate change is a reality, according to the american association for the advancement of science. but as of 2019, 35% of americans think that global warming is generally exaggerated, up from 31% in 1997, according to a gallup poll.this same poll found that as of 2018, only 42% of americans would consider themselves an environmentalist, down from 76% in 1989.

i have seen how important this public perception of climate change can be in directing policy. one of my aforementioned crayola sign-toting roommates is marina minic, a uw junior studying chemistry and environmental studies and an executive board member for campus leaders for energy action now. 

clean is a student organization working through strikes and petitions to get uw to power the campus exclusively with renewable energy by 2050 and to derive all electrical power from renewable resources by 2030. i have covered several protests organized by clean and have joined them during their weekly petitioning around campus, their version of greta thunberg’s fridays for future. 

minic said that most students she interacts with support clean energy; they are just unaware that it is such a major issue at uw.  she said that whenever she tells students that only 1.61% of uw’s energy consumption comes from clean and renewable sources, they are disappointed and happy to sign clean’s petition. 

a major way clean informs students and gains visibility is through media coverage, minic told me. 

“if the chancellor wakes up the next morning and she sees every local paper has written about something, obviously you can’t ignore it at that point,” minic said. “it’s also a good way to raise awareness to other students to get involved in the movement because i think most people do care about this issue and maybe just didn’t know about it.”

this media attention has always been key for the environmental movement. however, in the years since hansen first testified before the senate, how the media covers climate change has shifted. 

a study published in 2003 by the global environmental change journal featured a content analysis of articles published by the wall street journal, the new york times, the washington post and the los angeles times from 1988 to 2002. the study found that the majority, 52.6%, of articles presented both the view that climate change is being caused by humans and the view that it is due to natural fluctuations, in a balanced way. the study also found that from 1988 to 2002, the articles’ focus on the need for immediate climate action decreased. 

this study is dated, but more recent studies show similar trends. the day after the intergovernmental panel on climate change released its report announcing that global warming is likely to reach 1.5°c between 2030 and 2052 if current trends continue, media matters for america analyzed the home pages of the top 50 newspapers in the country. they found that only 22 covered the report. 

this lack of coverage and the tendency to prioritize balance over accuracy may be connected to the politicization of climate change. a recent report published by the science communication journal conducted a content analysis of all climate change-related articles published by major newspapers in the u.s between 1985 and 2017. the report found that representations of climate change have become more politicized. 

the content analysis showed that political actors have been increasingly used as sources in recent years, while the use of scientists as sources has been decreasing. it also found that the mention of “democrats” and “republicans” in climate change-related articles have increased. 

the perceived politicization of climate change has influenced actions being taken to address it. when 350 madison, a climate action organization, petitioned the uw foundation to divest from fossil fuel industries, the foundation wrote a letter saying it did not want to do anything that would make the university be seen as a political actor, rather than an academic and research institution. 

this argument is not unique to uw. ari bortman, a university of pennsylvania junior and a campus organizer with fossil free penn, told me that when fossil free pushed for divestment at upenn, the administration said it did not want to make a political statement. that refusal, bortman said, is a political statement in itself. 

“at this point, their vehement resistance to make any kind of statement on the industry really belies their leanings,” bortman said. “we know that the fossil fuel industry destroys people’s lives, destroys people’s homes for profit… exxon admits to spending billions of dollars to spread false science to misinform people, that’s not debatable. to not say that these things are bad is a political statement.”

bortman’s reference to exxon mobile’s misinformation campaigns actually touches on part of why climate change has become so politicized. a recent report, “america misled,” analyzed internal corporate documents from the fossil fuel industry showing it knew about the reality of human-caused climate change for decades and actively funded denial and disinformation campaigns.  

one document from 1998 outlines the american petroleum institute’s global climate science communications plan. this plan includes a bullet point list titled, “victory will be achieved when.”

“media “understands” (recognizes) uncertainties in climate science,” one bullet point read.  “media coverage reflects balance on climate science and recognition of the validity of viewpoints that challenge conventional wisdom.”

corporations’ efforts to influence media messages about climate change have persisted throughout the years. one day in february, after covering clean’s divestment die-in where protestors chanted and laid down at the top of bascom hill as a part of the national fossil fuel divestment day, i came home to find marina fuming in the kitchen. 

i had been covering the protest for the badger herald, but the other school newspaper, the daily cardinal, had been given a pamphlet from the uw alumni foundation emphasizing that technically it is the foundation that is invested in fossil fuels, not the university. 

the resulting daily cardinal article said that students were protesting uw’s “alleged” investment in fossil fuels. 

the word “alleged” was eventually removed after the daily cardinal met with clean. in the meeting, clean’s executive board explained that because all $124,785,961 the foundation has invested in oil and gas is donated to uw, the university is still profiting off fossil fuel investments. 

seeing the importance media coverage plays in this issue, and the concerted effort those who profit from the fossil fuel industry have continued to put into influencing the media, makes me wonder — as a journalist, is it truly biased to take a stance on climate change? furthermore, as a student with a platform, do i have a responsibility to share that stance?

i think back to the global climate strike; standing on my tip toes with my arms outstretched trying to record the speakers, i remember how moved i was by what they said. 

one speaker, uw freshman crystal zhao, reflected on her experience moving from china to massachusetts at 14 and witnessing how climate change has affected different parts of the world. her speech moved me because she discussed the importance of everyone having a role in the climate movement. 

“i’m here today because i care about the future generation and selfishly, i am here today because i care about the reputation of our generation,” zhao said. “i don’t want us to be remembered as the generation that failed to act when we still had a chance to save our home.”

her speech brings me back to my original question: as a journalist, what is my role in the climate movement? this may be a question i continue to grapple with throughout my career. but i do know one thing — after zhao spoke, i cheered as loud as i could. 

double majoring in political science and french at texas tech university in lubbock, texas, warrior is a political activist for climate change. today she is a part of the 2019 global climate march at one of three strikes held in lubbock. as i interviewed her in the park on the corner of a busy intersection adjacent to the college, chants from other marchers intermingle with the din of traffic in the background.

“what do we want? climate action! when do we want it? now!”

q: why are you here today?

a: i’m here today to support a strike and be a part of the movement to help the next generation live. i recently became president of the tech student democrats on campus and found out about the event through a speaker we met with. our future depends on being politically active and making changes.

q: do you think that climate change and environmental issues have a negative connotation in west texas?

a: (my hometown) has an oil-based economy. lubbock is the same. a lot of people rely on the oilfield as a source of income. we’re a part of that spectrum, but we need to go to other forms of energy. it’s hard for people to accept a shift away from it, but there are little things we can do like recycle and decrease the use of cars.

q: how long do you think it will be until we begin to see noticeable changes?

a: i believe that it will take at least 10 years to decrease carbon emissions, but i believe that with everyone on board we can get there faster.

q: when did you become politically active?

a: i became involved in politics during the last election and became more conscious of decisions in relation to the climate when i realized my own faults during my first year of college. i started realizing how much waste we produce as individuals and as an entire population.

q: what do you see as the most pressing issue in regards to climate change today?

a: the most pressing issue, in my opinion, is the rising temperature levels and extreme weather. 

q: how do you think we can help this particular issue as well as any others that we face?

a: we can start by taking on industries that control single use plastic. we can speak to our representatives and increase regulations that will fight to curb our effect on the planet.

the interview ended, and warrior touched up her sodden sign with a permanent marker. as she made her way back to join the other protesters, the sun began to peek through the clouds and the downpour weakened into a drizzle. adding her voice to the chants of the group, warrior held her sign up proudly.

false facts are highly injurious to the progress of science, for they often endure long; but false views, if supported by some evidence, do little harm, for everyone takes a salutary pleasure in proving their falseness; and when this is done, one path towards error is closed and the road to truth is often at the same time opened.”

—charles darwin

for this article, i interviewed two state university of new york school of environmental science and forestry professors about the exxon valdez spill, and the current issues and regulations that have been put in place because of this historical disaster. they also stated their opinions on the excess of fossil fuels american society is do dependent on in present day, even after people saw how much damage the extraction and shipment of oil can cause.

first for a little backstory into the oil spill problem: the exxon valdez oil spill in alaska’s prince william sound was the worst american oil disaster up to that point in history in 1989. many mistakes were made and outrage by the american people was evident, such as the captain of the oil-carrying vessel handing control of the ship to his first mate who had no idea how to operate it. by learning about more recent oil spills and environmental disasters, people have learned more about the science behind how fossil fuels and the machinery taking it out of the ground and transporting it, affect the environment and surrounding economy. education on these issues and why they happen in the first place is the first step into prevention.

the size and damage of the spill was trumped more than two decades later by the bp spill in the gulf coast. many of you who read this blog were not born when the exxon valdez spill happened, but it was an important and depressing stepping stone to create better environmental safety regulations to protect american wildlife.

the interviewees for this post are jill weiss, and sharon moran, both professors from the environmental studies department of suny-esf, and they have both dealt with this oil spill both in and outside of the classroom, which is why i thought they would be good people to interview. they both had very different backgrounds surrounding the issue of oil spills, but they both believe that we have the power today to prevent and regulate the problem.

laws such as the oil pollution act (opa) of 1990 streamlined and strengthened epa’s ability to prevent and respond to catastrophic oil spills. a trust fund financed by a tax on oil is available to clean up spills when the responsible party is incapable or unwilling to do so. the opa requires oil storage facilities and vessels to submit to the federal government plans detailing how they will respond to large discharges. epa has published regulations for aboveground storage facilities. the opa also requires the development of area contingency plans to prepare and plan for oil spill response on a regional scale.

regarding the interviews, the first person i interviewed was weiss. she explained that she was a student in an art college when she first heard about the disaster and has used her experience to talk about oil spills in her lectures and how to prevent them with today’s technology. she also mentioned larger oil spills such as the bp oil spill that occurred almost a decade ago and told me that the cleanup was still ongoing. from her lectures and interview, she told me that public outreach was stronger than she expected, even before the internet existed. currently she teaches a class about nepa, the national environmental policy act, and the guidelines our federal government abides by to keep the environment from sustaining irreparable damage. she strongly believes the people of today have the power to control the amount of spillage, but “since america is so dependent on fossil fuels, many people are timid about changes to the way they go about their daily lives and the amount of oil they use.”

moran teaches classes mainly about environmental policy and american government, including her view on harsher penalties for the people that are the primarily responsible for oil spills, and stricter regulations on the oil barges. she also talked about how much our society depends on fossil fuels, and if we are this dependent, “nothing will change.” she talks about how oil spills can cause permanent damage to an aquatic ecosystem if the regulations and polices regarding the transportation and exportation of oil are not followed. “the science that researches and writes up damage reports is vital in getting the public involved and in getting the party responsible to pay for their missteps. we have the technology today to clean up oil spills and influence the people around us with the factual research, but first, communication is needed to bring different stakeholders together and find out why these oil spills keep happening even with the more advanced technology of today.”

people like you, who read articles like this, can change the world, and spread the word to others on how much damage oil spills can really do, beyond what we hear from the mainstream media. the discovery of fossil fuels helped with the advancement of our society but has also become a hindrance for our future and present environment and life in general.

this summer, i traveled to the arctic national wildlife refuge to take photographs and learn more about the complex issues at hand. please have a look at my story:

washington – a house energy subcommittee is pushing legislation to require the energy department to lease some of the strategic petroleum reserve facilities to companies or foreign governments and use the profits to update old equipment and infrastructure.

the strategic petroleum reserve is the world’s largest government-owned stockpile of emergency crude oil, stored in huge underground salt caverns along the coastline of the gulf of mexico. 

the 665.5 million barrels of crude oil stored there are worth about $42 billion. that exceeds its obligation as a member of the international energy agency under the international energy program to maintain at least 90 days of reserve oil. congress authorized the reserve in response to the organization of arab petroleum exporting countries’ oil embargo in 1973 and 1974. 

“the u.s. is arguably more energy secure now than ever before,” said subcommittee chairman rep. fred upton, r-mich. “we’re the number one world producer for oil and gas. our imports of gas have declined about 70% since peaking in 2005.

“our pipelines are full. our refineries are operating at near peak capacity.”

upton said he expects the house and senate to pass the bill and get to the president before the end of the year.

democratic rep. frank pallone of new jersey said the trump administration has been considering releasing oil from the reserve to lower gas prices before the november midterm elections to help the republican candidates.

“when you get to the point where the administration is publicly discussing using spr for blatantly political purposes, then it is certainly a good time to discuss the future of the reserve,” pallone said.

charlie cray, a senior research specialist at greenpeace usa, said in a statement, that the country’s energy needs should never be treated as a “political chip” before an election. instead, the government could stabilize the energy market by building up green infrastructure.

congress has passed several laws authorizing the sale of crude oil from the reserve. these sales, totaling an estimated $16 billion, are projected to reduce the crude oil inventory from the current 660 million barrels to about 400 million barrels over the next decade, according to the subcommittee.

“climate change is one of the greatest threats to our national security, a significant reason why the united states must continue to limit its burning of fossil fuels and instead make the transition to a green economy,” cray said in the same statement.

the reserve’s facilities are more than 40 years old and haven’t been upgraded in 25 years, according to steven winberg, the department of energy’s assistant secretary for fossil energy. the doe is developing a life extension program to upgrade the spr system to operate for an additional 25 years. by leasing space to other countries or commercial operations, the upgrading expenses could be covered by the lease payments, winberg said.

the doe is conducting a study to identify which of the reserve’s storage caverns or related facilities likely will become underutilized or operationally inefficient and possibly be closed, he told the subcommittee.

however, the doe has not done a great job assessing market changes, identifying the optimal size for the reserve, or analyzing possible needs for the oil, said frank rusco of the government accountability office, the nonpartisan congressional investigative agency.

rusco said australia and new zealand have shown interest in leasing space in the reserve since salt cavern storage is generally cheaper than tank or ship storage, and he predicted other countries also would be interested.

texas republican rep. joe barton said that leasing the underused parts of the facilities is a win-win idea.

“maybe it’ll work, maybe it won’t, but we’re not going to be worse off than we are,” barton said. “we will probably be better off if the private sector makes a decision to utilize it because it’s going to give some funding that’s at the discretion of the secretary of energy to improve the facility.” 

many experts say fracking is dangerous and can lead to poisonous and radioactive material entering groundwater, but that many of the concerns with fracking can be allayed if it’s done right. but, what exactly is the “right” way? wireless automation group (wag) of broken arrow, oklahoma has an answer, at least when it comes to the production and completion phase of fracking, where the real danger to communities and environment lies.

much of the threat to our soil and water comes after water has been collected and must be transported. with multiple holes created in rock layers, and so much water to collect from different outlets, it is easy for this runoff to go back into the ground. any potential spillage from water in the tanks, or while it is being transported or pumped, can have disastrous effects on local ecosystems and even, allegedly, drinking water, which has created much of the environmentalist opposition to fracking. wag’s automation technology corrects the potential for these on-site and transportation errors that can create environmental danger.

it’s not just in stabilizing and safeguarding the production and completion of fracking where wag is making a difference. wag president mark patton maintains that while the united states has the potential to surpass saudi arabia in barrels of oil produced, outdated and expensive monitoring systems in the u.s. not only create greater potential for fracking-related mishaps and other environmental dangers, but also hamper remote oil and gas operations. the disadvantage the u.s. faces is not with its oil supply, but how we are going about extracting that supply. all too often, critical information is received too late to prevent costly disruptions, accidents, and environmental spills.

“through remote, automated monitoring of all phases of median and marginal oil and gas production, we can simultaneously boost production and reduce risks,” patton maintains. “labor costs are minimized, while pumpjack failures and other incidents are immediately addressed.”

rapid transmission of data is especially critical in limiting environmental impacts, which can easily prove a thousand times more costly than the production interruptions themselves. in the wake of something like a pumpjack failure or blowout, even mere minutes can mean untold costs in labor safety, environmental safety and production.

“environmental issues have assumed top priority in the minds of government agencies,” patton adds. “near real-time monitoring of flow allocation, well performance, and detection of potential environmental threats is no longer an option – it has become a crucial component of competitive survival.”

wag seeks to change the face of oil and gas production through automated, remote monitoring of all phases of the processes, as illustrated in the diagram below:

wag is moving oil production to an almost completely remote process, not only moving the human element out of danger, but adding greater efficiency and safety to u.s. oil production as well. real-time operational status can be viewed on a mobile device via an internet connection. oil production monitoring can include the amount of oil taken, the start/stop of the salt water injector pump, the high/low level of the saltwater tank, and high and low pressure of the salt water line from the injector pump.

this cloud-based, near real-time monitoring allows operators to manage their remote operations efficiently, to increase production while reducing risks. for example, operators can manage the variable speed drives that reduce the demand charge when the pumps start up, thereby reducing energy costs. the operator has the ability to start and stop all operations at each site in near real-time, from a safe, remote location.

operators can detect a problem within minutes, and implement an action plan to fix it before it has a major effect on production, and possibly impact the environment. for example, pumpjack failures can usually be fixed immediately. operators can send notices of operational alarms to cell phones, as well as video monitoring and motion sensor alerts. depending on the seriousness of the event, field teams can communicate with management for advice, support, or approval. operations that are more extensive can include a central monitoring station.

all wag wireless platforms provide both production and security management. they can support traditional scada (supervisory control and data acquisition) implementations, as well as voice, data and video applications. they can keep a log of system status for epa (u.s. environmental protection agency) reports and oil company settlements.

in short, wag’s near real-time wireless delivery is key to assisting operators make timely decisions that, before now, had been severely limited by dated and irrelevant information. wag solutions result in greater safety and security by not only optimizing production, but also by enabling the early prevention of expensive, lengthy and potentially risky repairs. thus, timely delivery of accurate information on all phases of production systems results in higher profits optimal production and minimal incidents.

wag service offerings include design engineering, construction, installation and maintenance, database records and storage, and instrumentation and electrical solutions. they also provide systems integration of plcs, scada, wireless networking, and custom control panel fabrication. clients include municipal, public works, private, and industrial applications.
for more information, please go to http://www.wireless-automation-group.com