In 2013, a train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec. The dangers of oil trains are part of the controversy around Enbridge Line 5 – a pipeline running through the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan. In part two of this series, we look at the risks of transporting crude oil by pipe and by rail.
There’s no safe way to move crude oil across an entire continent. So what risks are we willing to take? And who bears the brunt of that risk? Over the next couple episodes, we'll be looking at two times when transporting oil went horribly wrong. Today, we’ll hear about a pipeline that ruptured. Next time, we’ll consider the alternative.
There will be a new reporter working around the Straits of Mackinac next year. Report for America today announced it will support a position in the northern tip of lower Michigan, one of 150 new jobs receiving funding from the national journalism project.