Whitewater march Saturday: "No" to oil pipeline expansion, route

March Against Pipeline Expansion!

Saturday, March 4, 2017

On Saturday, March 4, 2017, Wisconsin Youth Network and allies concerned about the future of the environment, environmental responsibility, and justice will be marching in Whitewater, Wisconsin, a town in the path of a proposed pipeline expansion and the site of a related pumping station.

Wisconsin is already bisected by four existing pipelines, and now Enbridge, a $42 billion Canadian company, has announced plans to its shareholders to construct Line 66, a pipeline that would run parallel to its existing Line 61. Together, these two pipelines would carry 2 MILLION barrels of tar sands oil per day from Superior, Wisconsin, diagonally through the heart of the state, crossing many vital waterways.

Join us in Whitewater on March 4 to express opposition to Enbridge’s plan to expand at the expense of the people and the natural environment!

WHAT: March Against Pipeline Expansion
WHEN: Saturday, March 4, 2017 (gathering starts at 2:00 pm and marching begins by 2:30 pm)WHERE: Whitewater, WI **
WHAT TO BRING: Weather-appropriate clothing, signs (please avoid picket-style signs on wooden posts), and positive energy!
FACEBOOK EVENT: Here
RSVP: Here

** The march will begin near the fountain on the campus mall in front of the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater University Center. It will end at the Cravath Lakefront for speakers and a rally. The march route is approximately one mile one way. For those traveling from off campus, there is visitor parking available nearby: by the visitor’s center and by the campus library. Campus parking is free in all lots on weekends.

Enbridge had more than 800 spills from 1999 to 2010, roughly one spill every five days. It is with this history in mind that we also call on Enbridge to decommission Line 5, twin pipelines passing under the environmentally vulnerable Straits of Mackinac that connect Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes are one of our most precious resources, containing 21% of the world’s surface fresh water. Their ecological health shouldn’t rely on pipelines that a company with a notoriously poor environmental and safety record built more than 60 years ago.

Here are our demands:

1. A public commitment by Enbridge not to construct any new tar sands oil infrastructure in Wisconsin, including Line 66;
2. The decommissioning of Line 5 as soon as possible; and
3. Improved pipeline management, oversight, and technology from Enbridge in order to safely operate and eventually decommission existing pipelines as the nation and the world transition to clean fuel sources.

For more background on Enbridge’s pipeline system in Wisconsin and beyond, see our Tar Sands Campaign webpage.