Nature Canada

Oil Spill in Michigan Threatens Birds, Fish

It’s becoming a wearying — and worrying — refrain. For (at least) the third time this year, an oil pipeline has burst, birds and fish are being killed, water is being fouled, and local residents are asking, How could this happen?

The site this time: Battle Creek, Michigan, where a pipeline belonging to Calgary-based energy giant Enbridge Inc has leaked at least three million litres of oil into the Kalamazoo River.

The pipeline, which normally carries about 30 million litres of crude oil a day from Griffith, Ind., to Sarnia, Ontario, sprung a leak on Monday, but cleanup crews didn’t begin work until Wednesday. Once again, initial estimates from the company of the amount of oil spilling from the pipeline were lower than reality, and once again townspeople were left surprised that a pipeline was so close to one of the state’s major waterways. From the Associated Press:

“I just can’t believe they allowed that to happen, and they’re not equipped to handle it,” said Owen Smith, 53, of Galesburg.

Sound familiar?

This is just the latest in a string of spills that have been reported this year. All of these spills, particularlythe tragedy unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico, serve as a reminder that oil production is never safe for the environment or for the communities along our coasts and waterways. Oil in the water is dangerous for fisheries, wildlife and ecosystems no matter where it happens.

This spill, harmful though it is to the area’s wildlife and people, is at least smaller in scale than the BP spill. Check out how much of Ontario would be covered by the Gulf of Mexico spill!

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