Talks about Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline, biodiversity, ways to make homes affordable, and heat pumps, are on tap for Climate Action Sarnia-Lambton’s next speaker series.
Talks about Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline, biodiversity, ways to make homes affordable, and heat pumps, are on tap for Climate Action Sarnia-Lambton’s next speaker series.
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“I think people are concerned about the future of the city and what risk we’re running at the moment with that pipeline, and what would happen if it did get shut down,” said CASL’s Peter Smith of the first talk, Oct. 23 at 7 pm at the Sarnia Library Theatre.
“I’m hoping we get a lot of people out and a lot of conversation on that subject.”
Michelle Woodhouse, a Métis water defender who has worked as a researcher and analyst for Great Lakes Policy Research Network, the International Joint Commission, the Canadian Environmental Law Association, and helped lead Great Lakes-focused campaigns for Environmental Defense Canada, is giving the talk , Environmental Liability or Essential Energy Supply Line?
Thousands of jobs on both sides of the border depends on the pipelineand Woodhouse is expected to discuss options that would protect jobs and ensure environmental protection, a CASL release said.
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Water Watchers and Sierra Club Canada also support the talk, he said.
Enbridge was asked to participate in the talk, but declined, Smith said.
Line 5 has been under legal siege in Wisconsin and neighboring Michigan for most of the last three years, with opponents arguing for a shutdown, and others arguing the pipeline is a vital energy source for several Midwestern states and an essential link for Canadian refineries.
The pipeline, constructed in 1953, moves 87 million liters a day of western crude oil and natural gas liquids between Superior, Wis., and Sarnia, via northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
November’s talk, with retired local landscape designer Mike Smalls, is expected to look at the importance of native plants in supporting biodiversity, including insects and birds, amid climate change, Smith said.
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Heat pumps, often misunderstood, are the subject of the series’ April finale, Smith said.
“Everybody I’ve spoken to about heat pumps is somewhat confused as to how they work,” Smith said. “The answer is very much like a freezer or refrigerator. It’s taking heat from one place and letting it out somewhere else.”
Typically 75 to 80 people attend the free talks, all starting at 7 pm at the library theater, he said. One past talk on natural burials drew well over 100.
“We try to keep it fairly informal,” typically including a 30- or 40-minute presentation, followed by a chance for questions, Smith said.
“If (people) want to know something, it’s a good place to find out,” he said.
Talks are more spread out this time, in October, November, February and April – instead of January to April – to work better with people’s schedules, Smith said.
Details are at climateactionsarnialambton.ca.
The group, with 16 core members, focuses on tree planting and successfully petitioned Sarnia council to declare a climate emergency in 2019, Smith said.
With files from Paul Morden and The Canadian Press
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