When most people see or think of a pipeline, they may envision just one section – pieces and parts of the full project. Often, this is because we see segments stacked up on the back of a truck, near a highway or in a rural field.

Once laid down and connected, pipelines often sit beneath the surface, out of sight through various areas and terrains. They continue on disguised, masked or marked within their surroundings – all 2.4 million miles worth.

But their benefits are very visible.

Pipelines deliver what we depend on each day, typically carrying water, oil or natural gas. Without pipelines, you most likely couldn’t drive, heat, cool or power your home, or take a shower. Though these are some of the tangible benefits of what pipelines can deliver, pipelines can also deliver intangible benefits as well. Like jobs.

The Line 5 pipeline that runs under Michigan is a great example. While there are the more obvious construction jobs associated with the building and installation of any pipeline, folks in neighboring Ohio, where the pipeline ends, were recently reminded of how vital Michigan’s Line 5 is to their jobs – the less obvious ones that you and I might associate with the pipeline.

These jobs, about 600-1,000 of them, lie in Ohio at the Toledo Refining Co., and Line 5 is the primary source for the sweet crude oil that they convert to gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. This fuel is then transported to areas and regions where it is used and consumed.  According to PBF Energy, the owner of the refinery, there is no other viable alternative oil source for this refinery. You wouldn’t put apples in a cake mixer and hope they’d be blended up; processing oil is quite similar. You can’t process different types of products in a place that is already built to process another. Without the pipeline, it would make the facility obsolete.

The Toledo Blaze recently highlighted the potential impact on employees at the 122-year-old refinery if energy delivery from Line 5 was interrupted. Their conclusion? 550 good-paying jobs would likely be lost.

But it’s not just their jobs that are on the line (literally.)

Believe it or not, interrupting Line 5 would also mean Michigan could be ending one of its own main sources of energy, including the majority of aviation fuels for the Detroit Metro Airport. Job loses, travel disruptions and higher energy prices (to name just a few) would undoubtedly be expected for both Michigan, Ohio and over the border in Canada if something happened to Line 5.

It’s hard to believe anyone would intentionally want to do that.

While Toledo isn’t Detroit, there’s always a connection at both ends of any pipeline, and Ohio jobs are at the end of this one when it comes to Line 5. While many people live in Ohio, some do live here in Michigan. How would you feel if another state got to decide if you kept your job or not? It just goes to show, Michiganders need to think about what – or more importantly, who – is on the other end of Line 5.

Don’t forget to think down the line.

Safety is an essential frame of mind, especially if you’re in the building, construction or trades business. Some union organizations believe nearly all deaths, illnesses and injuries in the workplace can be prevented. After all, they say, these are not really “accidents” because they usually have well-known causes that can be controlled.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), with its 2,100 inspectors, is responsible for the health and safety of 130 million workers who are employed at more than eight million worksites around the nation. Furthermore, our federal, state and local governments continually layer on additional rules and regulations – all in the name of safety. These regulations and their enforcement help protect all of us.

Health and safety are so important that many companies devote entire divisions strictly to protecting their workers, customers, and the environment. These divisions are typically referred to as the Environment, Health and Safety division, or EHS that occurs in states across the nation.

It’s usually the role of the EHS to play the “could” game. In other words, they prepare for (and practice) necessary protocols when something “could” go wrong. Not “would” or “should” but could.

The problem with the could game, and risk management, in general, is that it’s easy to get carried away with every scenario of what could happen. It could be endless. There is no way to eliminate accidents from happening in anything we do. Perfection is an impossible, unrealistic goal – period.

The solution? A fair balance between best practices, smart policies, and reducing the risk that something could happen, while still performing a job and protecting our communities and our environment. In the energy world, it’s called responsible development. It’s all about producing and moving energy to where it’s needed, safely and efficiently. And it’s where EHS thrives.

For America’s traditional energy industry, moving products safely means utilizing pipelines, and the Line 5 pipeline that crosses into Michigan is one example.

People have asked about leaks, freezing temperatures, and the effects on the pipe and pressure within the line. Everything that could happen. Thankfully, countless engineers and EHS experts have focused on those kinds of situations – and many, many more – during the lifespan of the pipeline and now as they look to build a new one.

But some extreme groups in the environmental community are demanding an immediate shutdown of Line 5, saying a rupture could contaminate hundreds of miles of open waters and shorelines. It’s an unfortunate tactic, but fear is a motivating emotion, and they’re getting the attention of some of our most prominent elected officials.

Despite independent studies, thorough research, in-depth plans and bi-partisan support two top-level state policymakers demanded a two-year timeline to shut down Line 5, which is vital to bringing propane to many of the residents in the Upper Peninsula who rely on the fuel to heat their homes. Now, without a fixed date for shutting down the line, and despite the latest court ruling, Michigan’s Attorney General has decided to continue with state taxpayer-funded legal action through an appeal. So instead of the conversation resting with our brilliant engineers and EHS experts as to how to safely deliver the energy Michigan needs, and despite bipartisan support and the ruling of a prominent judge, the state’s AG will take this same issue back to court.

It seems a bit unreasonable, especially because her profession doesn’t take into account the knowledge need to understand any of the could scenarios Yet, here we are again – in an eerie case of déjà vu.

I suppose the could game could cut both ways. Michiganders could support ending Line 5. They could prepare for job losses, significant economic disturbances, more unsafe modes of transport or even rationed energy.

Or, perhaps these are the things policymakers could want for their citizens?

One would hope that nobody could want that for the people of Michigan.

Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail, and the solution could be to let work be done on Line 5, so jobs, economics, environmental security and safety stay our state’s top priorities and not the priorities of a few individuals bending the rest of us to their will.

One of the great things about a barbecue is saving money (if done right.)  Typically, the host might buy and prep the main course ahead of time so they can operate the grill later. Others usually bring sides and drinks, and it’s relatively safe to assume everyone is going to have a good time.

There’s just something delightful about dinner off the grill. The charred smoke flavor and the ease of being able to stay at home. The level of joy is right up there with a beer at a ballgame or popcorn at the movies.

Speaking of which – or maybe it’s just me – but snack and food prices at destinations with walls, fences, or gates like a ballgame or the movies, sure seem to be outrageous. Maybe even more outrageous than in the past?

It’s been estimated that movie theaters make an 85% profit at the concessions stand on inflated-priced soda, candy, nachos, hot dogs and, of course, popcorn.

How?

Well, it’s what economists call a captive market because unless you break the rules and sneak your food in, you’re subject to pay whatever the vendors charge since there are no other options unless you want to go hungry or without a snack.

It turns out, a fellow Michigander got fed up and sued a movie theatre back in 2012.  He was sick and tired of being taken advantage of – and who can blame him?

Frivolous lawsuits aside, most people would recognize going to the movies as a choice. For some, maybe even a luxury. One thing is for sure, it is possible to sit for 1.5 – 2 hours without needing a snack in between – you may not want to – but you can.

The reality is that captive markets come down to access.  End access, reduce options and prices will invariably go up. Create opportunities and allow people the ability to choose, and costs almost always go down. Competition is excellent for consumers because it keeps prices low.

For a moment, let’s switch gears and compare snacks at the movies to our access to energy. Currently, there is debate around a pipeline that transports energy through Michigan that’s referred to as Line 5.

Line 5 runs under the Straits of Mackinac and carries 23 million gallons of petroleum products each day between Michigan’s two peninsulas. Included in that volume is 55 percent of the propane used to heat homes in the state, with much of it going to the Upper Peninsula. The rest of the energy is refined into gasoline and diesel fuel, as well as petroleum derivatives used in agriculture and the manufacture of consumer products.

According to an article in the Detroit Press, roughly 25 percent of residents in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula rely on propane to heat their homes, and most of that propane comes from Line 5. If those fuels were transported by trucks, it would take an additional 2,150 tanker trucks a day on state roads to deliver the products. An October 2017 alternative analysis commissioned by the state found “there is no viable way” of moving Line 5 oil and gas on other pipelines, by rail or truck.

The governor has created a new task force focused on identifying alternative propane delivery options in the event Line 5 is shut down. It’s been dubbed Michigan’s propane plan. Why do we need to have a plan when we already have one?

And that brings us back to barbecues — a symbol of freedom, choice and community.  Chose what you want to bring to eat, the freedom to sit outside or in and enjoy the company.

However, it’s hard to have a barbecue without propane or natural gas.

Stop Line 5 and folks up in Upper Peninsula won’t want to heat their homes or barbecue any less, they’ll just become a captive market for their energy – mainly propane. And just like Joshua Mann, folks are going to get fed up, with lawsuits the most likely scenario for those that can afford to file them. For others, they might live at unhealthy temperatures or be forced to balance what they can, and can’t, afford.

Then what? There’s no need for a plan when we already have Line 5 and the tunnel project that will protect our Great Lake while still providing the fuel our communities need and want – without creating a captive market.

So, if you like barbecuing in Michigan – or using energy at home in general – then you ought to love Line 5.  There’s a good chance this Line 5 business might even come up during your next barbecue.  With that in mind, we encourage you to read up on the facts beforehand.