Hi, I'm Denise, and this is your civic minute.
Since 1953, a pipeline called Line 5 has carried oil
and natural gas liquids from superior Wisconsin
across the Upper Peninsula down through Lower Michigan
and into Canada.
You've probably heard people argue about it.
In environmentalists want it shut down.
Enbridge, the company that owns it,
says that would be a disaster.
Here's what the data shows.
Gas prices would rise about half a cent per gallon,
and that's from Enbridge's own expert.
But the propane impact is real.
Line 5 delivers about 65% of the Upper Peninsula's propane.
Families heat with it, farmers dry grain with it.
There's no quick replacement.
The long-term answer may be cold climate heat pumps,
which now work well below zero
and can cut heating costs in half for propane users.
But that transition takes years.
Right now, the honest answer is more complicated
than either side admits.
That's your civic minute.
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