To the Journal editor:

In the April 17-18 Weekend Edition of The Mining Journal, leaders of the Episcopal Church in Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula called Line 5 an “unacceptable risk that must go.”

The Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship joins our Episcopalian brothers and sisters in calling for the closure of the Line 5 petroleum pipeline which currently runs under the Straits of Mackinac.

We urge our U.P. state representatives, Greg Markkanen and Sara Cambensy and state senator, Ed McBroom, to support the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s decision to close Line 5.

The risk of an environmental catastrophe due to a rupture in Line 5 is too great; we must come together to protect our drinking water, the coastal ecosystems where many Lake fish spawn and most wildlife species spend some part of their life cycle, and the recreation areas where visitors and residents alike enjoy fishing, boating, and swimming, the backbone of the U.P. economy and lifestyle.

The U.P. Energy Task has completed its report with proposals for moving forward without Line 5. We call on our representatives, at all levels of government, and private sector leaders to focus on generating efficient alternatives to Line 5 rather than resisting Gov. Whitmer’s necessary decision.

As with so many things in the U.P., we have the summer to prepare for winter. Let’s get to work.

Sincerely,