by Jeffrey Insko | Sep 12, 2012 |
The Straw Man Tactic
We’ve grown accustomed to hollow phrases, evasions, and clever mystifications from Enbridge spokesmen. But, as we have already noted, what Larry Springer offers up in his statement to David Hasemyer is a series of untruths. Once again, here is Springer:
“While there has been recent publicity and activity by special interest groups, most who live and work along the pipeline are not opposed to Enbridge’s plans to replace Line 6B,” he said. “While the media may choose to focus on controversial situations, Enbridge’s actions show that we deal openly and honestly with all stakeholders, including landowners and local governments.”
Let me first put this in some context. (more…)
by Jeffrey Insko | Sep 12, 2012 |
There are plenty of things in David Hasemyer’s excellent article this morning in Inside Climate News that have got our motor running. So much that we’ll likely be writing about it for some time. But of everything Hasemyer reports, what turned our low simmer to a rolling boil are the remarks of Enbridge spokesman Larry Springer. In fact, they are so egregious, it’s going to take us more than one post to deal with just one statement. Here we’ll provide a summary of our objections, which we’ll follow-up with a number of posts that elaborate on each point.
So here is the statement:
“While there has been recent publicity and activity by special interest groups, most who live and work along the pipeline are not opposed to Enbridge’s plans to replace Line 6B,” he said. “While the media may choose to focus on controversial situations, Enbridge’s actions show that we deal openly and honestly with all stakeholders, including landowners and local governments.”
Let us count the ways Larry Springer is demonstrably wrong: (more…)
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 31, 2012 |
We mentioned this morning that we have quite a lot to say about Christopher Behnan’s Daily Press & Argus story this morning. If you missed part 1, discussing whether Enbridge is, in fact, “exempt” from the Howell Township ordinance, it’s here. On that question, we thought portions of the article seemed to present Enbridge’s point of view as fact, rather than as arguable claims.
Nevertheless, the article does contain some very interesting new information, perhaps even a couple of minor bombshells. One of them is the topic of our second post: (more…)
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 31, 2012 |
If you haven’t seen it yet, the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus has (finally, at long last!) published an article about the Howell Township ordinance, which we’ve been mentioning for weeks. We have so much to say about it, we’re going to address it in multiple posts.
We’ll start with the headline, which, unfortunately, appears to have been written by Enbridge lawyers: (more…)
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 14, 2012 |
Patrick Daniel says it’s all the environmentalists’ fault.
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 6, 2012 |
If you’ve read the second installment of our series on Tales and Lessons from the NTSB report, then you know we’ve been reading Enbridge’s self-description: in particular, its Statement on Business Conduct, its stated corporate values, and its Corporate Social Responsibility Policy. Foremost among their values are integrity and respect. They state that they will:
- Maintain truth in all interactions
- Do the right thing; do not take the easy way out
- Take accountability for our actions, without passing blame to others
- Follow through on commitments
Also, they will:
- Value the contributions of others
- Take the time to understand the perspective of others
- Treat everyone with unfailing dignity
And here’s just a little more:
Enbridge will engage stakeholders clearly, honestly, and respectfully.
Enbridge is committed to timely and meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders, including shareholders, customers, and employees, indigenous peoples, governments, regulators, and landowners, among others.
The question for those readers who have dealt directly with Enbridge is this: in your experience, has Enbridge lived up to its stated values and practices? Why or why not? Please let us know in the comments section!
by Jeffrey Insko | Aug 2, 2012 |
The NTSB final report has been released in its entirety– and “it just gets worse.” Here’s a small taste:
“Although these deficiencies involved different elements of Enbridge’s operations, and may appear unrelated, taken together they suggest a systemic deficiency in the company’s approach to safety. “
