The editorial linked below from the Chillicothe Gazette, a town far outside the Great Lakes Basin within Ohio, is a good reminder that the Great Lakes influence people and inspire concern outside their physical boundaries.
http://www.chillicothegazette.com/news/stories/20040723/opinion/900498.html
Although similar editorial opinions have been registered recently in Michigan newspapers, the public as yet seems utterly unaware of the importance of what's happening right now, this summer, to decide the future of the Great Lakes. Maybe it's time for opinion leaders from the Governor on down, including Detroit newspapers, to open the eyes of Michigan's nearly 10 million with a campaign from their bully pulpits.