Today's subject is one that continues to perplex me. In a time when the fate of the Great Lakes is being decided for generations, less than one-tenth of one percent of the 30-some million people in the Great Lakes Basin are aware of those choices, and even fewer are speaking out. How do we get people back into the Great Lakes debate? I'll list a few ideas below -- but none will rock the world. Anyone got some better ideas?
* Create a Great Lakes "Internet Capitol" where citizens can log on and express their views in either binding or non-binding ways once they've read some basic information on the issues;
* Create a Great Lakes Congress with decisionmaking or advisory powers through actual elections; with members chosen by a formula that combines land area in the Basin with population;
* Keep everything at the community level. Turn the issues into matters with local application and do a ground-up approach.
* Create a Great Lakes Citizen Ombudsman that anyone can call on for assistance in dealing with polluted beaches, wetland destruction, and so forth.
Posted by Dave at October 27, 2004 07:38 AM