Below are conclusions of a citizen who has worked for years on Great Lakes issues about the import of yesterday's "black comedy" in Chicago. Perhaps this is all you really need to know about the event: "The session began with entrance of the official 'convenors' led by a bagpipe and drum corps in full paraphernalia."
Oh, and Time Magazine will feature the Great Lakes this coming week. Get your copy early and see how accurate it is.
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My personal conclusions and comments regarding this process are as follows:
1. This process is a top down process laid out by the Bush administration by persons with no real understanding of the issues or past experience in dealing with Great Lakes protection and may be intended to demonstrate that the administration is in charge in the Great Lakes as well as the rest of the world.
2. The fact that the Dec. 3 event was so clearly meant to be symbolic suggests that this may be the aim of the process as well.
3. The governors and mayors from within the region are blinded because they see participation as the means to obtain passage of the so-called restoration legislation that was introduced to Congress in 2003 and provides for control of distribution of federal funding to the states.
4. The time frame for accomplishment is grossly unrealistic for a meaningful result.
5. Participation by government agency staffs will likely undermine existing and ongoing Great Lakes programs.
6. I am troubled by what seems to be an underlying assumption that this process will produce a plan that will restore and protect the Great Lakes for once and all. Protecting the Great Lakes is not comparable to restoring the hydrology of the Everglades that involves one state, one agency and essentially one issue.
7. I believe my doubts and cynicism about the purposes of the process and its likelyresult are shared by many others.