Dear Santa,
Like most middle-aged white males in the U.S., I have all I need this holiday season. But could you please bring these gifts that will benefit all of us, including me?
1. Politicians who realize history will judge them not primarily by whether they got re-elected, but whether they did the right thing by the trust they were given, and as they knew was best to do.
2. The end of empty talk and signings of pointless documents affirming the Great Lakes, and the beginning of tough choices by all of us to protect them for all time.
3. More protected natural jewels. In Michigan, that means designated natural areas on state land, and a new category of state monuments.
4. An end to the grip that corporations like Dow in Michigan and 3M in Minnesota have on decisions about their pollution that affect all of us.
5. A child-centered environmental protection policy, rather than a profit-centered policy.
6. An awakening on the part of some environmentalists who have bought into the industry line that there is no difference between selling Lake Superior as Superrier and selling Coke with Great Lakes water in it.
7. An appreciation of the beauty and importance of wetlands throughout the Great Lakes region.
8. A ban on alien species entering the Great Lakes via ballast water -- implemented by whatever means necessary. This is an ecosystem emergency and it has been for two decades.
9. Redemption by both Minnesota and Michigan of their faltering reputations as environmental leaders.
10. More time outdoors for all of us, including policymakers, who can't help but be made a little more visionary by feeling nature's wonder.
Posted by Dave at December 21, 2004 05:35 PM