Some locations have reached a ''tipping point'' where the environment goes downhill quickly and unexpectedly as nature's protective buffers fail, the report said.
Protecting and upgrading coastal wetlands and rivers that flow into the lakes should be ''at the heart'' of the restoration plan, said Buchsbaum, co-chairman of a coalition that advised government agencies working on the federal plan.
''This report suggests you can solve many of these problems at the same time if you focus on the buffering capacity of the Great Lakes,'' he said.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-lakes09.html
Tune in Monday, when EPA and the states are supposed to announce the "final" Great Lakes restoration plan, and see how much money they put behind restoring the immune system of the Lakes. This region has the chance to avoid the fate that befell coastal Louisiana because of federal and state officials' failure to invest in prevention.
Posted by Dave at December 10, 2005 11:00 PM