At last, a Great Lakes Basin newspaper points out the emperor's new clothes.
Why representatives and senators in Congress from Great Lakes states continue to countenance the not-so-benign neglect of one of the largest reservoirs of fresh water to be found anywhere in an increasingly thirsty world defies comprehension.
To his credit, U.S. Rep. John Dingell, Democrat of Dearborn, Mich., labeled the $20 billion Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy for what it was, a Bush Administration public-relations stunt, even before it was unveiled in Chicago last December.
No sooner had the Great Lakes cleanup initiative been announced than the White House began to undermine it. Although priorities for the effort involved input from more than 1,500 public officials, as well as representatives of businesses, environmentalists, and civic leaders, senior White House officials recommended that no new money be allocated.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060212/OPINION02/602120317