Any speculation on what the two question marks inserted AFTER the quote marks mean?
In the current issue of Michigan History magazine, author Dave Dempsey, policy adviser for the Michigan Environmental Council, asked ex-Gov. Bill Milliken (who has endorsed Kerry) how he feels about being described as a liberal Republican. He replied:
"The term 'liberal' has come to be used by some, and certainly by many Republicans, as a term of opprobrium. It's spoken with scorn and derision. But I find it to be an honorable word. The dictionary definition of 'liberal' includes terms like tolerant, broad-minded, progressive, tending toward democracy and personal freedom for the individual and so on. If that's the meaning of 'liberal,' I plead guilty to being one."??
http://www.detnews.com/2004/editorial/0410/31/a20-320268.htm
Two days before "the most important election of our lifetimes," but it's hard to focus. Here is a scattering of thoughts:
The Twin Cities papers have two widely divergent polls about the Presidential race in Minnesota. The liberal paper has Kerry up 8 points, 49-41; the conservative paper has a dead heat. Which basically means no one is sure what's going to happen (even if the votes are counted fairly).
Heard an independent ad on the radio yesterday by a coalition of environmental interests. Big blast on Bush, of course. I winced, though. The ad implied that kids are dying or going to die because of his policies. It's an arguable point -- but there's no need to make it. It smacks of the Cheney "vote for us or you die" rhetoric. Talk instead about the basic national consensus on conservation, the role of Theodore Roosevelt, protection of our natural heritage, the parks, the lakes, etc. -- appeal to the higher rather than the baser instincts. I know, I know, you've got to fight fire with fire, but at some point if you adopt the tactics of the right wing demagogues you become frighteningly like them.
Finally, there are apparently now computer robots that send out spam as comments to blogs. They usually contain links to Texas hold 'em poker, Viagria/Cialist, or job opportunities that will pay you nothing. I spend 20 minutes a day cleaning them out. One original spam came in this morning, however. Well, not original, but worth quoting.
"You may have heard that a dean is to faculty as a hydrant is to a dog."
-- Alfred Kahn
Before starting my slow-motion move here, I had the impression Minnesota was doing a lot more on mercury pollution than Michigan. Both states have a huge crop of inland lakes plagued by mercury, whose primary source is now coal-fired power plants. OK, Minnesota is no environmental mecca after all, as the story from yesterday's St. Paul paper points out. But what the story really proves is that with a few exceptions, industry calls for "voluntary" solutions really translate to a recipe for delay and denial. If we could just internalize an environmental ethic in our corporate CEOs...
"A broad-based effort to cut mercury releases in Minnesota isn't doing nearly as well as promised, an analysis by the Izaak Walton League of America contended Thursday.
The environmental group said state industry hasn't lived up to a 1999 stance that emissions could be reduced voluntarily by 1,000 pounds by 2005. Instead, releases so far have been trimmed by no more than 182 pounds, according to Sarah Welch, co-author of the report and associate director of the league's Midwest office."
http://www.mepartnership.org/protectourwater/pow_whatsnew.asp?new_id=908
With little fanfare, Gov. Granholm of Michigan and two other Democratic Governors have written outgoing President Bush to urge him to support the agenda of the "Apollo Alliance," which has proposed a national commitment to energy independence on the scale of JFK's Apollo agenda of the 1960s. The idea is to create domestic jobs, reduce pollution, and compete with other industrialized nations for the economy of the future.
http://www.apolloalliance.org/docUploads/apollo%20letter%20w%5B1%5D%2E%20sigs%2Epdf
Here are a couple of Halloween Eve/Election Eve impressions from a road trip to and from Michigan the last three days:
* Unleaded regular gas ranges from $2.05 to $2.22 on I-90 and I-94 and it ain't discouraging people from traveling (including me) one bit. What will it take? $2.50? $3 per gallon?
* Michigan is perceived by outsiders I met on this trip as having fallen into a deep pit of disinvestment and retrogressive policy under Engler and there's little belief that it can climb out soon. The state is far from a leader on the environment now despite the good efforts of Gov. Granholm.
* Rural areas are heavy with Bush/Cheney signs, cities with Kerry/Edwards. No surprise there. But it was nice for the first time to hear Air America with Franken on the way past Madison.
* Right-wing radio is worse than pablum. Rush Limbaugh played a clip of John Kerry sounding perfectly sane and thoughtful on Iraq (not his finest hour, of course) and His Rotundity mocked it. Are we to the point where sound reasoning qualifies one as an out-of-touch elitist?
* Lake Michigan Federation, based in Chicago, with an office in Grand Haven, is one of the most rocking Great Lakes organizations in the Basin today. Keep an eye on 'em. I am mightily impressed with the citizen participation and diversity of membership that LMF has built under executive director Cam Davis.
Another reason to hope for change Tuesday:
Michigan has two large cement plants in Alpena and Charlevoix that will be permitted to continue without being under such a new federal rule because of the Bush Administration action.
Both are on the shores of the Great Lakes.
--------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 28, 2004
CONTACT:
Jim Pew, Earthjustice, (202) 667-4500 x214
Jared Saylor, Earthjustice, (202) 667-4500 x238
Jane Williams, Sierra Club, (661) 273-3098
Wendy Balazik, Sierra Club, (202) 675-2383
Groups Target Bush EPA's Refusal to Control Mercury,
Other Toxic Air Pollutants
Failure to Comply with Court Order to Reduce Cement Kiln Emissions
Threatens Public Health
Washington, DC-In defiance of a court order issued almost four years ago,
the Bush administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) still has
not issued regulations to reduce air pollution from cement kilns, a major
source of mercury and other toxic emissions. This failure to take the
necessary-and legally mandated-steps to protect public health and the
environment has prompted Earthjustice to file a legal action on behalf of
the Sierra Club today asking the court to compel the agency to finally
comply with the original court order.
The Bush administration's refusal to issue these air pollution regulations
has resulted in virtually unregulated toxic emissions of mercury, hydrogen
chloride and organic hazardous air pollutants (organic HAPs) from the
nation's 137 cement kilns. EPA's own estimates reveal that the cement kiln
industry emits approximately 5 tons of mercury, 580 tons of organic HAPs,
and more than 15,000 tons of hydrogen chloride each year. Mercury is a known
neurotoxin that can cause adverse reproductive and developmental health
effects and is dangerous in extremely small amounts. Hydrogen chloride, also
known as hydrochloric acid, is a powerful irritant to the eyes, nose and
throat. Organic HAPs are comprised of various substances and can have a
number of harmful effects, ranging from respiratory disturbance to increased
cancer risk.
"Cement kilns emit large amounts of mercury and other air pollutants and
they need to have the best air pollution control technology available if
public health is to come before profits," Jane Williams of Sierra Club said.
"The Bush administration's refusal to properly regulate these kilns puts at
risk every single person living near these facilities. For the agency to
neglect protection for these citizens is unacceptable."
The cement kiln industry operates facilities in thirty-seven states spanning
every region of the country. Cement kilns release toxins during the cement
manufacturing process, which involves burning both fossil fuels and various
types of waste-derived fuels.
"By ignoring the court's order, the Environmental Protection Agency has
shown contempt for the rule of law and blatant disregard for human health,"
said Earthjustice attorney Jim Pew.
Eight states, two provinces, the U.S. and Canada, tribes, First Nations, thousands of local governments, half a dozen commissions, and many regionwide associations divide up management of the Great Lakes. On this trip I've heard several people say we need a central, accountable "czar" to protect and clean up the Great Lakes. Somebody that citizens can go to, and hold accountable for the condition of the Lakes. I'm skeptical, but if there's anyone who'd like to say yes or no and why, I'm eager to listen.
Since we have learned from Bush v. Gore that courts can destroy democracy, I'd like to ask any Michiganians reading this entry to be sure to be careful about the state Supreme Court races on next week's ballot. Two incumbents are up for re-election. Marilyn Kelly is a champion of the environment. Stephen Markman is not (and yet, bafflingly, was endorsed by the green Detroit Free Press). Here's why Markman deserves early retirement:
http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/040818/features/index2.asp
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.
At an event in Ann Arbor tonight, the subject of former Michigan Governor Milliken's public endorsement of John Kerry came up. Two people suggested that the entire Milliken statement might be interesting reading here, even though it's now nine days old.
I think it is worth posting. I grew up in a family with Republican parents. But they were not anti-government; in fact, my father spent the last 13 years of his life in public service with Milliken. "Republican" in those days meant progressive, fiscally conservative, but tolerant and emphatically supportive of a more inclusive society. It's a good context for Republican Milliken's statement, below:
Statement by William G. Milliken:
October 17, 2004
As a lifelong Republican, I have had mounting concern watching this year's presidential campaign.
I have always been proud to be a Republican. My Republican Party is a broad-based party, that seeks to bring a wide spectrum of people under its umbrella and that seeks to protect and provide opportunity for the most vulnerable among us.
Sadly, that is not the Republican Party that I see at the national level today.
My Republican Party has always been a party that stood for fiscal responsibility. Today, under George W. Bush, we have the largest deficit in the history of our country - a deficit that jeopardizes economic growth that is so desperately needed in a nation that has lost 2.6 million jobs since he took office.
To make matters even worse, this president inherited a surplus, but squandered it with huge tax cuts structured primarily to benefit the wealthy and powerful.
My Republican Party is the party of Michigan Sen. Arthur H. Vandenberg who helped forge a bipartisan foreign policy that served this nation well and produced strong alliances across the globe.
This president has, in a highly partisan, unilateral way rushed us into a tragic and unnecessary war that has cost the lives of more than 1,000 of our young men and women. In this arrogant rush to war, he has alienated this nation from much of the world.
What's worse, the basic premises upon which we were taken to war proved to be false. Now, we find ourselves in the midst of an occupation that was largely unplanned and has become a disaster from which we cannot easily extricate ourselves.
My Republican Party is the party of Theodore Roosevelt, who fought to preserve our natural resources and environment. This president has pursued policies that will cause irreparable damage to our environmental laws that protect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the public lands we share with future generations.
My Republican Party is the party of Lincoln, who freed an enslaved people. This president fought in the courts to strike down policies designed to provide opportunity and access to our own University of Michigan for minority students.
My Republican Party is the party of Eisenhower, who warned us to beware of the dangers of a military-industrial complex. This president has pursued policies skewed to favor large corporations in the defense and oil industry and has gone so far as to let those industries help write government policies.
My Republican Party is a party that respects and works with the men and women of the law enforcement community who put their lives on the line for us every day. This president ignored the pleas of law enforcement agencies across America and failed to lift a finger to renew the assault weapons ban that they strongly supported as an essential safeguard for public safety.
My Republican Party is a party that values the pursuit of knowledge. But this president stands in the way of meaningful embryonic stem-cell research that holds so much promise for those who suffer from diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, spinal cord injuries and other conditions.
My Republican Party is the party of Gerald R. Ford, Michigan's only president, who reached across partisan lines to become a unifying force during a time of great turmoil in our nation's history. This president has pursued policies pandering to the extreme right wing across a wide variety of issues and has exacerbated the polarization and the strident, uncivil tone of much of what passes for political discourse in this country today.
Women's rights, civil liberties, the separation of church and state, the funding of family planning efforts world-wide - all have suffered grievously under this president and his administration.
The truth is that President George W. Bush does not speak for me or for many other moderate Republicans on a very broad cross section of issues.
Sen. John Kerry, on the other hand, has put forth a coherent, responsible platform of progressive initiatives that I believe would serve this country well. He wants to balance the budget, step up environmental protection efforts, rebuild our international relationships, support stem-cell research, protect choice and pursue a number of other progressive initiatives that moderates from both parties can support.
As a result, despite my long record of active involvement in the Republican Party, and my intention still to stay in the Republican Party, when I cast my ballot November 2, I will be voting for John Kerry for President.
All right. A week from tonight all the shouting and screaming is done (if not the cheating). For the environment, a lot rides on who wins the White House and Congress. Anyone care to make predictions a week out? I'll ask again a week from tonight.
Canada has an undeserved reputation on the U.S. side of the border for having stronger environmental policies than the Americans...well, at least it was undeserved until Dubya showed up in the White House.
But one thing Ontario and the Canadian national government have that few states do is an independent environmental commissioner, or watchdog. Ontario's just released his annual report and it's a good blend of criticism and praise. It's good to have someone advocating for the environment; too often, environmental agencies see themselves as neutral referees between polluters and environmental champions. Here's a press release on the new report;
http://www.eco.on.ca/english/newsrel/04oct21a.HTM
At the Michigan Environmental Council, Kristin Brooks and I produced a report that urged all Great Lakes jurisdictions, including Michigan, to match the Canadians for watchdogs. Not likely. Arguments against: another layer of bureaucracy; funding is already too scarce. I'd wager a $100K ombudsman's office could produce $10 million of environmental benefits annually.
Here's a link to the report:
http://www.mecprotects.org/GreatLakesReportApr2004.pdf
Editorials over the weekend from Michigan offer hope for the environment.
First, the Detroit News went for "none of the above" in the Presidential race. That's almost as good as a Kerry endorsement. As the editorial says, "we have never endorsed a Democrat for president, and only failed to endorse twice before, both times during the Franklin Roosevelt years." Admittedly, the News then goes on to blast Kerry for "hostility" to the auto industry on environmental grounds. I'd call it "tough love," an attempt to wake the industry up to global imperatives.
http://www.detnews.com/2004/editorial/0410/25/a16-312995.htm
Second, the Lansing State Journal endorsed long-shot challenger Bob Alexander against GOP incumbent Mike Rogers, who has one of the most anti-environmental voting records in Congress. Saints be praised!
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041023/OPINION01/410230331&SearchID=73187942974046
More than 200 fox squirrels have washed up dead on the shores of Lake Michigan over the last six weeks. This is discussed at the link below. So far scientists have not found an explanation. Any theories out there?
http://earthfiles.com/news/news.cfm?ID=813&category=Environment
Let me put humility aside this morning:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 22, 2004
Michigan State University Press Author, Dave Dempsey,
Wins Award for Great Lakes Book
The Historical Society of Michigan handed out its annual Awards of Merit at the 130th State History Conference held in St. Joseph recently. The conference, sponsored annually by the Historical Society of Michigan, focused on a wide variety of Michigan history topics. The Awards presentation at a special reception and banquet was a highlight of the meeting. The annual State History Awards-Awards of Merit are prized statewide and are the highest recognition presented by the state’s official historical society and oldest cultural organization.
Awards were presented in eight categories recognizing the contributions of local historical societies, distinguished volunteer service, distinguished professional service, Michigan history publications, media, restoration and preservation, special programs and education.
On the Brink: The Great Lakes in the 21st Century by Dave Dempsey, published by Michigan State University Press, received a Michigan history publications award. It is a work that thoughtfully discusses the Great Lakes’ unique and natural features and weaves in 150 years of human actions, short-sighted human follies and calamities. Dempsey reviews the history of public attitudes and laws and the environmental impacts on the Lakes from industrial contamination, commercial fishing, sea lampreys and zebra mussels. He argues that frequent neglectful treatment of the Lakes was due to two faulty assumptions regarding the Great Lakes Basin: that it is such a big system that humans could not do it great harm and that it is a resource that can’t be bent to the will of humans. He concludes that despite recent improvements, however, the Great Lakes are still “on the brink” and citizens must continue to challenge government leaders to reform and protect our treasured lakes.
To order a copy of On the Brink: The Great Lakes in the 21st Century, please contact Michigan State University Press at www.msupress.msu.edu or call 517/355-9543, ext. 101.
For more information on the Awards of Merit or for a nomination form visit www.hsmichigan.org or call the Society at (800) 692-1828.
Received the following alert from Jim Bull of the Michigan Audubon Society about a bill (SB 740) that would designate the Kirtland's Warbler as Michigan's official state bird, replacing the robin. The bill is expected to come up in State Senate committee on 11/4.
Now, some people smile or scoff at the whole idea of state symbols. But in this case there is clear justification -- on environmental education grounds -- for the warbler. Support the bill! Here are Jim's valid reasons why:
1. The Kirtland's Warbler is unique to Michigan--no other state can claim it.
It nest only in the northern Lower and in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan.
2. People come from all over the world to see the Kirtland's Warbler, which
can't be said for the American Robin which is ubiquitous in the all the 48
continental United States. It brings in tourist dollars and the ripple effect
they have on the economy.
3. Management for the Kirtland's also adds significantly to the economy by
providing wood for forest products materials.
4. It is a survivor--coming back from the brink of extinction at only 167
pairs in 1974 and 1987, to an all-time high of over 1300 pairs in 2004. It is a
tribute to the federal-state-military-corporate-non-profit partnerships, that
folks who care about this bird were able to successfully increase its numbers
so dramatically. The guidance of the Recovery Team and the Recovery Plan made it possible. When it comes off the endangered species list, making it our
state bird will help ensure that citizens of the state know about this unique
part of our avifauna and will likely result in more backing for the continued
managment that will be needed in perpetuity to keep it from plummeting back to the very precarious low numbers it once had.
5. It is a strikingly beautiful bird with a loud, melodic song. It would be
a beautiful symbol for Michigan.
WRITE AND OR CALL STATE SENATORS ON THE STATE, LOCAL AND URBAN AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE NEXT WEEK AND ON NOV. 3RD. OTHER STATE SENATORS AND REPS SHOULD BE
CONTACTED PROBABLY THE THURSDAY OR FRIDAY AFTER THE ELECTION (NOV. 4 AND 5TH).
(The House version is HB5124)
Whether you live in Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio or somewhere else, it appears that a Republican Secretary of State these days equals vote suppression. I had a positive opinion of Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land until earlier this year, and this new story underscores my concern.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041022/ap_on_el_pr/ballot_lawsuit_2
And then, here in Minnesota, the Republican Secretary of State has actually tried to scare voters by urging them to watch out for terrorists at polling places.
http://www.citypages.com/databank/25/1245/article12548.asp
http://www.citypages.com/databank/25/1246/article12571.asp
There are millions in this country who will wake up the day after the Election and disbelieve if Bush is declared the winner. They will wonder, for the second straight national election, whether a few power mongers in Washington have stolen the priceless gift of the free vote.
I grew up in a time when fair play was the province more of Republicans than Democrats, at least in Michigan; now it's reversed, and far worse. The national GOP, and its branches at the state level, have decided that staying in power is more important than democracy itself. This is the height of corruption. We must turn these traitors to democracy out.
Two interesting pieces the last two days in the Detroit and Minneapolis papers by outdoor writers. Eric Sharp of the Detroit Free Press muses why any angler or hunter would vote for Bush; he's for Kerry. Dennis Anderson of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on a survey of sports"men" (an archaic term to be sure) that suggests they will turn out in key swing states at higher rates than the general populace -- and many are undecided. Incredibly.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/533/5045885.html
http://www.freep.com/sports/outdoors/outcol21e_20041021.htm
I've worked with many anglers and hunters over the years and contrary to the image among many non-outdoors types, most of these men and women are thoughtful, ethical, and deeply devoted to protection of what they call "the resource." Most that I know are closet Kerry supporters. But I don't doubt that many I don't know are undecided, in part because of the fear that any Democrat, even one who hunts like Kerry, will take away their firearms.
I hope they wake up and realize Bush is taking away the habitat and the opportunities that make hunting and fishing possible to begin with, thanks to his anti-conservation policies.
In the summary below from an October 22 CDC publication, WBDO stands for water-borne disease outbreak. Minnesota, my new home, had a large share of the outbreaks, apparently largely from one incident at a lake in the Twin Cities area. But the data collected also includes swimming pools and other "artificial" waters.
Results: During 2001--2002, a total of 65 WBDOs associated with recreational water were reported by 23 states. These 65 outbreaks caused illness among an estimated 2,536 persons; 61 persons were hospitalized, eight of whom died. This is the largest number of recreational water-associated outbreaks to occur since reporting began in 1978; the number of recreational water-associated outbreaks has increased significantly during this period (p<0.01). Of these 65 outbreaks, 30 (46.2%) involved gastroenteritis. The etiologic agent was identified in 23 (76.7%) of these 30 outbreaks; 18 (60.0%) of the 30 were associated with swimming or wading pools. Eight (12.3%) of the 65 recreational water-associated disease outbreaks were attributed to single cases of primary amebic meningoencephalitis caused by Naegleria fowleri; all eight cases were fatal and were associated with swimming in a lake (n = seven; 87.5%) or river (n = one; 12.5%). Of the 65 outbreaks, 21 (32.3%) involved dermatitis; 20 (95.2%) of these 21 outbreaks were associated with spas or pools. In addition, one outbreak of Pontiac fever associated with a spa was reported to CDC. Four (6.1%) of the 65 outbreaks involved acute respiratory illness associated with chemical exposure at pools.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5308a1.htm#fig1
Childhood lead poisoning is too infrequently regarded as an environmental issue. But what is more environmental than a sickness brought on by exposure to airborne particles or chips of peeling lead paint in and around the home? It's a residue of the decades (until 1978) when the interior of homes was regularly painted with lead-bearing paints. One of the great environmental success stories of all time is the health improvement brought about by banning lead in indoor paint and as an additive in gasoline.
Here's a sickening story, literally, of a child in Michigan. There are thousands of such stories nationally. Michigan Environmental Council has put great effort, working with children's advocates, to reduce the estimated 22,000 lead poisoned kids in the state.
http://www.freep.com/news/childrenfirst/lead21e_20041021.htm
Milk-colored foam bubbled from Tyler Varner's lips as his tiny body jerked spasmodically, eyes fluttering back in his head.
"I screamed and screamed. I was hysterical," said Tyler's mom, Terry Ward, of the 3 a.m. terror one summer night last year when her then-2-year-old son almost died.
The diagnosis: Severe lead poisoning from peeling paint in their Harper Woods apartment.
Now that I'm setting up in Minnesota, I'm beginning to see a familiar and disturbing phenomenon -- the conservative power establishment that squelches scientific findings when they conflict with the wishes of key interest groups. This happened in Michigan under the Engler regime when DEQ tried to dismiss evidence of climate change, among other things. It's happened a million times under Bush. And now the Minnesota environmental agency chief tells a scientist who has linked the herbicide atrazine to amphibian deformities not to show up for a keynote speech. Longtime Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter Tom Meersman has the story.
STATE CANCELS SPEECH ABOUT FROGS
A scientist from the University of California, Berkeley, was to be keynote speaker at an upcoming conference sponsored by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Then state officials learned the topic of his speech: his latest research linking the herbicide atrazine to frog abnormalities.
Now, Prof. Tyrone Hayes has been uninvited -- by order of the agency's commissioner.
Hayes, an endocrinologist who studies how chemicals affect amphibians, won't address the annual environmental conference in February even though his research is of particular interest in the state where schoolchildren discovered frogs with extra legs and other deformities nine years ago.
http://startribune.com/stories/1556/5041489.html
The latest e-mail I received about Michigan's mourning dove hunt has me reluctantly broaching this topic. While in state last week, I talked to several people I respect who are adamantly opposed to the new season on the birds even though they are not anti-hunting. I respect that position although I disagree.
What confounds me is how the issue of hunting mourning doves generates so much passion on both sides, dividing bird-lovers and hunters, when the habitat that they both want to protect disappears by the hour. Those who care little for the environment are delighted when the environmental and conservation communities spar.
Hunting mourning doves will not wipe them out. Sport hunting is a regulated activity and not at all like the market hunting of the 19th century that wiped out the passenger pigeon.
However, virtually ungoverned land development is a lot like market hunting and will wipe out hundreds of species we love, if it is not checked by sensible smart growth policies.
Reactions?
Today is the deadline for public comments on agreements proposed by the Great Lakes governors and premiers on pacts to limit water exports and promote conservation. But our friends in Canada are increasingly alarmed about the agreements' content. Given that, shouldn't the govs and premiers extend the comment period another 90 days? It's worth it for pacts that could govern the Lakes for the next 90 years. See:
The legal opinion "confirms our worst fears" about the proposal, says Sara Ehrhardt of the Council of Canadians, which commissioned the opinion and has campaigned against the plan.
Today's Detroit Free Press, via Hugh McDiarmid, Jr., has a summary of the environmental positions and records of Kerry and Bush. Credit the Freep with acknowledging that Bush's record is a "tough sell" with environmentalists. It's good to see a reporter reflecting the reality, not retreating to a faux "balance" by implying that both candidates are equivalent in their positions and commitment.
http://www.freep.com/news/politics/evote18e_20041018.htm
Zebra mussels, introduced to the Great Lakes in the mid-1980s after governments failed to act to curb alien species in the ballast water of oceangoing ships, are themselves introducing an alarming phenomenon to inland lakes in the Basin. Award-winning environmental reporter Jeff Alexander of the Muskegon Chronicle reports:
Scientists who recently tested algae scum on Muskegon Lake found elevated concentrations of microcystins. When ingested via drinking tainted water, the naturally occurring poisons can cause vomiting, diarrhea, fever, rashes, throat irritation and, in extreme cases, liver damage and cancer.
"I don't want to scare people, but the levels of microcystins we found are significant. These are very high concentrations and are on the same order of magnitude as the highest concentrations of microcystins ever reported," said Gary Fahnenstiel, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Lake Michigan Field Station NOAA's in Muskegon.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-5/109800815086820.xml
Earlier this week I posted an entry lamenting the recalcitrance of Michigan agencies in responding to a petition to ban the toxic pesticide lindane. I was unaware that U.S. EPA was embarrassing us on the continental stage by standing up for this poison. What is wrong with a government that favors pesticide profits over people?
**********************************
United States Blocks Progress on North American Phase Out of Toxic Pesticide at Tri-National Meetings
U.S. Officials Ignore Serious Public Health Risks Linked to Lindane Exposure
MONTREAL, CANADA, September 28 -The U.S. representatives to tri-national taskforce meetings today in Montreal announced plans to allow continued use of lindane in the U.S, despite Canada's plans to eliminate agricultural uses by the end of 2004 and Mexico's stated goal of a full phase out of agricultural, veterinary and pharmaceutical uses of the pesticide. The U.S. position disregards the objections of public health, indigenous and environmental groups who are calling for elimination of the pesticide lindane, a neurotoxic chemical that has already been banned in 17 countries. Representatives from the three countries are meeting in Montreal, Canada through Thursday, September 30 to draft a North American Regional Action Plan for lindane through the Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America established by NAFTA.
>"The U.S. position allowing continued use of lindane is downright
>shameful," said Pam Miller of Alaska Community Action on Toxics, the
>official Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) representative on the task
>force. Miller attended the meeting. "The U.S. should take a lead role in
>getting rid of this old and dangerous chemical, not lag behind the rest of
>the world."
>
>Lindane is a known neurotoxin that causes seizures, damages the nervous
>system, and weakens the immune system. Exposure may also cause cancer and disrupt the human and animal hormone systems. Because lindane is highly
persistent and travels worldwide on air and water currents, its continued agricultural use poses risks to people far from the source.
Lindane is now one of the most abundant pesticides in Arctic air and water, and northern indigenous peoples are exposed through their traditional diets. Lindane residues have also been reported in a variety of foods widely consumed in the U.S. The 2002 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Re-registration Eligibility Decision allows lindane to be used as seed treatment for six grain crops: corn, wheat, barley, oats, rye and sorghum. These seed treatments account for 99% of lindane use in the U.S.
Fifty-eight public health, indigenous and environmental organizations recently sent a joint letter to U.S. agency officials and task force members urging elimination of lindane. More than 400 U.S. health care professionals sent a similar letter. Environmental NGOs have also submitted a request to Bayer CropScience to voluntarily withdraw lindane products from the North American market. Bayer recently acquired Gustafson LLC, the primary distributor in the U.S. of lindane seed treatment products.
Rumor has it from back in Michigan that the Bush campaign has put out a misleading mailing implying that there is some environmentalist, somewhere, who thinks Bush is better on Great Lakes issues than Kerry. A loud and sharp repudiation is imminent.
For a true comparison of the two on Great Lakes issues, go here. The columnist is a former aide to Michigan Republican Governor William Milliken -- and is utterly disgusted with Bush on all counts.
http://www.minutemanmedia.org/GLM%20092904.htm
Below is the advisory for yesterday's news conference by EPA and other federal agencies announcing funding for a permanent electric barrier to block Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes at Chicago. Interestingly, the event was held not in Illinois, the site of the fence and a likely Democratic state in this year's Presidential election, but in Ohio, which is leaning toward Bush. But hey, the Great Lakes are all one ecosystem, right? Anyway, it's good news that the money is on the way; it's unfortunate that the carp may well have passed the site of the barrier already.
Federal Funding Commitment Announced for Great Lakes Asian Carp Barrier Construction; Press Conference in Cleveland Oct. 14
Wed Oct 13, 4:56 PM ET
To: City and Assignment desks
Contact: Phillipa Cannon of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites) Region Five, 312-353-6218
News Advisory:
Representatives of the Great Lakes Federal Task Force, led by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Mike Leavitt, will be in Cleveland on Thursday, Oct. 14, to announce a federal funding commitment to construct the enhanced electric fish barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Large bighead and silver carp will be displayed.
When: 1 p.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 14.
Where: Wildwood Marina is located in Wildwood State Park.
When local TV news starts running pieces on the link between mercury health issues and coal-fired power plants, you know an issue is becoming revelant in middle America. This from WLNS-TV in Lansing tonight. The quoted pediatrician, Dr. Bill Weil, is nationally recognized and respected.
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?s=2428421
And is it fair to expect them to? But still -- through the grapevine I'm getting good news of principled stands by several of Michigan's tribes against flaws in the proposed Great Lakes water pacts. Here is the basic position several of them are taking:
We will support no out-of-basin diversion;
Diversion must be for a "public purpose";
Water cannot be commoditized;
Control of water must remain at the state level;
Withdrawals must be regulated according to home watershed, user needs,
and with stakeholder input.
**************************
Sounds like a platform Great Lakes advocates can endorse.
GREAT LAKES COALITION LAUNCHED WITH $5 MILLION GRANT
Grand Rapids, Michigan (October 14, 2004) – Peter M. Wege and the Wege
Foundation announced today a $5 million, five-year grant launching a Great
Lakes Coalition to build public support nationally to restore America’s
greatest freshwater resource, the Great Lakes. Among the largest private
foundation grants ever for Great Lakes protection, it follows the historic
“Healing Our Waters” summit of May 2004, which set forth an agenda for
federal government action and funding to restore the Great Lakes.
“The Healing Our Waters agenda is the Magna Carta for Great Lakes
restoration,” said Wege Foundation President Peter M. Wege. “The mission of
the Great Lakes Coalition will be to turn this agenda into real policies
that will restore our Great Lakes.”
The Healing Our Waters agenda, described at www.healingourwaters.org, calls
upon the U.S. federal government to take the lead role in coordinating Great
Lakes protection, especially in restoring water quality, preventing and
controlling non-native aquatic invasive species, and cleaning-up areas of
concentrated toxic pollution.
The Great Lakes Coalition will be a broad-based network of national,
regional and state organizations dedicated to Great Lakes restoration. It
will include a technical advisory committee comprised of scientists,
business leaders, economists and other experts. The Coalition will be
organized by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) of
Washington, DC, which will serve as national fiscal agent for the grant, and
the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), which will serve as regional fiscal
agent through NWF’s Great Lakes Natural Resources Center in Michigan.
“The Great Lakes are national treasures,” said NPCA President Tom Kiernan,
“and we will build a national coalition of concerned Americans to restore
and protect them.”
“Many foundations and organizations have worked on Great Lakes protection
for years,” according to Andy Buchsbaum, director of NWF’s Great Lakes
Natural Resource Center. “Now, we will be able to coordinate our efforts
through the Great Lakes Coalition and create a national constituency for
effective action by the federal government to restore the Great Lakes.”
“No single foundation, no single organization, no single person will restore
the Great Lakes by working alone,” said Peter Wege. “It will take close
partnerships among all who care for the Lakes, including government and
elected officials.”
# # #
The Healing Our Waters conference, sponsored by the Wege Foundation,
convened nearly 100 scientists, environmentalists, conservationists and
educators from across the country in Grand Rapids, Michigan in May 2004.
These experts drafted the Healing Our Waters Agenda for Great Lakes
Restoration. A full report containing the agenda was distributed to the
administration, all Members of Congress and other federal level policy
makers in September. The report is available at www.healingourwaters.org.
-End-
Riddle: what pesticide is so toxic it's not recommended any more for use on dogs, but is still widely used on kids' heads?
Answer: lindane. This highly poisonous substance is used as a shampoo to treat head lice, when less toxic and some mechanical alternatives (like intensive combing) are available. An association tracking the poison received 500 reports of "adverse events" involving children in two years. Several European nations and the State of California have banned all or most uses, including agricultural ones.
But when environmental groups and children's advocates recently petitioned the state's Departments of Agriculture and Community Health to ban the stuff in Michigan, chemical defenders turned out in force and squashed the proposal. "Wait for the feds to act" and "where are the dead bodies?" were the basic arguments.
Michigan was once a leader, banning DDT in April 1969 well before other states or the feds acted. No more.
http://www.ems.org/pops/lindane.html
Nice announcement below. Too bad it happened in 2004, not 1994. The domestic U.S. auto companies have had their heads in the sand on hybrid technology, mileage standards, and other modernizing technologies for the last decade or more.
Michigan Fleet Adds Ford's Escape Hybrid
Turning Environmental Challenges into Economic Opportunities
We applaud Ford Motor Company for being first to the market with a hybrid SUV and congratulate Governor Jennifer Granholm's administration for bringing the Escape Hybrid into the state's fleet. Ford's success with this vehicle and Michigan's vote of confidence will drive an even larger more ambitious investment in building the clean fuel-efficient vehicles essential for environmental protection and Michigan's economic security.
The introduction of Ford's Escape Hybrid is in Michigan's best tradition. Innovation in the auto industry has driven our state's economic growth since Henry Ford introduced the assembly line nearly a hundred years ago. The Industry's production brought the people of this state a standard of living rivaled by few others. Michigan is still the world center for automobile engineering. Much of the national auto press is centered here. The United Auto Workers (UAW), headquartered in Detroit, represents almost a half million active and retired autoworkers and international companies have partnered with our Big Three to expand our manufacturing base. But we live in a dynamic world where old accomplishments give way to new challenges.
The Michigan Environmental Council recognizes that our state's economy depends on our number one industry reinventing itself to produce attractive vehicles that are competitive in a global market and responsive to global warming and other environmental threats. Success in this transition is evident today with the Hybrid Escape. We look forward to joining in a successful partnership with progressive industry leaders, organized labor, a responsible government and other environmental advocates to support the transition to an entire fleet of cleaner more fuel-efficient vehicles.
October 12, 2004
Few will hear of, or read the report described below. Half of those who do will scoff at it. But it's not a pipe dream. If we had a different political system, the 55,000 jobs that could be created in Michigan through clean energy policies, the 35,000 in Wisconsin, the 37,000 in Minnesota, and so forth -- could really happen. Imagine.
Nice, too, to see a labor union endorsing this approach.
****************************************
Coalition of Labor and Environmental Advocates Endorse
Groundbreaking Report by Redefining Progress
Landmark State-by-State Analysis of the Job Creation Potential
of a Smart Energy Policy
The report, "Smarter, Cleaner, Stronger: Secure Jobs, a Clean
Environment and Less Foreign Oil," details for the first time on
a national and a state-by-state basis the economic benefits that
will result from energy policies that stimulate the development
of clean energy technologies.
The report was endorsed by the Sierra Club, the United
Steelworkers, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the
Union of Concerned Scientists, the Natural Resources Defense
Council, UNITE HERE and the New Jersey Work Environmental
Council. Several other labor and environmental groups endorsed
the report as well.
Different partnership combinations of these groups are using our
report as the basis for an ad campaign running in several states
which advocates for clean energy policy as a way of
strengthening the economy and creating jobs. The ads are based
on the one below, but tailored with job numbers for the state
where each is placed.
To see the reports and a map of the U.S. with our findings for
each state, visit our website at:
http://www.redefiningprogress.org/bluegreen
We welcome your questions and comments: (510) 444-3041 or communications@rprogress.org.
--------------------------------------------------
The Detroit Free Press reports that gas prices statewide in Michigan have topped an average of $2 per gallon.
http://www.freep.com/news/driving/gas12e_20041012.htm
It's categorized as a "driving" story on the website, but the fact is, it's an environmental and economic story. It's a story of the corruption of our system. I turned 16 and started driving the year of the Mideast oil embargo, 1973. Politicians started promising "energy independence" for America and have kept doing so for 31 years. We import more oil than ever today. Yet the solutions are obvious -- conserve, and develop renewables. But the fossil fuel lobby has a lock on both major parties. If we'd done the right things 31 years ago, the price of gasoline would be an afterthought, instead of a driver for too much of our foreign policy and a wedge against the environment.
If you want to register an opinion on the proposed Great Lakes water export pacts by the deadline of next Monday, 10/18, here's where and how:
Governor Jennifer M. Granholm
P.O. Box 30013
Lansing, Michigan 48909
PHONE (517) 373-3400
FAX (517) 335-6863
E-mail: debeld@michigan.gov
David Naftzger
Executive Director
Council of Great Lakes Governors
35 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 1850
Chicago, IL 60601
E-mail: Annex2001@cglg.org
The only way to fix what's wrong with the agreements is for the public to insist on changes. The changes should include:
* closing the loopholes that exempt water bottling and "near-Basin" diversions from regional review;
* clearer, tougher definitions of water conservation and resource improvement;
*a moratorium on new bottled water operations in the Basin and
* language in both the that imposes strict conditions on any bottled water operations and expressly assures that water remains a public trust resource.
It's not often I can recommend a column by the conservative Dawson Bell of the Detroit Free Press, but then, a stopped clock has the right time twice every 24 hours. And he has the right time with today's column about Chase Osborn, a maverick Republican Governor from 1910-1912, who also served as one of the state's first game wardens. I encountered this character first in writing "Ruin and Recovery," a conservation history of Michigan; and more recently encountered him again in researching the biography of Governor William G. Milliken (out about a year from now, if you're wondering). The elderly Osborn and young Milliken had a regular correspondence in which the former advised the latter on how to be a politician while maintaining your principles.
http://www.freep.com/news/politics/eyeonpolitics11e_20041011.htm
This good news comes to us from the Waterkeeper Alliance. Environmental enforcement is not out of fashion yet. Michigan communities on the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers, among others, should benefit fromt his initiative to stop chemical spills and prosecute their sources.
Kennedy applauds McGuinty, Dombrowsky announcement
October 8, 2004
For immediate release
Contact: Mark Mattson
President & Waterkeeper
416.861.1237
(Toronto) – The Province of Ontario announced this morning that it intends
to pass new legislation creating a streamlined process for investigating and
charging industrial polluters. This legislation will enable the government
to more effectively punish industrial polluters and compensate affected
communities without watering down the current environmental laws in the
province.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr, president of Waterkeeper Alliance, applauded the
move: “This announcement signals a renewed commitment to enforcing Canada’senvironmental laws and an end to the race to the bottom for lower standards in North America,” he said.
Over the past year, numerous Waterkeeper programs on the Great Lakes have
been openly critical of the Ontario government for failing to take steps to
address the epidemic of industrial spills in Sarnia’s “chemical valley.”
These groups include Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, the St. Clair Channelkeeper,
the Detroit Riverkeeper and the Canadian Detroit Riverkeeper.
“There are thousands of spills in Ontario every single year. Until now,
one-time pollution incidents were difficult to investigate and even more
difficult for government to prosecute. All that changed today,” says Mark
Mattson, the Canadian board member for Waterkeeper Alliance.
A major beneficiary of these new rules will be U.S. communities downstream
from Canadian polluters, such as those on the St. Clair River. It is not yet
clear whether compensation will include funding for water quality monitoring
equipment, one of the key requests in these communities.
A backgrounder on the Sarnia spills is available on Lake Ontario
Waterkeeper’s web site:
http://www.waterkeeper.ca/lok/index.cfm?DSP=showletter&NewsID=1298
END
One of the most important decisions ever to be made about the fate of the Great Lakes is now pending. It is the decision by the Great Lakes governors and premiers on what to do about the proposed interstate compact and good-faith agreement between the states and provinces about limiting water withdrawals, diversions and exports.
The draft agreements are the result of four years of work. The public comment period is currently slated to close after 90 days. The closing date for comment is two weeks before a U.S. presidential election that has consumed the energy of many citizens and interested groups. Perhaps one-tenth of one percent of the citizens of the Great Lakes Basin, if that much, is aware of the whole issue.
The comment period must be extended another 60 to 90 days, if not longer. To do otherwise is a disservice.
Read all the documents yourself here, and then ask your Governor or premier for more time. Enough to allow a fully informed decision.
http://www.cglg.org/1projects/water/Annex2001Implementing.asp
Speaks for itself:
Q Mr. President, how would you rate yourself as an environmentalist? What specifically has your administration done to improve the condition of our nation's air and water supply?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Off-road diesel engines, we a reached an agreement to reduce pollution from off-road diesel engines by 90 percent.
I've got a plan to increase the wetlands by 3 million.
We've got an aggressive brownfield program to refurbish inner- city sore spots to useful pieces of property.
I proposed to the United States Congress a Clear Skies Initiative to reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury by 70 percent.
I fought for a strong title in the farm bill for the conservation reserve program to set aside millions of acres of land for -- to help improve wildlife and the habitat.
We proposed and passed a healthy forest bill, which was essential to working with -- particularly in western states -- to make sure that our forests were protected. What happens in those forests, because of lousy federal policy, is they grow to be -- they are not -- they're not harvested, they're not taken care of. And as a result, they're like tinderboxes. And over the last summers, I've flown over there. And so this is a reasonable policy, to protect old stands of trees and at the same time, make sure our forests aren't vulnerable to the forest fires that have destroyed acres after acres in the West. We got a good, common-sense policy.
Now, I'm going to tell you what I really think is going to happen over time is technology is going to change the way we live for the good for the environment. That's why I proposed a hydrogen automobile, hydrogen-generated automobile. We're spending a billion dollars to come up with the technologies to do that.
That's why I'm a big proponent of clean coal technology, to make sure we can use coal but in a clean way. I guess you'd say I'm a good steward of the land. The quality of the air is cleaner since I've been the president. Fewer water complaints since I've been the president. More land being restored since I've been the president.
Thank you for your question.
MR. GIBSON: Senator Kerry, a minute and a half.
SEN. KERRY: Boy, to listen to that, the president I don't think is living in a world of reality with respect to the environment. Now, if you're a Red Sox fan, that's okay, but if you're a president, it's not.
Let me just say to you, number one, don't throw the labels around. Labels don't mean anything. I supported welfare reform. I led the fight to put 100,000 cops on the streets of America. I've been for faith-based initiatives helping to intervene in the lives of young children for years. I was -- broke with my party in 1985, (when/one of ?) the first three Democrats to fight for a balanced budget, when it was heresy. Labels don't fit, ladies and gentlemen.
Now when it comes to the issue of the environment, this is one of the worst administrations in modern history. The Clear Skies bill that he just talked about, it's one of those Orwellian names you pull out of the sky, slap it onto something. Like No Child Left Behind but you leave millions of children behind, here they're leaving the skies and the environment behind. If they just left the Clean Air Act all alone the way it is today, no change, the air would be cleaner than it is if you passed the Cleaner Skies Act.
We're going backwards. In fact, his environmental enforcement chief air quality person at the EPA resigned in protest over what they're doing to what are called the new source performance standards for air quality. They're going backwards on the definition for wetlands. They're going backwards on the water quality. They've pulled out of the Global Warming, declared it dead, didn't even accept the science.
I'm going to be a president who believes in science.
MR. GIBSON: Mr. President?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, had we joined the Kyoto Treaty -- which I guess he's referring to -- it would have cost America a lot of jobs. It's one of these deals where in order to be popular in the halls of Europe you sign a treaty. But I thought it would cost a lot of -- I think there's a better way to do it.
And I just told you the facts, sir. The quality of air is cleaner since I've been the president of the United States. And we'll continue to spend money on research and development, because I truly believe that's the way to get from how we live today to being able to live a standard of living that we're accustomed to and being able to protect our environment better, the use of technologies.
MR. GIBSON: Senator Kerry, 30 seconds.
SEN. KERRY: The fact is that the Kyoto Treaty was flawed. I was in Kyoto and I was part of that; I know what happened. But this president didn't try to fix it, he just declared it dead, ladies and gentlemen. And we walked away from the work of 160 nations over 10 years.
You wonder, Nicky (sp), why it is that people don't like us in some parts of the world. You just say, Hey, we don't agree with you, good-bye. The president's done nothing to try to fix it. I will.
My boss at Michigan Environmental Council, Lana Pollack, has a brilliant and timely op-ed about the starvation diet for state government environmental programs in today's Detroit News. The key quote:
"Does the public know we're looking at losing four decades of environmental progress?"
http://www.detnews.com/2004/editorial/0410/08/a11-297222.htm
And then there's the State Chamber of Commerce and Michigan Municipal League, which teamed up on a nonsensical op-ed in yesterday's News.
"Two new water regulation schemes would threaten Michigan jobs."
http://www.detnews.com/2004/editorial/0410/08/a17-296179.htm
It's interesting how the Chamber in particular never referred to this as a scheme when their pal, Governor John Engler, trumpeted his Great Lakes commitment by signing the agreement in 2001 that started this process. Is this a partisan or substantive attack? There's a clue in the fact that the piece ends with a reference to gimmicks that have been touted by the Republican leadership in the Legislature...a dispute resolution process, a groundwater advisory council...study, study, delay, delay.
But the real point is that the op-ed completely distorts the issue. The Chamber has been an active advocate of Nestle Corporation, which is exporting Michigan water (in bottles) out of the Great Lakes Basin, despite the op-ed's assertion that "Great Lakes water diversions should not be allowed outside the Basin." And the idea that other states would control our water use, when the current draft proposal would probably not affect a single existing use and very few new ones (in other words, it's too weak) is the biggest distortion.
If Michigan business wants to endure, it needs to participate in drafting and supporting reasonable water conservation rules, not pandering to Great Lakes xenophobia.
This week's hearing in Ashland, WI on the proposed Great Lakes water conservation pact yielded this comment:
"The 800-pound gorillas are the corporations that are going to want our water," said Donna Williamson, co-chair of Ashland's Comprehensive Plan committee.
"Williamson predicted industry would try to reduce the standards in the compact. 'We're going to have to fight for it every step of the way,' she said.
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state's biggest business group, did not have a representative speak at the hearing but issued a statement this week contending the compact would put too much of a burden on industry."
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/9854683.htm
It sounds like the 800-pound gorillas include more than a few simians from within the region -- industries that don't see it's in their own interest to set up rules on the taking of water.
We're still facing a terrible dilemma. Industry thinks the pact is too strong; many citizens think it is too weak (the proposed 'trigger level' for regional review of water withdrawals, for example, would probably not affect a single use in Michigan). There is a way to solve this -- and I'll write about it soon.
This morning's paper brings news that Congress is about to approve money to install a permanent electric barrier in the Illinois River in an effort to stop alien Asian carp species from migrating into the Great Lakes.
"[Congressman Vern] Ehlers said Asian carp, which already have infiltrated the Mississippi River, can grow to 150 pounds and eat 40 percent of their body weight each day. If the fish enter the Great Lakes they could devastate the ecosystem and endanger the sport and commercial fishing industries, Ehlers said."
I congratulate Congressman Ehlers for trying. But the odds of stopping these alien critters from entering the Lakes are long. The place to stop them was before they were introduced to the Mississippi River Basin. History shows once an infestation begins, the best you can hope for is that some unexpected factor (habitat limitations, other species occupying the same niche in the food web and outcompeting the alien) will prevent the alien from causing terrible damage. The carp will get to the Great Lakes, if it hasn't already; the only question is whether it will be a minor nuisance or the end of sportfishing as we know it in the open Lakes.
There's a lively blog-like exchange happening on Enviro-Mich, a statewide e-mail list-serve that delivers topical messages to (at last count) 600 or so environmental activists, industry reps, lawyers, academics and media. The questions at the center of it: Why do we allow water to be removed from the ground in Michigan for free when we charge for oil and other minerals deposited in the ground, with the funds going to the public coffers? But if we start charging, are we just establishing a price and thereby hastening the day when water is a market commodity instead of a public trust resource?
So what do you think: should Great Lakes states put a price on water that is bottled and sold as such? Why or why not?
I'd hoped to link to the comments from the E-M archives, but it's out of date. Still, it might carry the messages soon:
http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/enviro-mich/last30days/
Spent the last 2 days in Michigan, including a talk to a water policy class at the University of Michigan and last night's Michigan Environmental Council annual event. At the latter, grassroots activist Terry Swier received the Petoskey Prize in recognition of her battle to stop Nestle Corporation from commercializing springwater that has typically been regarded as a public trust resource. It was terrific to see a volunteer who has dedicated thousands of hours to the cause get some recognition in this vital fight. (By the way, no bottled water was served at the event, or any MEC events.)
A friend, Mary Lindemann, who advocates in the State Capitol on behalf of tribes, also e-mailed these thoughts on bottling water:
"Let's start with my awareness of the issue from two fronts: The Tribes' lawsuit and my son's home in the watershed where century-old wells began to go dry just after Nestle started its operation.
"Then, attempting to integrate Tribal interests in Father Sky and the water into Michigan's policy development process, pertaining to the Great Lakes Basin, and being rebuffed at every attempt, only to learn that the Nestle lobbyists were at the bill drafting table. The result was, of course, that the WLA and Annex 2001 compact/agreements exempted bottled water from any water protections, resulting in no protection at all.
"Where we are now: In the court of public opinion. As Nestle attempts to muddle the issue by suggesting that water is a tomato, or that water is a jar of baby food, the people know that water is H20, and they don't want it diverted out of the basin. As Nestle attempts to play with smoke and mirrors, suggesting that bottled water is for "consumptive use," the people don't care about its word games, they don't want the water diverted from the basin.
Therefore, the issue has been narrowed. It has become a challenge for the public to, from the ground up, change the course of legislation and treaties that "pretend" to protect the water. It is the public's challenge to maintain the commonly owned status of the water and prevent its sale as a commodity, and maintain our control of our own resources. The irony of it is that we have to protect it from those that we elect to protect our public health and safety."
Thanks to Grand Rapids Press outdoor editor Howard Meyerson and two or three state representatives, a budget bill for the Department of Community Health signed into law last week by Governor Granholm says:
PUBLIC HEALTH ADMINISTRATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sec. 650. The department shall communicate the annual public health consumption advisory for sportfish for calendar years 2004 and 2005. The department shall, at a minimum, post the advisory for each calendar year on the Internet and make the information in the advisory available to the clients of the women, infants, and children special supplemental nutrition program.
Translated to English, it means low-income women of child-bearing age will probably get a one-page flyer advising them what sportfish to be careful of consuming, lest they harm their potential children, or children with whom they are already pregnant. Michigan once printed tens of thousands of the complete (admittedly baffling to many) 64-page advisory on contaminated fish -- now we're down to this and the Internet. Still, before a Meyerson column and legislative followup, even the WIC notification wasn't likely to occur. Maybe a few children will be spared health effects because of this act.
UPDATE: Jeff Kart of the Bay City Times wrote an excellent piece on this in last Friday's paper. Here's the link:
http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-4/109664550243440.xml
Excerpts:
An updated 2004 Michigan fish advisory is out, but you'll need your own paper to print it.
"Much of the fishing season has passed us by already for 2004, and that's unfortunate," said T.J. Bucholz, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community Health in Lansing.
Comment:
It's more than unfortunate. It's a public health debacle.
In the interest of equal time, here are links to an editorial and news article featuring strong support for the proposed Great Lakes water export pact...the deadline for public comment is two weeks from today. After giving equal time now, I'll provide some commentary soon about why the proposals as drafted are fundamentally flawed, and how they can be fixed. But let's be clear: there's a lot of support out there among informed people.
"That's why the Great Lakes Basin Water Compact is being created. If adopted, the Compact would regulate major efforts to siphon Great Lakes water for use somewhere else. It would ensure first, that the need was truly dire, and second, that water will not be taken out of the lakes without the consent of the people who would be most seriously impacted.
The Great Lakes Basin Water Compact should be ratified by each of the states bordering the lakes."
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041002/OPINION04/410020305
ASHWAUBENON — The state Department of Natural Resources’ plan to regulate the use of Great Lakes’ water was met with overwhelming approval at a public hearing Thursday evening.
With the exception of a representative of the paper industry, all who took the podium to commentagreed with the lion’s share of the proposed Great Lakes water management compact.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/news/archive/local_18049638.shtml
Today's Minneapolis Star Tribune has an article on John Kerry's environmental record, an editorial blasting Bush's, but most importantly, a column by Republican Russell Train deploring Dubya's abandonment of Republican conservation principles. It will be nice when both parties compete to be the best on the environment again.
"Except in a few instances, the environmental policies of the Bush administration have been an appalling disgrace."
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/5011383.html
If you have time to go to a bookstore or Amazon.com, this weekend, here's a Great Lakes title to consider: "The Living Great Lakes" by Jerry Dennis. It's compulsive, enjoyable reading.
You can read reviews here:
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312251939/theweatherdoc-20/701-2275095-1072302
I like the one that says, after you receive it, you should "buy a couple bottles of strong French-Canadian beer (La Fin Du Monde, for example) throw in a Classical CD on repeat and start flipping pages."
Spending an increasing amount of time in Minnesota as I begin work for Clean Water Action here. This week, U.S. Senator Norm Coleman touched off a minor fuss when he placed Duluth on Lake Erie in a floor speech in the Capitol. (He corrected the error in the Congressional Record.) It appears most Minnesotans are more environmentally literate than that. In fact, it would be interesting to compare their literacy with that of residents in the other 7 Great Lakes states.
SECOND MINNESOTA REPORT CARD ON ENVIRONMENTAL
LITERACY
http://www.seek.state.mn.us/eemn_b.cfm
How environmentally literate are Minnesota citizens? Has theirliteracy increased
since the first survey, conducted in 2001?
This 92-page report, released jointly by Hamline
University's Center for Global Environmental Education and the
OEA, documents the results of the second statewide survey
(conducted in 2003) concerning environmental literacy of
Minnesotans, comparing answers to those from 2001. 1,000
adults were randomly surveyed for knowledge, attitudes and
behaviors related to the environment. The report not only
describes the environmental literacy of Minnesotans, but also
compares Minnesotans' literacy on related survey questions to
that of citizens of Pennsylvania and the United States as a
whole.
Data is available on citizen knowledge, attitudes and
behaviors related to air and water pollution, natural resources,
wetlands, urban sprawl, watershed management, sustainability
and biodiversity, and other topics. Of note from the findings:
* 80% of Minnesotans view as important a candidate's record on
the environment when voting.
* Few Minnesotans believe environmental laws have gone "too
far."
* 82% view loss of wetlands and residential runoff from yards as
serious.
* 90% want schools to provide environmental education.
* Most Minnesotans are taking some actions to protect the
environment.
* There is a connection between increased environmental
knowledge, a more positive environmental attitude, and behavior
changes to protect the environment.
* Overall, Minnesotans reported that they know the most about
water pollution and conservation of natural resources (61%) and
least about sustainability (20%) and biodiversity (14%).
The printed and on-line Report Card is free and available
for download at the web site above or by calling 651/215-0232 or
800/877-6300.
Last night's "joint appearance" by the two major party Presidential candidates was billed as being on foreign policy and homeland security. Having watched much of it and having just read the transcript, I'm only a little surprised, but much annoyed that nothing about the environment came up. On the day that Russia signed on to the global climate change treaty, you'd think the implications of the environment in foreign policy might occur to Jim Lehrer. Canada is "foreign" but I wasn't expecting a question on the Great Lakes...still, climate change and global water scarcity are genuine foreign policy concerns. Someday maybe our government will treat environmental issues as more than a boutique offshoot of the real foreign policy issues of bombs and bullets.
The Detroit News does it good today with a story on wetlands, and the sad lack of resources the state has to protect them. And the writer even describes them thus:
"Wetlands hold floodwaters and serve as natural filters, eliminating pesticides, fertilizers and sediment from storm water before it reaches nearby rivers and streams. Healthy wetlands serve as homes to lush vegetation and wildlife."
Michigan has lost about 50% of its wetlands and most of the Great Lakes states can rival that claim. Getting rid of the filters doesn't work with the environment any more than with your morning coffee.
http://www.detnews.com/2004/livingston/0410/01/c05l-290429.htm