Why care? Care, because, our ecosystems are collapsing. We can not ignore the reality of the effects of our actions and inactions. The tipping point means that there is no going back.
According to a report released in December 2005 by a group of the region's leading scientists, "the immune system of the Great Lakes is breaking down and the ecosystem is in danger of collapse."
For Immediate Release: February 14, 2008
Contact: Molly Flanagan, National Wildlife Federation, 614-582-6392
Moves by Ohio Senate, Wisconsin Assembly Jeopardize Great Lakes Compact
Ann Arbor, MI
The future of a regional compact to protect Great Lakes water and outlaw water diversions is in jeopardy following moves by leadership in the Ohio Senate and Wisconsin Assembly to modify the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact; actions that could kill the eight state agreement. This is a shortsighted move that places the special interests of a few over the water security needs of more than 40 million people and the economic vitality of the region, stated Molly Flanagan, Water Program Manager for the National Wildlife Federation.
This amounts to a hijacking of the Compact that jeopardizes the region's ability to protect the Great Lakes. Endorsed by the eight Great Lakes governors in 2005, the Compact must be approved in identical form by each Great Lakes state and consented to by U.S. Congress before becoming legally binding.
Minnesota and Illinois adopted the Compact in 2007. The Indiana and New York legislatures adopted the Compact earlier this week. The legislation is expected to be signed by both states & governors very soon. Legislation is currently pending in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The Wisconsin Senate held a hearing on draft legislation today. The Great Lakes Compact is the result of years of negotiation with input from thousands of stakeholders and citizens. It has bipartisan support across the Great Lakes region.
By changing the language of the Compact, it appears that members of the Ohio Senate and Wisconsin Assembly wish to undo all the hard work that went into reaching this compromise, said Flanagan.
The Ohio Senate and Wisconsin Assembly are derailing the progress made by the other Great Lakes states to outlaw diversions and protect our precious water resources, said Flanagan. The National Wildlife Federation hopes that these legislators will reconsider and join with other Great Lakes leaders in protecting the Great Lakes for our children and our grandchildren.
Submitted by Susan Miller on Tue, 09/23/2008 - 18:48.
U.S. House approves Great Lakes compact
Posted by The Associated Press September 23, 2008 12:21PM
Categories: Breaking News, Open, Water Compact
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House has ratified a compact to prevent the diversion of water from the Great Lakes, adding protections for one of the world's largest sources of fresh water.
It passed today on a vote of 390-25.
The agreement was negotiated by Ohio and seven other Great Lakes states after more than four years of talks involving business, scientific and environmental interests. The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec have enacted virtually identical measures.
The compact now moves to President Bush, who has said he will sign it into law. The Senate passed the measure in August.
It prevents countries or remote states from tapping into the lakes from their natural drainage basin, with rare exceptions.
I got fed up with Congressman Kucinich this year, because I felt he ran a stupid, self-centered quixotic race for the presidency when we have so many pressing issues to deal within our neigbhborhoods--problems caused to a large extent by the war, but also, in part, by our incessant greed. The subprime mess, pay-day loans...these are crimes of greed, crimes that our representatives saw coming and did nothing to prevent.
We have all made compromises and have allowed ourselves to get quagmired, more and more, every day, until we are all sinking into the hell we've created by complacency and greed. We are spoiled. We need to recognize it.
Why do we allow greed and complacency to destroy our inner cities? Why do organizations that promote the environment and historic preservation also allow creeks to be filled in and more homes to be demolished?
I want the truth, but I settle for half-truths. We can't allow compromises any more. Our children will be robbed of a future. I have seen horrible nightmares..become reality.
This is an anonymous rant in response to a PD article on the "everyday" people affected by the financial storm--I agree:
To all you bloggers who are in suburbs.
Keep on moving further out. Soon no one will afford to get back to the vitality of a central city. Keep destroying our ecology as you build stupid house after house after shopping malls.
Suburbanites are spoiled rotten. We in America are spoiled rotten. Soon we can say good bye to traveling across town to save 35 cents on some gadget. We will soon have removed from our consumption all the unnecessarily quadripled wrapped frozen foods. Soon all the frozen prepared foods will be out of almost everyone's price range.
Soon all the clothes from across the seas will be unavailable because of transportation costs.
Soon all the thousands of machines which use fossil fuels will go un run because we won't be able to fuel them.
DID WE LEARN ANYTHING FROM THE ENERGY CRISIS OF THE 70"S?
WHERE THE HELL WERE THE BRILLIANT ENGINEERING COMPANIES FROM THE 70'S TO INVENT NEW WAYS OF DOING THINGS WITHOUT FOSSIL FUELS?
After the fuel crisis all American cities suddenly began lighting all their buildings at night - tens of thousands of kilowats just for show. Then there are the hundreds of thousands of street lights to keep us safe from thugs.
Think of all the kilowats used to drive our internet machines.
The gas guzzling vans and SUV's came into existence after the energy crisis.
Where is the planning there?
AND WHAT'S WORSE - WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT SO MANY DECADES FOR FUEL EFFICIENT VEHICLES TO BE DEVELOPED?
We will soon be leveled into another dark ages. Perhaps the movie Soylent Green was more profetic than we thought.
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CARE
The Great Lakes hold one-fifth of the world's fresh water supply and currently provide drinking water to over 33 million people.
According to a report released in December 2005 by a group of the region's leading scientists, "the immune system of the Great Lakes is breaking down and the ecosystem is in danger of collapse."
For Immediate Release: February 14, 2008 Contact: Molly Flanagan, National Wildlife Federation, 614-582-6392Moves by Ohio Senate, Wisconsin Assembly Jeopardize Great Lakes Compact
Ann Arbor, MI
The future of a regional compact to protect Great Lakes water and outlaw water diversions is in jeopardy following moves by leadership in the Ohio Senate and Wisconsin Assembly to modify the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact; actions that could kill the eight state agreement. This is a shortsighted move that places the special interests of a few over the water security needs of more than 40 million people and the economic vitality of the region, stated Molly Flanagan, Water Program Manager for the National Wildlife Federation.
This amounts to a hijacking of the Compact that jeopardizes the region's ability to protect the Great Lakes. Endorsed by the eight Great Lakes governors in 2005, the Compact must be approved in identical form by each Great Lakes state and consented to by U.S. Congress before becoming legally binding.
Minnesota and Illinois adopted the Compact in 2007. The Indiana and New York legislatures adopted the Compact earlier this week. The legislation is expected to be signed by both states & governors very soon. Legislation is currently pending in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The Wisconsin Senate held a hearing on draft legislation today. The Great Lakes Compact is the result of years of negotiation with input from thousands of stakeholders and citizens. It has bipartisan support across the Great Lakes region.
By changing the language of the Compact, it appears that members of the Ohio Senate and Wisconsin Assembly wish to undo all the hard work that went into reaching this compromise, said Flanagan.
The Ohio Senate and Wisconsin Assembly are derailing the progress made by the other Great Lakes states to outlaw diversions and protect our precious water resources, said Flanagan. The National Wildlife Federation hopes that these legislators will reconsider and join with other Great Lakes leaders in protecting the Great Lakes for our children and our grandchildren.
Molly M. Flanagan
National Wildlife Federation
Great Lakes Natural Resource Center
213 West Liberty Street, Suite 200
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
Phone: 734-887-7103 | Fax: 734-887-7199
flanaganm [at] nwf [dot] org
http://www.nwf.org
U.S. House approves Great Lakes compact
U.S. House approves Great Lakes compact
Posted by The Associated Press September 23, 2008 12:21PM
Categories: Breaking News, Open, Water Compact
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House has ratified a compact to prevent the diversion of water from the Great Lakes, adding protections for one of the world's largest sources of fresh water.
It passed today on a vote of 390-25.
The agreement was negotiated by Ohio and seven other Great Lakes states after more than four years of talks involving business, scientific and environmental interests. The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec have enacted virtually identical measures.
The compact now moves to President Bush, who has said he will sign it into law. The Senate passed the measure in August.
It prevents countries or remote states from tapping into the lakes from their natural drainage basin, with rare exceptions.
Compromises
I got fed up with Congressman Kucinich this year, because I felt he ran a stupid, self-centered quixotic race for the presidency when we have so many pressing issues to deal within our neigbhborhoods--problems caused to a large extent by the war, but also, in part, by our incessant greed. The subprime mess, pay-day loans...these are crimes of greed, crimes that our representatives saw coming and did nothing to prevent.
We have all made compromises and have allowed ourselves to get quagmired, more and more, every day, until we are all sinking into the hell we've created by complacency and greed. We are spoiled. We need to recognize it.
Why do we allow greed and complacency to destroy our inner cities? Why do organizations that promote the environment and historic preservation also allow creeks to be filled in and more homes to be demolished?
I want the truth, but I settle for half-truths. We can't allow compromises any more. Our children will be robbed of a future. I have seen horrible nightmares..become reality.
Prophetic RANT
This is an anonymous rant in response to a PD article on the "everyday" people affected by the financial storm--I agree:
To all you bloggers who are in suburbs.
Keep on moving further out. Soon no one will afford to get back to the vitality of a central city. Keep destroying our ecology as you build stupid house after house after shopping malls.
Suburbanites are spoiled rotten. We in America are spoiled rotten. Soon we can say good bye to traveling across town to save 35 cents on some gadget. We will soon have removed from our consumption all the unnecessarily quadripled wrapped frozen foods. Soon all the frozen prepared foods will be out of almost everyone's price range.
Soon all the clothes from across the seas will be unavailable because of transportation costs.
Soon all the thousands of machines which use fossil fuels will go un run because we won't be able to fuel them.
DID WE LEARN ANYTHING FROM THE ENERGY CRISIS OF THE 70"S?
WHERE THE HELL WERE THE BRILLIANT ENGINEERING COMPANIES FROM THE 70'S TO INVENT NEW WAYS OF DOING THINGS WITHOUT FOSSIL FUELS?
After the fuel crisis all American cities suddenly began lighting all their buildings at night - tens of thousands of kilowats just for show. Then there are the hundreds of thousands of street lights to keep us safe from thugs.
Think of all the kilowats used to drive our internet machines.
The gas guzzling vans and SUV's came into existence after the energy crisis.
Where is the planning there?
AND WHAT'S WORSE - WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT SO MANY DECADES FOR FUEL EFFICIENT VEHICLES TO BE DEVELOPED?
We will soon be leveled into another dark ages. Perhaps the movie Soylent Green was more profetic than we thought.