Great Lakes Blogger

what the Mackinac Center knows that no one else does

There seems to be a disconnect here:

A new global commitment to cut greenhouse-gas emissions is urgently needed if the world hopes to avert the most dire affects of human-caused climate change, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aSIBc7bF6Z.A&refer=home

With a friend's report:

"There's a new booklet out from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy [in Midland, Michigan]. This brochure is titled, "Scientific Consensus on Global Warming: Results of An International Survey of Climate Scientists." The study concludes (you guessed it!) that half of the scientific community does not believe the science of global warming has confirmed anything. They are actually selling copies of their 25-page brochure for $6!"

Oh, that Mackinac Center -- scourge of reason on climate change since at least 1998!

http://www.mackinac.org/article.aspx?ID=1284

In the 60s, conservatives used to say, "The next time you get mugged, call a hippie."

The equivalent today would be, "The next time your boat runs aground or your winter ice fishing experience is ruined, call the Mackinac Center and they'll tell you there's no climate change."

With science advice like this, Michigan is in trouble.

Canadians to use their water to supply our oil needs?

Courtesy of Jim Rowen's blog:

http://thepoliticalenvironment.blogspot.com/2007/09/canadians-criticize-oil.html

Pentland envisions a future where, in response to ongoing drought problems in the United States, the SPP will make arrangements to dole out millions of dollars of public funds for private companies to build pipelines to transfer water from Canada.

“The SPP is like putting the monkeys in charge of the peanuts,” he told Tierramérica.

if Indiana's regulators can't take the heat...

Ron McAhron bristles at the thought that many people will wrongly associate an upcoming meeting about the Great Lakes Compact with the recent outrage over a water pollution permit granted to British Petroleum.

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070924/EDIT07/709240376

Quit bristling, and stop issuing permits allowing an increase in Lake Michigan water pollution!

a guide to the North Shore

One of the most majestic regions of the Great Lakes ecosystem in the U.S. is also the least known (although well-visited) -- now a book tells the tale.

If you've ever walked along the North Shore of Lake Superior, you might have wondered how the rugged scenery came to be.

A geologist and a naturalist have teamed up to write a guidebook for hikers in the eight state parks along the North Shore.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/09/18/northshoreguide/

meanwhile, back in Michigan...

In less than 10 days a new fiscal year begins in Michigan, but there is no budget.  Which is not a big deal, yet. No one outside of Michigan is paying attention. Almost every state in the GL region has floundered on its budget this year. But it will be a big deal if there is a Michigan government shutdown on October 1. A big deal for air and water, among other things. And also a big deal in the national news.

Michigan does not want to be viewed nationally as a dysfunctional state. A failed state, in a sense.

If a shutdown is to occur, it will be the result of an abandonment of the public interest by a faction more interested in power than purpose. So those who believe government has a vital role in securing the common welfare should articulate their purpose and let the Lilliputians play their power games.  In the end the citizenry recognizes the difference. A year before the next election is plenty of time for this to happen.

State forest campgrounds have closed this year. Michigan is about to run out of money to operate basic environmental enforcement programs. And clean up toxic contaminants that threaten health. These are services the public values.

The Great Lakes State needs to demonstrate its greatness now. There shouldn't be a shutdown -- and those who want to prompt one should remember how a D.C. shutdown in 1995 propelled Bill Clinton to a landslide re-election -- but if there is let it be brought on by those who think it's OK to go back to the days when polluters set their own pollution limits. And public forests were a dream of a starry-eyed few.

war and peace

Bumper sticker seen today:

"At least the war on the environment is going well."

paradise lost

Traveling in the Upper Great Lakes, you sometimes hear about remarkable things that escape general notice. Like this traveling exhibit based in Wisconsin:

http://www.wisc.edu/cbe/K12/paradiselost.html

In May of 2006, 20 artists, 7 scientists and 6 educators met to learn about climate change and the potential role of art in increasing public awareness of science. The artists subsequently created pieces including paintings, sculpture, poetry and music reflecting their perceptions of the science of climate change, its impacts on northern ecosystems and the actions that can be taken now to lessen those impacts.

The convergence of science and art in defense of our home on the earth and here in the Great Lakes offers more than a little inspiration. This project is a welcome departure from the silo world.

King Coal? In MN, maybe no more

For the sake of our kids' lungs, the brains of those who like sportfish, and our planet's future, let's hope this lead sentence is true:

This week's decision by Great River Energy and a smaller Minnesota utility to pull the plug on their one-quarter share of the proposed Big Stone II plant could be a signal that no more traditional coal-burning plants will be built in these parts.

http://www.startribune.com/1069/story/1433694.html

familiar promise; is now the time?

More information on the NY Oceans and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Council:

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--savingwaters0919sep19,0,5536388.story

This sounds great, but agencies have been promising Great Lakes ecosystem-based management for 25 years. Does the political will now exist to do business in a different way? It will take radical rethinking.

The council is pushing "ecosystem-based management" for Lake Ontario and Long Island. The commission will also identify ways to work with neighboring coastal and Great Lakes states and the federal government.

Environmental Commissioner Pete Grannis says ecosystem-based management involves changing how environmental regulation is done. Separate entities concerned with air, water, ground, agriculture, transportation and business regulation would be coordinated to avoid sometimes competing or opposing goals.

http://www.wstm.com/Global/story.asp?S=7096363

What would ecosystem-based management look like? For one thing, it would mean putting the ecosystem's long-term health (and therefore our own) first -- something very different from the 'next election' mindset of our profoundly politicized governments.

letter to the editor of the day, week, month, year

Only by the most twisted verbal contortionism and intellectual dishonesty could John Jamian of the Seaway Great Lakes Trade Association and Steve Fisher of the American Great Lakes Ports Association blame state regulators and environmentalists for delaying measures to stop the spread of aquatic invaders to the Great Lakes...

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007709180309