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As the Michigan decisionmakers puzzle over whether to protect the western Upper Peninsula from sulfide mining or give in to political pressures to ransom it for a fast buck, they might want to tune into "A Letter from Downstream."
It's not often that a book comes along that can make some Great Lakes industries and environmentalists both uncomfortable. But it's good when one does! Michigan author Mel Visser, a longtime environmental manager at what used to be known as the Upjohn Company, has written a powerful book about the threat posed by global use of persistent organic chemicals. This week we'll interview him about the reception his book has received from interest groups and policymakers.
The book is a fascinating journey through one Great Lakes Basin resident's life, career and conscience. To read more on the book or order a copy: http://msupress.msu.edu/bookTemplate.php?bookID=3156
How serious is the Great Lakes
regional health impact of global POPs [persistent organic pollutants]? How does it compare to inhabitants
closer to the Arctic Circle?
The Inuit of the Canadian High
Arctic obtain 15 times a tolerable daily intake of PCBs and pesticides from
their marine mammal diet. Half this amount comes from chlordane and a quarter
from toxaphene. They suffer infertility, stillbirths, birth defects and immune
system suppression. A quarter of their children have hearing problems emanating
from near constant flu and colds. In the Great Lakes,
studies done in the late 1970s of children born to consumers of Lake Michigan fish showed a certain correlation with diminished
mental and motor skills.
I'm not a toxicologist, but in
the reading of research findings that correlate disease such as cancer, asthma,
and diabetes with POPs in the blood, I’m more than concerned. I find our
increasing rate of cancer incidence shocking while the rate of death decreases with
improved detection and treatment technology. Doesn’t it make more sense to place
our priority on prevention and getting rid of the hundreds of millions
molecules per breathful of cancer causing and chemicals that were designed to
kill living organisms?
Summary of the first day of a conference on Lake Superior in Duluth:
Researchers agree the biggest threat to Lake
Superior comes from people, especially the people who want to live and
work close to the lake.
"The biggest threat to Lake Superior is development along the shoreline," said Swackhamer. "As we develop the shoreline, many of these chemicals of emerging concern and chemicals of emerging effects are going to be coming in from shoreline, from nearshore use. And so they're coming in from cities and development. And it's those nearshore areas that we need to be very cognizant in protecting."
Clearly, researchers agreed, there's a huge threat from global warming. A warmer climate means a warmer Lake Superior. That could be bad for coldwater fish like lake trout. It could wreak havoc with lake levels, affecting regional economies dependent on shipping. And it could even change the way Lake Superior deals with toxic chemicals like toxaphene.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/10/29/lakesuperior/
It's not often that a book comes along that can make some Great Lakes industries and environmentalists both uncomfortable. But it's good when one does! Michigan author Mel Visser, a longtime environmental manager at what used to be known as the Upjohn Company, has written a powerful book about the threat posed by global use of persistent organic chemicals. This week we'll interview him about the reception his book has received from interest groups and policymakers.
The book is a fascinating journey through one Great Lakes Basin resident's life, career and conscience. To read more on the book or order a copy: http://msupress.msu.edu/bookTemplate.php?bookID=3156
How much progress are you making in getting the Great Lakes community to listen to your case for POPs
elimination? Are you satisfied with that progress? Why or why not?
Progress is slow because the message is so counterintuitive. I’m saying that “Thinking Globally and Acting Locally,” dredging sediments, and strict adherence to the Water Quality Agreement will not have any effect upon the horrendous toxaphene contamination of Lake Superior, our most POPs contaminated Great Lake. Progress is satisfying in that my conclusions have been embraced by scientific experts, and several individuals and groups have stepped forward to help me spread the word. It feels good to be on a right track with positive support.
It strikes me that your thesis conflicts with the dogma of both the industrial and environmental sectors. Is that true, and are any people within either sector listening?
By following industrial dogma,
we produced POP after POP in the 50s and 60s and exported them to Asia
I do get scary responses from non
listening dogmatic conservatives and environmentalists. “Look what happened
when DDT was banned, millions of people died,” and “I believe in solving
problems by acting locally.” Fortunately, I’m finding people realizing that we
have had decades without progress, that we are on a mistaken path, and we must
work together.
The Great Lakes: The Natural History of a Changing Region
by Wayne Grady
Ever
since French explorer Samuel de Champlain’s first taste of what he
called “la mer douce” — the freshwater sea — the Great Lakes have been
admired, exploited, and renewed. This vast region is a study in
contrasts: a hub of industry that’s the resting spot for billions of
migrating birds. 40 million residents, immense untamed forests. 95
percent of North America’s fresh water and a dumping ground for
poisonous wastes. The Great Lakes is an authoritative,
accessible look at an ecosystem in eternal flux. Written by one of
North America’s most acclaimed science and nature writers, the book
explores the area’s geological formation and its role in human history;
its diverse plant, bird, and animal species; and its significant
physical, climatic, and environmental features. This captivating
tribute to the Great Lakes region is also an essential guide to the
challenge of preserving the natural world.
An epic drought in Georgia threatens the water supply
for millions.
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/many-states-facing-water-shortages/20071026204509990001
The largest freshwater protected area in the world is being set up off
the northern shores of Lake Superior, Prime Minister Stephen Harper
announced yesterday.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/10/24/superior-conservation.html?ref=rss
The governors of three Great Lakes states could do something similar for Lake Superior, if they had the imagination.
There are Canadian minds, too, wondering about whopping profit from selling the public's water...
Economic catastrophe, even wars, will be caused by water shortages. The
problem is population growth, farming, resource extraction and heavy
industrial use. Also waste: Homeowners in North America water their
lawns with drinking water.
Great News for Canada and the U.S.
This
plays nicely into Canada’s, and America’s, hands. Canada has 1% of the
world’s population and 20% of its water, which includes our half of the
Great Lakes. The U.S. has parched, growing areas like the southwest and
midwest, but there is plenty of water in its northern tier. But on
international markets, water may fetch a hefty price and eventually
justify the cost of water pipelines to the coast and water ships.
The commoditization of water has partially happened. “Designer” or bottled water is already more expensive than oil.
http://communities.canada.com/financialpost/blogs/francis/archive/2007/10/24/water-exports-the-new-new-commodity.aspx
But hey, as one Michigan legislator said, it's all a scare tactic.
What's scary is the inability of some in government to deal with reality. DNR is not asking for higher taxes or earmarked taxes from all who enjoy Michigan's outdoors -- it's asking for a fee increase on hunters and anglers.
Maybe it's time Gov. Jennifer Granholm merged DNR and DEQ as she promised in 2002, and supported a citizen-led campaign to earmark a special tax for protection of those outdoors. Now, not maybe -- definitely.
Complete Michigan DNR budget cut memo is linked.
Download dnr_budget_crisis_10.23.07.doc
This link must be credited to Tom Elko, creator of the Sky Blue Waters blog (now fully accredited by the Library of Congress). If water is the oil of the 21st Century, then peak water should be a more pressing concern than peak oil. And the Great Lakes states have a dwindling amount of time to get ready for the next gold (water) rush.
http://greatdivide.typepad.com/across_the_great_divide/2007/10/corrupt.html
