This is the third of four factsheets dispelling myths about the environmental and health impact of incineration. The following fact sheet is intended assist municipal decision makers better comprehend the issues related to municipal solid waste incineration facilities like the energy output; its relation to waste; the relationship to the sale of energy; and selling energy from waste in Ontario.

The undersigned Great Lakes organizations maintain that a coordinated, national solution to the problem of aquatic invasive species is the preferred management option, and that NAISA is the best available tool to move that solution forward. Nevertheless, distinct ecosystems such as the Great Lakes do call for special approaches, and we ask that you include the recommendations below in NAISA.

The United States had a record 210 million automobiles on the road in 1999, up 15 million from 1994, and the total for all of North America in 1996 was more than 235 million. Each year, some 12 million of these vehicles are retired from useful life. Many of the materials used in their production create problems along the way, either in the vehicleÕs manufacture, use or end-of-life. This report examines the historic and continuing use of the highly toxic metal mercury in automobiles and estimates its releases to the environment from end-of-life vehicle (ELV) processing. The report will show that emissions from vehicle recycling and disposal processes are one of the largest sources of mercury contamination to the environment. The report also examines strategies for cleaner production and proposes key policy solutions to eliminate mercury hazards from both new and existing vehicles. 

Powerpoint presentation from "Shifting the Balance", a workshop exploring Extended Producer Responsibility. This presentation explores EPR from a regulatory perspective.

A diagram describing of how pharmaceuticals and personal care products enter and affect the environment

Powerpoint presentation from "Shifting the Balance", a workshop exploring Extended Producer Responsibility. This presentation explores the End of Life Vehicle Directive and its objectives, application, and implementation

A new report has been released which attempts to determine the life history of the bighead carp captured on June 22, 2010, in Lake Calumet, just 6 miles from Lake Michigan. Great Lakes United, in partnership with Alliance for the Great Lakes, Healing Our Waters Coalition, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Prairie Rivers Network have produced a factsheet to unravel the science and clear up some of the misconceptions behind the bighead carp found in Lake Calumet.

The principal conclusion of this study is that a cessation of ocean shipping on the Great Lakes would result in a transportation cost penalty of US$54.9 million per year. The study has been peer reviewed by a panel of four peer reviewers from the agricultural economics and economics professions who concluded that the study methodology and conclusions are reasonable. The relatively small transportation cost penalty of US$54.9 million is due to the fact that just 12.3 million metric tons of ocean vessel cargo passed into and out of the Lakes via the MLO Section of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 2002, or some 6.8% of total Great Lakes -St. Lawrence Seaway System tonnage.

PowerPoint summary of the 2005 report, "Ocean Shipping In the Great Lakes: Transportation Cost Increases That Would Result From A Cessation of Ocean Vessel Shipping". This report concludes that a cessation of ocean shipping on the Great Lakes would result in a transportation cost penalty of US$54.9 million per year.

Background on the Michigan Statewide Advisory Council and its role working with PACs in Michigan to clean up Areas of Concern(AOCs)

The Great Lakes Task Force has begun circulating the attached letter to the Great Lakes Congressional delegation for sign on. The letter calls on the Army Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard, the EPA and the US Fish & Wildlife Service to take immediate action to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.