GLU News

Your Great Lakes summer

Another summer is opening up before us, bringing a year of swimming, fishing and drinking the welcoming waters of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. Whether you’re on vacation at the cottage or just visiting your local beach, appreciate and enjoy the Great Lakes with your friends, family, and children. These are the experiences and memories that remind us why these waters are so important to protect and what makes summer in this part of the world such a special time of the year.

While Great Lakes United keeps working at ensuring the best policy protections for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, we cannot let that overshadow the important differences that we as individuals can make. When you’re planting your garden remember to avoid invasive plant and fish species that can easily escape your oasis and ravage the natural ecosystem. Unfortunately, import regulations do very little to prevent invasive plants from turning up on greenhouse shelves, and though some fish may look pretty in your pond, they can prove highly invasive. This means that you as an individual are the best line of defense. Our Montréal office has been working hard on helping gardeners make good choices, so feel free to ask for their advice. Be proud of the environmentally-friendly choices you make and don’t be shy about telling your neighbours about them!

There’s nothing as relaxing as a midsummer rain-shower to cool off after the heat of the summer sets in. But just as the rain falls on your lawns and gardens, it also falls onto our streets and sidewalks and into the sewer. In many cities, sewers connect to the pipes that carry the water flushed down your toilet and drained from your sinks. During strong rainfall, all this water can overwhelm treatment plants, which simply divert this raw sewage directly into the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. Across the region, billions of litres of raw sewage is released this way every year. You can help relieve the burden on our aging infrastructure by capturing rainwater in a rain barrel before it gets to the street. Not only do you help keep our beaches open and clean, you’ve also got a source of water to keep your garden bright and cheerful.

Finally, when you’re boating and fishing, be sure to clean your hull, propeller and fishing gear when traveling between lakes and rivers. Twenty years after the zebra mussel’s arrival in the Great Lakes, we’ve been forced to manage its consequences. But, your decisions will help limit its spread to inland waters not yet ravaged by this pernicious mollusk.

There are a lot of big issues facing the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, and you can trust Great Lakes United to confront them head on, every step of the way. While we continue to press for the best regulations to protect this vital ecosystem, there are simple choices that you can make in your lives to help clean up the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River today. Even though your individual action may seem inconsequential, the difference it makes is multiplied when your friends and allies across the region make the same choices. Enjoy your summer on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River knowing that you’re doing your part to protect it for you and your family.

© 2008 Great Lakes News.