Clean Production and Toxics

Great Lakes can’t wait

Leading up to the February 19 meeting between President Obama and Prime Minister Harper, a group of 54 environmental and conservation organizations sent a letter to the leaders urging them to commit to revitalizing the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

Three years ago, nearly 200 scientists said we had less than a decade to turn around the spiraling decline of the Great Lakes ecosystem, or it might collapse entirely. In 2009, the lakes are still beleaguered by the unfinished clean-ups of the last century, and the new, complex stresses of more than 100 invasive species, the return of dead zones, algae, a new generation of chemical pollution, and a warming climate with more extreme weather.
Among scientists and citizens, the Great Lakes are on the “can’t wait” list.

Unfortunately, during Obama and Harper’s meeting in Ottawa, the Great Lakes were not placed on the leaders’ list. While there was a lot to cover in this brief visit, one would think that the engine that drives the third largest economy in the world—the trans-boundary Great Lakes region—would have been on the short list.

In 2008 the Brookings Institute pointed out that the lubricant for this massive economic engine is the Great Lakes. Unfortunately, decades of environmental degradation have lessened this competitive advantage and have brought Great Lakes health to a tipping point. The Brookings Institute concluded that improved environmental protection is essential for the economic well-being of the Great Lakes region. They asserted that this requires a binational effort that commits to shared goals. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement is a prime tool for achieving this binational effort.

Since 1972, the Agreement has played an important role in shaping the efforts of the United States and Canada in their effort to protect and restore the freshwater treasure we hold in common. It sets out the two countries’ shared goals and plans for protecting and restoring the lakes and has led to major initiatives to clean up and protect them. Yet, for much of the last decade the Agreement has only collected dust.

Leaders in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River region, have repeatedly asserted that now is the time to update and revitalize the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. These voices are coming from all sectors, including environmental and wildlife conservation groups, scientists, industry, the broader public, in addition to federal, provincial, state, aboriginal, tribal, and municipal governments.

This is why more than fifty groups sent a joint letter to Prime Minister Harper and President Obama calling on them to formally state that, beginning this year, they will  revitalize and revise the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement within the context of 21st century challenges. The letter also urged them to involve the public in the decision-making process around revising and implementing the Agreement.

Unfortunately, the leaders did not make this commitment at their meeting. Yet, the activities that produced the letter did raise the profile of the need for a renewed Agreement among people in government across many jurisdictions. It also led to considerable media coverage, getting the words “Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement” into the press for the first time in many years. And perhaps most importantly, it provided a catalyst for environmental and conservation groups from across the region to collaborate on strategies and to make plans to move forward on revitalizing this important framework for Great Lakes protection.

We will continue to urge President Obama and Prime Minister Harper to forge a new, bold partnership in binational problem solving for the Great Lakes through a renewed Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Doing so will help revitalize our struggling economies, improve public health, and help buffer the inexorable ecological disruptions from our changing climate.
jjackson@glu.org
jane@janeelderstrategies.com

© 2009 Great Lakes News.