New Google Map Pinpoints Toxic Hotspots around Great Lakes

No Time for Games

Yesterday, the Great Lakes troubles seemed so far away, now it looks as if they are here to stay all because the US Senate refuses to act now to stop the relentless march of invasive species.

The US Senate is acting as if we had all the time in the world to sit around and contemplate just how many invasive species can dance on the head of a pin. For the time being, navel gazing must give way to immediate action if we are going to save the Great Lakes and her tributaries from tipping into the great abyss of Read More » »

Another Great Lakes Legacy Act Success Story!

For a quarter of a century, no one in and around Ashtabula, Ohio have been able to eat local fish because of more than forty years of industrial waste that was dumped into this tributary of Lake Erie. But that is all about to change because the Environmental Protection Agency just announced that the river is officially clean! Working alongside the Ashtabula River Partnership, they dredged 630,000 cubic yards of sediment – one of the largest River clean ups in history – at a cost of $75 million. And every dollar was well spent because now this tributary Read More » »

I Drink, Therefore I Exist

It doesn’t matter if you are from a Red State, Blue State or Purple State, we, as humans, need fresh water to exist. It is as simple as that. We have needed water since life on earth began, but we never needed oil to survive. In fact, oil has only been making our modern lives easier for the last 100 to 150 years.

Now, the world is experiencing not only a food crisis but a water crisis and they go hand-in-hand. Billions of people on earth live without access to safe drinking water at a time when we are choosing not Read More » »

Obey’s Scorecard Says it All

Wisconsin Rep. David Obey (D) has one of our most historic Areas of Concern in his backyard, the St. Louis River and Bay habitat, which has been eroding since pioneer days with the latest assaults leaving hazardous waste behind in leaky landfills. Even so, Obey is one of two House Members who has not cosponsored the Great Lakes Legacy Act that would provide the funds needed for cleaning up this mess. But Rep. Obey is in a peculiar position as Chair of the very powerful Appropriations Committee and HOW has been assured that a decision not to co-sponsor Read More » »

We Want a Committment to Save the Lakes and We Want it Now!

Dear Delegates:

The Great Lakes states harbor 141 electoral votes and five potential swing states as well as an unquenched desire to see our Great Lakes restored and our regional economy revived. Both of these goals are achievable if we fully fund and implement legislation fulfilling the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy.

Now, let us remind you of the power you hold at your convention - 53 percent of the Democrat Party delegates are from Great Lakes states and 35 percent of the Republican Party delegates are from Great Lakes states - over one half and one third respectively - that Read More » »

The Day The Great Lakes Drained Away

Charles F. Barker, who grew up on the Great Lakes, wrote and illustrated The Day the Great Lakes Drained Away – a fantastic children’s book that seems to combine the art work of Hans Rey’s Curious George illustrations and the pros of Dr. Seuss. Mr. Barker, a geology enthusiast, was enthralled with the topography of the lake floors and was inspired by their beauty to write a book that has a conservationist message for children and parents. “It is my sincere wish that you and your children and your children’s children continue to be filled with that same sense Read More » »

McHugh Throws Support Behind Legacy Act

New Yorkers living in Rep. John McHugh’s district shouldn’t drink their tap water, partake in the regional Friday fish fry ritual or swim in the local waters because doing so exposes them to dangerous chemicals that could cause birth defects, learning disabilities and even cancer! That is why it is so important for the Great Lakes Legacy Act to be approved in September. Rep. McHugh was one of a handful of lawmakers whose name did not appear on the bill as a co-sponsor even though he had Areas of Concern in his district, including: The Rochester Embayment, Read More » »

Big Wheels Keep on Turnin’ Legacy Act Keep on Churnin’

While Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.)and George Voinovich (R-OH) are committed to pushing the Great Lakes Legacy Act through this Congress, the fact that we are up against a national campaign season is weighing heavily on the prospect of passage. Essentially, Congress has three weeks in September to try and finish business for the year and after that it will be all campaigning, all the time.

“We are hoping to get it done in September,” Garrette Silverman, a spokesperson for Sen. Voinovich said, “but as of now we don’t have any timing for floor action.” And there-in lays the rub, Read More » »

Kaptur Holds Support On GLLA for District’s Good

Marcy Kaptur, (D-OH) is one of the three Great Lakes Representatives with an Area of Concern in her District who is not co-sponsoring the Great Lakes Legacy Act, but she isn’t doing so because she is opposed to the significant reauthorization but because she is hoping to improve it.

“There are a couple alterations that would improve its approach, but that is not to say that she isn’t supportive of the overall thrust of the bill –if anything it is the opposite – she understands the importance of water quality particularly in communities such as Toledo and other industrial cities Read More » »

Dennis No Longer a Menace

Ohio’s infamous Cuyahoga River that sparked the political firestorm that was quenched with the introduction of the Clean Water Act in the 1970s is in Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s (D-OH) district. HOW has just learned that Rep. Kucinich has become a co-sponsor of the reauthorizatin for the Great Lakes Legacy Act - a bill that has trippled the funding authorization to speed up the clean up of the most devestated areas of pollution around the Great Lakes. HOW is ever thankful for his support and hopeful that the bill will come to the floor when Congress convenes in September. To Read More » »