| Dear Richard,
Everyday, more than 42 million people rely
on Great Lakes water for drinking and cooking, showers, laundry and more.
Yet, our Great Lakes are threatened by persistent pollution, invasive species,
and irresponsible development. When our Great Lakes are threatened, so
is the future of our drinking water and the special places we go to fish,
swim and just plain enjoy.
We're working to strengthen the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to
ensure that our Great Lakes water is clean and healthy, not for a single
interest, but for our families, wildlife, and the future.
Our Lakes are our responsibility, so please
take a moment to join this week's special Web Dialogue noted below and
speak up for your Great Lakes today!
Warm Regards,
Jeffrey Potter, Biodiversity Project
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| Register
for a Historic Online "Hearing" for the Great Lakes!
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 The
International Joint Commission invites you to participate in an innovative
Web Dialogue on the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to discuss issues
of concern regarding the waters of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.
The Dialogue will be held from November 29 to December 2. The site is ready
to take registrations now.
A Web Dialogue makes it possible for residents
from throughout the Great Lakes region to discuss their issues and ideas
with each other in a way that they couldn't in a public meeting. The dialogue
will bilingual in English and French, with translators available more than
10 hours a day so that translation is as close to simultaneous as possible.
A cross between a conversation and an online conference, this Web Dialogue
will be guided by a bilingual facilitator and a group of knowledgeable
and enthusiastic policy makers and subject experts. Participants can take
part at any time during the four days by posing questions and reading and
responding to the comments of others. Summaries of each day's discussion
will be available the following morning. And even after the dialogue is
finished on December 2nd, an archive will remain online as a reference.
The IJC anticipates a very active discussion
generating a range of perspectives for the governments of Canada and the
United States to consider as they review their Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement in the spring of 2006. Please consider joining the dialogue this
week and be a part of this exciting experiment in online democracy.
Participation is easy. If you know how to
type and are comfortable browsing the Web or using email, you'll have no
trouble joining this online dialogue. To register for the discussion, review
the Dialogue agenda and consult background documents, follow the link below
or visit http://www.webdialogues.net/ijc/greatlakes. You can also find
links and additional information on the Great Lakes Forever homepage at:
www.greatlakesforever.org.
We hope that you will take this opportunity
to cross boundaries and shrink distances to make a difference in the basin
of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. Please share this invitation
with other groups and individuals who might be interested.
Click
here to learn more and register for the Web Dialogue.
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| Ten
Simple Steps to Protect the Lakes at Home
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 In
the Great Lakes cities, states and provinces, water is our way of life.
>From the groundwater we drink to the beautiful Great Lakes, inland lakes,
rivers, wetlands and natural areas where our families go to swim, fish,
boat, hike and relax - water is our most precious natural resource. But
the Great Lakes are more than just water.
The lands that surround the Great Lakes
are home to more than 42 million people and an amazing biodiversity - the
native trees and plants, birds, fish, and other wildlife which make up
the web of life, sustaining all of us. Protecting Great Lakes natural areas
means protecting critical homes for wildlife and places where our families
have enjoyed for generations. When we take actions to protect the Great
Lakes, we all benefit from the fresh air, clean and abundant waters, and
beauty that these natural wonders provide.
You can make simple choices at home that
could save you money, keep your family healthy, and help protect the Great
Lakes. We've created a list of ten simple steps - things you can easily
do in and around your home - to help your Great Lakes. Just follow the
link below for more information and ideas about how you can help protect
the lakes in your community and at the waters' edge as well.
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What is the Great
Lakes Water Quality Agreement?
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| Originally established in 1972 by the governments
of Canada and the United States, the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
set a precedent for resource protection of internationally shared waterbodies.
Over the past 33 years, the Agreement has driven important public health
and water quality improvements for citizens of the Great Lakes, such as
phosphorus reductions and cuts in toxic pollution.
This year, the governments of Canada and
the United States have asked the International Joint Commission (IJC,)
the bi-national body responsible for monitoring the implementation of the
Water Quality Agreement, to hold a series of public meetings to garner
public opinions on the strengths and weakness of the agreement - the Web
Dialogue (left) is part of the public outreach process. Regular review
of the agreement is important as changes in the health of the Great Lakes,
and new threats, are discovered. Likewise, regular evaluation of the effectiveness
of the agreement ensures that environmental protection agencies in each
nation remain accountable to the people.
We recommend that the Agreement set bi-national
goals and objectives, with the U.S. and Canada determining how best to
achieve those goals and objectives within their own policy processes. We
recommend the revitalization of the Agreement within the context of achieving
clean water. Whether the revitalization we recommend means full renegotiation
will be determined by whether the Agreement meets the following, recommended
principals:
- Be preventative in it's ecosystem approach to eliminate emerging threats
to the lakes.
- Compel ecological recovery and restore the Great Lakes.
- Provide for implementation with public accountability.
Do you think the Agreement needs to be changed?
What changes would you make? What should Governments do? This is your chance
to have your say and to do your part to make sure the Great Lakes remain
great forever.
Click
here to read more about the Agreement . . .
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