E-M:/ Great Lakes author teams up with Clean Water Action, MEC

["Pat Diehl" <patmec@voyager.net>]

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         Contact:        Lana Pollack           517-487-9539

September 1, 2004                                                                                     David Holtz             517-203-0754
                                                                                                                                                            313-300-4454 (cell)

 

 

Water Expert Dave Dempsey Embraces New Role

Great Lakes author teams up with Clean Water Action, MEC

           

The Michigan Environmental Council and Michigan Clean Water Action announced today that author and longtime environmental activist Dave Dempsey will assume new responsibilities for both groups when he takes up residency in Minnesota this fall.

 

Dempsey, a lifelong Michigan resident and author of two environmental books, served as Governor James Blanchard’s environmental advisor and has been associated with the Michigan Environmental Council for much of that coalition’s 24-year history.  He is currently completing a biography of Governor William G. Milliken to be published in 2005.

 

Joining Clean Water Action as Great Lakes policy advisor, Dempsey will bring decades of experience to the organization at a time when Clean Water Action is expanding its programs to respond to a number of threats to the lakes.  His work at Clean Water Action and its sister organization, the Clean Water Fund, will be a return engagement to an organization that Dempsey served from 1991-1994.

 

“Dave Dempsey helped inaugurate Clean Water Action’s work to protect the Great Lakes and his return comes at a critical time for the future of the lakes,” said Clean Water Action President David Zwick.  “Dave’s remarkable insights on Great Lakes issues and his vast experience will strengthen Clean Water Action’s goal of protecting the Great Lakes.”

 

“With his unparalleled knowledge of Michigan’s environment and wise counsel, Dave Dempsey will continue to serve our community,” Michigan Environmental Council President Lana Pollack said.  “Happily, today’s advanced electronic communications mean a move across the lakes is only a slight inconvenience.  And Dave’s new work with Clean Water Action will add momentum for our coalition of environmental organizations.”

 

Dempsey will continue to consult with the Michigan Environmental Council as its senior policy advisor, focusing on issues ranging from invasive species threatening the Great Lakes to damages to children’s health caused by lead and mercury pollution.

 

Clean Water Action is a national citizens' organization working for clean, safe and affordable water, prevention of health-threatening pollution, creation of environmentally-safe jobs and businesses, and empowerment of people to make democracy work.

 

The Michigan Environmental Council (MEC), founded in 1980, provides a collective voice for the environment at the local, state and federal levels.  Working with 67 member groups, MEC is addressing the primary assaults on Michigan’s environment; promoting alternatives to urban blight and suburban sprawl; advocating for a sustainable environment and economy; protecting Michigan’s water legacy; promoting cleaner energy; and working to diminish environmental impacts on public health.

 

Dempsey is a former acting director of Clean Water Action’s Michigan office and a former member of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.  He authored On the Brink: The Great Lakes in the 21^st Century, published this year by Michigan State University Press.

 

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Patrick Diehl

Associate Director

Michigan Environmental Council

119 Pere Marquette Drive, Ste. 2A

Lansing, Michigan 48912

517-487-9539

patmec@voyager.net