GLIN==> MEDIA: Groups Urge Obama and Harper to Commit to Improving Quality of the Great Lakes

MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release

February 12, 2009

| Great Lakes United | National Wildlife Federation |

| Canadian Environmental Law Association | Sierra Club |

Groups Urge Obama and Harper to Commit to Improving Quality of the Great Lakes

Public pledge following meeting in Ottawa sought

OTTAWA (February 12, 2009) – On Tuesday, a group of 31 environmental and conservation organizations sent a letter to President Obama and Prime Minister Harper, urging them to commit to revitalizing the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. As the meeting between the two leaders approaches, the groups have intensified their plea, highlighting in a press conference how Great Lakes protection can heal an ailing economy, create jobs, and protect human and environmental health.

“The Great Lakes are not only one of the world’s most important ecosystems, they are also the foundation for a regional economy larger than that of China, Great Britain, Germany and India,” said John Jackson of Great Lakes United. “Revitalizing the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement will have a profound impact on the success of our efforts to heal both the economy and the environment.”

In a recent report, the Brookings Institute found that restoring the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River economy could boost the region’s economy by an estimated $50 billion. Revitalizing the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement can set the tone for the investments necessary to heal a region reeling from troubled economic times and worsening environmental conditions.

“President Barack Obama has pledged $5 billion to jumpstart Great Lakes restoration and spur economic recovery. Revitalization of the Agreement is a step in the right direction towards mapping out a new bi-national strategy and working with Congress to secure those resources,” said Marc Smith of the National Wildlife Federation. “Protecting the Great Lakes requires a cooperative effort, and demonstrated leadership in both countries. We must act now to restore this great American and Canadian ecosystem. Everyday we wait, the problems get worse and the solutions get more costly.”

The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement was first signed by Prime Minister Trudeau and President Nixon in 1972, and subsequently revised in 1978 and 1987. The Agreement committed the two countries to protecting the health of the ecosystem, prohibiting the discharge of pollution in toxic amounts, and to virtually eliminating dangerous, persistent toxic substances.

The Agreement has been the catalyst for major initiatives to clean up and protect the Great Lakes. For example, in the early 1970s, the excessive nutrients in sewage and agricultural runoff fertilized the massive algae blooms that were literally strangling Lake Erie and causing severe damage to the other Great Lakes. The effort behind the Agreement identified the causes of the problem, best solutions, and built relationships between scientists, regulators and citizens groups across the borders. The result was new laws and regulations and a massive effort to modernize sewage treatment. This effort brought Lake Erie and the larger system back from the brink of ecological collapse. The strategies also worked in other freshwater systems across both countries and the world.

“The Agreement is celebrated as the first major environmental success between nations,” said Theresa McClenaghan of the Canadian Environmental Law Association. “Unfortunately, neglect and self-interest have reversed some of the gains we have made and we are quickly falling behind on the innovate action that is sorely needed.”

“Each generation of the Agreement has played an important role in driving the scientific understanding of water pollution—its effects on people and wildlife, its sources, and strategies to eliminate and control it,” said Emily Green of Sierra Club. “Revising the Agreement is a catalyst for positive change and has made the Great Lakes region an incubator for world-leading scientific research on persistent toxic pollution and how safer alternatives can be forwarded. Solving the tough problem of contaminated sediments, or preventing a new wave of toxic chemicals from tainting our food web requires strategies informed by science and backed up with commitments from our leaders.”

For more information:

Visit www.glu.org to read the letter to the two leaders, and for additional background information.

Citizens can urge President Obama and Prime Minister Harper to act through www.speakongreatlakes.org.

Contacts:

John Jackson, Great Lakes United, 519-744-7503 / 519-591-7503 (cell)

Marc Smith, National Wildlife Federation, 734-255-5413

Theresa McClenaghan, Canadian Environmental Law Association, 416-662-8340

Emily Green, Sierra Club, 608-257-4994

____________________________________

Brent Gibson

Director, Communications

Great Lakes United

(613) 867-9861

bgibson@glu.org | www.glu.org