Stumping for the White House

Another One Signs The Pact

Governors for Ohio and Michigan are poised to sign the Great Lakes Water Compact leaving only Pennsylvania as an outlier needing to come on board and prevent other states from gulping up Great Lakes water. At the same time, Presidential Hopeful John McCain reiterated his commitment to keeping Great Lakes water in the Great Lakes region.

When asked at an Ottawa, Canada press conference last Friday whether he would consider diverting Great Lakes water to dehydrated states, McCain said, “I don’t think that’s a viable option to be honest with you. It would be hard for me, in Arizona, to convince Read More » »

Boat Tour Makes a Splash in Buffalo

The City of Buffalo could not have been a better location to kickoff the Healthy Lakes, Healthy Lives Boat Tour. With the help of local elected officials like Congressman Higgins, and Healing Our Waters - Great Lakes Coalition members, we are really getting the message out about the urgent need to protect and restore the Great Lakes to benefit our economy and our way of life. What follows is a partial list of press from our stop in Buffalo. Don’t forget to sign the petition to the presidential candidates.   Read More » »

Michigan Columnist Calls on Voters to Highlight Great Lakes in 2008 Election

Syndicated columnist George Weeks this week highlighted the importance of Michigan to demand more from the 2008 presidential candidates. He writes: the key thing is for Michigan voters to stress the issue as candidates campaign here. He also mentions Michigan’s efforts to move forward on Great Lakes restoration, as well as the Healthy Lakes, Healthy Lives Boat Tour as important ways to get the candidates’ attention this summer. Click here to contact the presidential candidates about the Great Lakes.

Promote the Great Lakes Restoration Presidential Candidate Letter Campaign

Healthy Lakes, Healthy Lives is proud to host a letter campaign to encourage the Presidential candidates to support the Great Lakes Restoration Strategy. Please consider including the campaign on your Web site, in emails, in newsletters, on your blog or any other way you can get the word out.

To make this easier we offer a few ideas.

1) You can link to the survey hosted on the Healthy Lakes, Healthy Lives Web site:

http://www.healthylakes.org/presidential-candidate-petition/

2) You can place the petition to appear under your Web site design with the following code:

<iframe src="https://online.nwf.org/site/Advocacy?id=524&pagename=homepage" width="710" height="1100" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" name="Great Lakes Presidential Candidate Read More » »

It is the Economy Stupid, All Over Again!

Democrats in the Great Lake State of Indiana came out for Hillary Clinton yesterday giving her a slight edge over Barack Obama in the state as the two compete to become the presidential candidate for the blue party. But it wasn’t the big gas tax debate that affected the votes of Indiana democrats – it was the economy, according to nine out of ten voters.

We, at HOW, have embraced the Brookings report that shows that by fully implementing the Great Lakes Collaboration Strategy, the economic engine in our region would be revved up once again - jobs would be created, Read More » »

Never Forget Those Who Think We Are Awash In Water

The Great Lakes State of Pennsylvania gave Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain resounding victories in the contest to determine who will run for US President this fall. While Great Lakes states share a concern over our fresh water and the next president’s intentions for it, water, is increasingly becoming a national and international issue.

“We need to have a president who will take seriously the problem with water,” Sen. Hillary Clinton said at an early April campaign stop in Oregon. “Water has always been a local and state issue. I think that is probably all to the Read More » »

HOW is Naming Names

How many times have we heard our Washington politicians wax on about the Great Lakes being a “national treasure” that must be protected for future generations? Countless. That is why it is mindboggling that there are still a significant number of Great Lakes Members of Congress who have yet to co-sponsor the Clean Water Restoration Act.

Michigan’s Candice Miller has oft cited the need for sustained federal action to deal with the challenges the lakes face – challenges that in her words hamper the protection and preservation of “our precious Great Lakes” and “our magnificent Great Lakes.” Read More » »

Green Bucks

One Michigan entrepreneur is cashing in on green technology - something that if replicated could make the Great Lakes the nexus of 21st century innovation and revive the economy of the entire eight-state region. What is the greatest resource in our region? Fresh water and what can fresh water produce? Electricity, green electricity to be exact.

A retired Ford Motor Co. engineer, Bill Stockhausen credited with helping build a near-zero-emission car engine has just invested in a turn of the century hydroelectric dam in Elk Rapids. Two turbines use the power created by falling water to produce electricity for 700 near-by Read More » »

Handful of Lawmakers Threaten Regional Compact

While the Midwest is bailing itself out from floods and awaiting more winter storms, it is hard to remember that just months ago US Presidential hopeful Bill Richardson was hinting at diverting water from the Great Lakes. But it won’t be long before spring gives way to summer droughts and stricken Southern states and ever-thirsty western ones will start eyeballing the Great Lakes region once again.

The threat of water diversion is real and is making national headlines and that means that if the states don’t act in their own interest soon, the Feds may just take over whether we like Read More » »

Nowhere To Go But Up

For those who have dedicated themselves to tirelessly advocating for the Great Lakes, the President’s budget was disheartening to say the least. It became clear to most of us that the restoration of the Lakes and possibly the inspiration for a new vibrant economy in our region won’t happen until we have a Commander-in-Chief who is fully committed to our cause.

“This is not going to happen until we have a candidate for President committed to putting it in the budget,” Michigan Senator Carl Levin (D) told us at the US Capitol last week. Just moments before Illinois Rep. Rahm Read More » »