Report

The Day after Tomorrow: The Great Lakes in Crisis

Close your eyes and think of the worst disaster movie you’ve ever seen, OK, do you have it set in your mind’s eye? The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is releasing a report that shows the expected impacts of global warming on the Great Lakes – nearly 95 percent of this nation’s fresh surface water – are much more devastating than anything you could have imagined.

Great Lakes Restoration and the Threat of Global Warming makes it clear that the Great Lakes are poised to reach an irrevocable crisis Read More » »

New Report: Congress Must Deal with Global Warming—Great Lakes Impact

ANN ARBOR, MI (May 28, 2008)—The Great Lakes can lessen the impact of global warming or become global warming’s victim—it all depends on Congress, according to a new report from the Healing Our Waters®-Great Lakes Coalition. The authors urged Congress to enact a comprehensive plan to restore the health of the Great Lakes.

“Climate change is already affecting the Great Lakes, and no matter what we do now, the those impacts will increase in the future,” said Donald Scavia, Ph.D., report co-author and professor of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Read More » »

Climate Change and Water Diversion Won’t Leave Much “Great” in the Lakes

We’ve all heard that climate change will only exacerbate lower lake levels and lengthening shore lines in the Great Lakes over the coming years. These are serious threats that, unfortunately, are not too shocking for those of us who have watched as the ice that once reached near to Canada continues to retreat each year and as water temperatures rise, allowing kids to start swimming in the lakes earlier each summer. Climate Change and Great Lakes Water Resources, a new report prepared for the National Wildlife Federation confirms our observations. But what is most interesting about Read More » »

Study Finds Great Lakes National Parks Neglected

Neglect can be added to the list of problems plaguing the Great Lakes region. Nearsighted federal policy that has steered dollars away from one of our nation’s greatest resources has left crumbling lighthouses, empty trout nets and retreating dunes in the wake, according to a recent study by a national park advocacy group.

Environmental problems, such as air pollution and invasive species in the Great Lakes are have an equally dangerous effect on six national parks studied by the National Parks Conservation Association. For example, 20 percent Read More » »

An Open Letter to the 2008 Presidential Candidates

Dear Candidate:

The past two presidential elections have made one thing abundantly clear – the Midwest, particularly the eight states surrounding the Great Lakes are needed to win the White House.

“The Great Lakes area is key to anyone winning the Presidency,” said Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) when he addressed the Healing Our Waters Coalition at their annual conference in Chicago last week.

As you know, this campaign is historically significant – it has been more than half-a-century since there was not an incumbent, nor a vice president running for the highest office in the United States. While there isn’t an incumbent politician, Read More » »

$50 Billion in Economic Benefit Hinge on Restoration of Great Lakes

Cost to restore and protect the Great Lakes: $26 Billion.

Cost of creating sustainable economic growth and reviving the industrial heartland of America: Priceless.

It has been called the Rust Belt since the early ‘70s when the once thriving Great Lakes region – a producer of steel, metal and automobiles that attracted workers from around the world – fell victim to globalization and then the information economy. Factories and mills closed and crestfallen populations of workers migrated away in search of jobs. But leading economists are releasing a report today showing that investing in the Read More » »

Reports detailing the state of health of the Great Lakes

In the following posts, you will find a collection of reports detailing the state of health of the Great Lakes.  If you know of another you feel should be listed here, just leave us a note via the comments.

Report: Protecting and Restoring Minnesota’s North Shore

Protecting and Restoring Minnesota’s North Shore is a report by the Healing Our Waters - Great Lakes Coalition. The introduction appears below. To view the full report, please click on the link at the bottom of the page.
 
“The North Shore of Lake Superior is one of Minnesota’s greatest blessings. Over the decades, this rugged stretch of the world’s largest lake - and the many rivers and inland lakes that drain into it - has given millions of Minnesotans a taste of wilderness and a periodic escape from the Read More » »

Report: Prescription for Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection and Restoration

An excerpt from the report, Prescription for Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection and Restoration: Avoiding the Tipping Point of Irreversible Change appears below. To read the report in full, please click on the link at the bottom of the page.
 

OVERVIEWThere is widespread agreement that the Great Lakes presently are exhibiting symptoms of extreme stress from a combination of sources that include toxic contaminants, invasive species, nutrient loading, shoreline and upland land use changes, and hydrologic modifications. Many of these Read More » »

Report: Environmental Health Perspectives

The March 2005 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) has several good articles about the Great Lakes, and an editorial calling for restoration and protection of the Lakes. An excerpt from the article appears below, but to view the entire article you can click on the link at the bottom of the page.

“As Scott Fields points out in his Focus article (Fields 2005), the Great Lakes are one of the most important water resources on Earth. Together the five lakes contain around Read More » »