On a Roll to Save the Lakes

Somedays I step back and think about Thomas Jefferson who, recognizing the great beauty of the federal-state relationship, waxed prophetic about the states becoming laboratories of democracy. Today, the Great Lakes are poised to benefit tremendously by this ingenious system – following the lead of 13 states – US Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and George Voinovich (R-OH)have introduced a bill that will put an end to the use of phosphates in household dish detergent that leach into the Lakes feeding dangerous algae and killing off fish, by 2010.

“Protecting and restoring the Great Lakes has been a top priority of mine throughout my political career,” Voinovich said. “This mandated nationwide change to a household product Americans use everyday will make a difference in the health of the nation’s most important natural resources from this day forward. By limiting phosphates that enter Lake Erie, we will reduce harmful algal blooms and the Dead Zone that emerges every summer in the lake, helping to protect the Great Lakes and its ecosystems for generations to come.”

Algae feeds on the extra phospherous that detergents dish out to the blooms that then become so fat and dense that they block light from getting to aquatic vegetation which effects the oxygen available, kills fish and creates dead zones. The legislation would force manufacturers to limit the amount of phospherous in their product to a negligable .5 percent.

The legislation, once passed, will make a national standard that will greatly effect the Great Lakes ecosystem. To date, Massachusetts, Maryland and Washington have bans and ten other states (including Levin’s Michigan and Voinovich’s Ohio) have legislation pending or approved. This is the third piece of legislation in the past two weeks that Levin and Voinovich have introduced that will benefit the Great Lakes. It seems they are on a roll toward restoration and we whole heartedly support their efforts. Thank you, Senators!

• Posted by Tiffany Danitz Pache on May 16th, 2008
• Tags: algae-bloom, Areas of Concern, Carl-Levin, George-Voinovich, toxic-algae
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