Barack Obama’s Election Holds Great Promise for Great Lakes

2009 Great Lakes Day Registration

Washington, DC -  February 24 and 25, 2009

As part of the annual Great Lakes Day in Washington, DC, the Healing Our Waters® - Great Lakes Coalition (HOW) brings coalition members and allies from the Great Lakes states to Washington to discuss the importance of restoring and protecting the Great Lakes with elected officials on Capitol Hill. Please join us in Washington to continue to elevate the importance of Great Lakes restoration in the halls of Congress.

Scholarship applications due February 1st so CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW.

For a preliminary Great Lakes Day 2009 Agenda, Read More » »

Timing is Everything

This past year was a banner year for the Great Lakes. We watched as momentum for the Great Lakes Compact built from state house to state house as each passed the international agreement driving it through the US Congress and home to the President’s desk where it was adorned with his signature. We then hoped the wave of favor would push the US House version of the Great Lakes Legacy Act (that tripled the funding from $50 million to $150 million a year) into law, but we were hit with the financial crisis at the very same moment and it Read More » »

Coalition Urges Obama, Congress to Create Jobs, Heal the Great Lakes in Recovery Package

For Immediate Release: December 11, 2008

Contact:
Jeff Skelding, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition (202) 797-6893
Jordan Lubetkin, Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition (734) 887-7109
Minnesota: Darrell Gerber, Clean Water Action-Midwest office, (612) 802-5372
New York: Sean Mahar, Audubon New York, (518) 253-7000
Wisconsin: Melissa Malott, Clean Wisconsin, (608) 220-0167

Coalition Urges Obama, Congress to Create Jobs, Heal the Great Lakes in Recovery Package

ANN ARBOR, MICH. (December 11, 2008)—As Congress works to craft an economic recovery package for President-elect Barack Obama to sign within the first days of taking office, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition is asking Congress and President-elect Obama to fund projects Read More » »

The High Road

Over the weekend, Obama’s people received a proposal from a coaliton of our nation’s environmental and conservation groups, including many of the oranizations that belong to the Healing Our Waters Coalition, that outlines quick ways to create sustainable jobs in clean energy and green infrastructure. This morning (Dec. 11), the same groups delivered their economic recovery plan to the US Congress. The proposal that would create up to 3.6 million jobs that could put people to work within six to nine months of enactment while reducing pollution and restoring the Great Lakes. At the center of this strategy Read More » »

Hang Ten, Dude

Surfers are fighting for the right to do their thing on Lake Michigan. Chicago does not allow surfing at the Chicago Park District because of concerns that it is too dangerous. But a group of surfers called the Surfrider Foundation are trying to sway public opinion in their favor. Storms in the Winter can bring delicious waves that attract surfers from across the nation and Chicago is the only Great Lakes City that bans the sport. If the surfers are successful in getting the city to lift the ban then some are arguing this may make Chicago more attractive Read More » »

Do You Hear What I Hear?

The US Conference of Mayors, a national organization, has urged Congress to consider a long list of ready-to-go projects in the new economic recovery package that is being developed. The Mayors said to Capitol Hill, that we need to fix our ailing sewer systems - to the tune of about $15 billion for waste water projects - to save and restore our vast seas, to save and restore our vast seas. Cities end up paying the lion’s share of upkeep and maintainance of the sewer systems. The Mayors have joined the state legislatures, Governors and HOW in recommending Read More » »

Lakes Make National News

This weekend, ABC News published a Christian Science Monitor story detailing what is happening in the Great Lakes. Writer George Tombs, covers the list of issues and describes how they are affecting the lives of those of us who live around and work on the Great Lakes in great detail.

Marching to the Same Drum Beat

Great Lakes Governor Ed Rendell held a historic meeting with most of the nation’s governors and President-elect Barack Obama in Philadelphia Tuesday to discuss an economic strategy for the nation. The Governors made several suggestions to rescue the economy while improving our aging infrastructure. Updating wastewater treatment systems and protecting drinking water were among the top three recommendations.

“These immediate solutions will drive economic recovery. Investments in ready-to-go infrastructure projects are a cost-effective creator of high-paying jobs,” National Governor’s Association Chair Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell stated in a joint press release issued by the NGA and the National Council Read More » »

Bon Appetite

OK Foodies, why should you care about the Great Lakes? They offer a cornucopia of native, succulent foods from the fresh water lakes and the rich soil of the watershed. A Great Lake’s gormet meal could begin with American caviar or duck foie gras before moving onto the main dish of roast duck, succulent whitefish or trout, Coho salmon perhaps some sea bass, sturgeon, perch, catfish or walleye. Some of these fish have been wrongly relegated to the poor man’s plate, but they could soon be on the verge of a great taste revival.

When early Read More » »

Making a Wreck of History

An interesting program on the Science Channel last night focused on the ship wrecks in Lake Huron’s Thunder Bay. Apparently, Thunder Bay is the go to place for maritime archeologists, historians and students interested in studying 19th century shipping as numerous shipswrecks are spectacularly preserved in the depths of the fresh waters.

Unlike wrecks in salty seas and Oceans, the metal ships that lie in state in Lake Huron are not corroded. It is possible to really see these ships, many of which were sunk during turbulent November storms, in their former glory. Students of maritime history and nautical Read More » »