Make the Midwest Great Again!

Make the Midwest Great Again!
Lake Michigan National Monument

Wednesday, September 25, 2013









Update - London bound - and back

Petitioners from the United States met with a British Petroleum official in London in October and entreated him to protect the Great Lake Michigan in the heart of the United States.  We urged BP to conform to the American Clean Water Act limit of 1.3 parts per trillion for mercury discharge in disposing of wastewater from BP’s Indiana refinery despite Indiana Department of Environmental Management allowing BP the higher rate of 8.75.  Although this BP representative promised a response from the company, no such answer has been made and all attempts to follow-up have been met with silence.

The Great Lakes Basin serves as the largest freshwater system in the world and the source of drinking water for tens of millions of U.S. and Canadian citizens.  Lake Michigan is the second largest lake in the Great Lakes Basin, a system which represents 84% of North America’s surface freshwater and some 20% of all surface freshwater on earth.  Its unique conditions support rich biological diversity that includes species of plants and animals unknown in the rest of the world. 

Renown for its scenic beauty and water recreation, Lake Michigan’s national, state and local coastal parks host visitors from around the globe.  Chicago’s 24 beaches alone occupy 26 miles of shoreline.  BP’s Whiting refinery is located between the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Chicago beaches.

Mercury, a potent neurotoxin, is particularly toxic to children and fetuses, damaging kidney, lungs and brain, and can be absorbed through the skin.  The term “mad as a hatter” originated from 18th and 19th century English hat makers who were exposed daily to trace amounts of mercury in vapors, and who over time accumulated mercury in their bodies and became demented.  Mercury does not decompose but concentrates in living things, including fish and plants; its contamination spreads by one mercury-containing organism ingesting another.

“We delivered this petition - signed by Lake Michigan’s supporters from all over the world - to Indiana, to Washington and now are bringing it to BP in London,” stated petition originator Jacqueline Widmar Stewart.  “The cost of mercury contamination in the Lake is incalculable in terms of damage to human, plant and animal life and goes against decades-long efforts to clean up the lake.   The health of the entire lake and the four states that border it are put at risk with this lethal neurotoxin.  We urgently need BP’s assistance in saving our lakes from the scourge of mercury poisoning.”
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