More than 90% of our existing mercury emissions into the Great Lakes can be eliminated using current technology

The Natural Resources Defense Council states the following:
Poisoning the Great Lakes

Mercury Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants In the Great Lakes Region

Mercury emitted into the air from coal-fired power plants is by far the leading man-made source of mercury in the Great Lakes and the rivers and streams of the region. This new NRDC report analyzed pollution data to determine the top 25 mercury emitting power plants in the Great Lakes states, and the top three in each state. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued nationwide standards to limit airborne mercury emissions and other toxic air pollutants from coal-fired power plants by 2015. Currently, not all states require that pollution controls be installed, including the report's top three culprit's: Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The report also highlights how a significant fraction of mercury and other air toxics emitted by the worst plants can be removed by air pollution controls already or soon to be installed at many power plants. Other technology that would achieve an overall reduction in mercury of 90 percent or more is readily available.
http://www.nrdc.org/air/mercury-in-the-great-lakes.asp
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/06/08/496598/power-plant-mercury-emissions-poisoning-the-great-lakes/

and for more general info,  http://www.cleanwateraction.org/press/coal-plant-water-pollution-threatens-great-lakes

Thanks, Janice

Hurray!  

There's some progress possible for saving our Great Lakes!  

The EPA has just released a Great Lakes restoration plan.  
Now's the time to make Lake Michigan a mercury-free zone and lead the way to a cleaner, healthier future!  

Please hold the banner high with us!

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/09/24/EPA_unveils_Great_Lakes_plan_.html

The Threat Posed by Tar Sands Oil Spills in the Great Lakes 

Marshall, Michigan has already been hit by the heavy, black peanut-butter.  Can we afford to have this menace in our freshwater lakes too?

Here's an article on Coast Guard and EPA thoughts on this sticky problem.

http://www.wbez.org/news/science/great-lakes-racing-prepare-new-kind-oil-spill-110797?utm_campaign=E-Update%209-18-14&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua 
Thanks, Maureen.

Hats off to Canada for urging better use of our precious freshwaters!  

National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians Maude Barlow writes:
The Great Lakes could be designated as a bioregion, understanding that while there are many political jurisdictions managing the basin, it is in fact one integrated watershed and must be governed as such.

A Great Lakes Basin Commons would respect and understand the fact that many make their livelihoods from the bounty of the Lakes and would not attempt to shut down industrial activity or food production per se.

But this new narrative would reject the view that the primary function of the Great Lakes is to promote the interests of big industry, big agribusiness and the powerful to the extent that they get preferential access and are often allowed to break environmental laws.

And it would embrace the notion that the Lakes must be carefully managed for the good of the entire community, and that all activity -- public and private -- would come under strict public oversight and accountability and operate within a mandate whose goals are the restoration and preservation of the waters of the basin and justice for all who live around it.

We need a Great Lakes Basin Commons Watershed Plan with basin-wide consistent laws, regulations and definitions to protect these waters as a human right and a public resource, and we need to empower local communities to have a much greater say in all decisions affecting their local watershed.

I understand it would require jurisdictional cooperation that many tell us cannot be done; but I argue that if our governments can cooperate for business-friendly trade and perimeter deals, then they can do it to save the Great Lakes of North America!

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/maude-barlow/how-to-save-our-great-lakes_b_1148758.html

Crown Jewel at Risk 

In Chicago Life Magazine's fall supplement, writer Christopher Johnson details the BP tar sand oil spill that occurred on March 24 of this year at their greatly enlarged refinery.  "The spill posed an immediate threat to drinking water and wildlife, but perhaps just as significant, it pointed to the threat of more spills - from the refinery, "  Johnson says.  He notes that BP's expansion on Indiana's shoreline cost $3.8 billion and allows it to process heavy Canadian tar sands oil, controversial in its own right due to its higher mercury levels and increased difficulty for clean-ups.  Already the Kalamazoo River has been contaminated by pipeline leakage of tar sands oil with disastrous effect.

Why leave Lake Michigan's fate to the states that enforce the Clean Water Act?  We need to act now to protect the Lake as we do our national parks.  By making all of Lake Michigan a mercury-free zone, the U.S. can better shield our freshwater treasure from this lethal toxin.

Thanks to Jill for sending the Chicago Life Magazine, a fall supplement to the NYTimes, that includes the article beginning at page 30:
http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?EID=bf0a62cf-745c-4d0e-8822-0cb10c8f5cbe