Michigan governor says Bush flip-flops on Great Lakes water diversion

[Khephra]

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Gov. Jennifer Granholm accused President Bush of making a last-minute conversion to the cause of preventing shipment of Great Lakes water to arid regions.

Granholm on Monday also announced a six-point Great Lakes protection and restoration plan on behalf of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry that includes opposition to water diversions from the basin.

Kerry and running mate John Edwards "will block any water diversion" from the lakes. "We say it in no uncertain terms," Granholm said in a conference call with reporters.

No large-scale effort is under way to send Great Lakes water to thirsty regions of the world. A Canadian company proposed shipping Lake Superior water to Asia in the late 1990s but backed off after receiving fierce criticism.

http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/special_packages/election2004/9652637.htm

[donsu]

1. the water barons have gone to war against Kerry

the water barons are just as powerfull as the oil barons. some are both.

tick, tick, tick

[Thor_MN]

12. Minnesota, being the last state to the table

only has the leftovers (Why the heck does Isle Royale belong to Michigan? Look at a freaking map for pete's sake!!!) of Lake Superior, but if the bushies want a drop, they are going to have to fight their way through the entire state. You think the pipelines in the desert are hard to protect? Try doing it through the woods!!! You want water from the upper midwest? Take it out of the Mississippi before it gets to the Gulf, 'cause that's all you are getting.

I don't trust Pawlenty as far as I could throw him, but at least he seems sane on this. * could probably get him to sell out in a second, but Timmay IS bucking the prescription drugs subsidies,er , I mean *'s Medicare drug benefit.

[papau]

2. She is correct - promises MI to take no Lake water, promises SouthWest the

same lake water.

Funny how she noticed and the media did not.

[TahitiNut]

3. Flounder Jr - "Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."

So, Flounder Junior lost weight. :shrug:

Like any flounder, he's out of his depth when the IQ of his audience is above 60 - at which time he can be seen gasping for air and grasping for words - failing miserably.

[JNelson6563]

4. My fab Governor in my fab town

Speaking on our Great Lakes. Perfect. Give 'em hell Jen! You go girl!

Julie

[maddogesq]

14. The fab governor with those EYES!

Her husband is one lucky dude, 'cause he gets to see them every day! :)

GO JEN, GO JEN!

[amandabeech]

5. Those of you who have never lived in Michigan

have no idea how many people there become very, very upset whenever any mention is made of piping Great Lakes water to the southwest.

Not only are the Lakes major sources of recreation and tourist dollars, they support industries that need either large quantities of water (and are willing to clean it up) or wish to avail themselves of Lake commercial shipping. The Canadians make similar uses of the Great Lakes.

IIRC, the Great Lakes watershed receives precipitation equivalent only to 1% of the total water in the system every year, and has an outflow, through the St. Lawrence River, of a similar amount. Pumping water out of the system will result in a lowering of the water levels throughout the system, eventually resulting in a cut off of drainage and salinization.

Thankfully, our friends the Canadians, who elect more liberal and ecologically friendly governments, may prevent this from happening.

I only hope that Kerry's non-committal statement about the situation was made out of ignorance. His electoral votes, and those of any Democratic candidate, reside in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York, all of which border the Lakes. By saying "no" to draining the Lakes, he may even pick up a few votes in northern Indiana--what jobs there are in the Gary area frequently depend on Lakes shipping, and lots of people there vacation in Michigan.

In addition, many Michigan residents resent sending water to parts of the country that they see as having stolen jobs. The argument is that if people and businesses need water, they should locate near it. Summing up the situation, my friends in Michigan say about the Southwest wanting Michigan water, "Let them drink oil!"

[htuttle]

7. That might actually be an understatement

Most people I know here in WI get downright militant about any talk of diverting Great Lakes water.

Let's just say that if there were ever a project started to actually try to divert water from the Great Lakes, I wouldn't want to be the company insuring it...

[knitter4democracy]

8. We're not just a little militant . . .

This is one of the only things Michiganders agree on. Don't mess with our lakes! We are sick and tired of the millions of people who live in the deserts saying they have a right to our water--they don't want to live here but want our resources. I have family in So. Cal., and they know they can always get a rise out of my mom and me if they start on that one. Grr!

Leave the Lakes alone, Bush!

[amandabeech]

13. I grew up 10 miles off Lake Michigan near Silver Lake,

of sand dune and humungous dune buggy fame.

I swear that my friends would get out the guns and lie down in front of the bulldozers for the Lakes.

I think that even the Michigan Militia would join up. I seem to recall that their headquarters was near Muskegon, which is on the Lake and full of fisherfolk.

[noonwitch]

15. On top of all that, our previous govenor did great damage to the lakes

The water levels were at an all-time low last year. During the 12 years of Engler, the lakes saw pollution hit new levels, with closed beaches, because he ended a good number of envrionmental policies set forth by his predecessors, Milliken and Blanchard. The main issue was the frequent closing of Lake St. Clair beaches due to coliform bacteria. Macomb county businesses were flushing raw sewage into the Clinton River, and it all ended up in the lake. It seems to have gotten better this year, partly because we've gotten plenty of rain.

[JNelson6563]

16. Amen!

We who live here are the ones who must protect this priceless resource. Today's Rethugs would seel it off without blinking an eye. Engler, that horrid man, did all sorts of damage and now Granholm works to un-do it.

While Engler was Gov., working with a Rethug Leg., they let the Great Wolf Lodge come into Traverse City and it sucks up about 250,000 a day from the Grand Traverse Bay. Bastards. And now there is talk of building a hotel with an even LARGER water-park, just a few miles from Great Wolf. These people don't care about the lakes and environment, just their bottom lines.

I'd be all about joining a militia to stop these bastards from pillaging our lakes.

Julie

[llmart]

6. I am so glad we have Jennifer Granholm for a governor....

and two of the best Senators in the US - Levin and Stabenow. They'll keep the Repugs from ruining our state.

[Ohio rules]

9. Don't forget, Canada has a say in this matter.

They will not allow the treaty to be broken...well...they will protest water diversion any way...when ....water eventually gets diverted.

[lostnfound]

10. Latest polls show Kerry ahead by only 3% in MI, so this is great help.

http://www.electoral-vote.com/

Sounds like your governor knows how to help in a substantial way.

[MichiganVote]

11. The sabotage in Iraq over oil will appear a grade school fist fight

if the Lake water is diverted. Sorry, go fishin' your own backyards.
Michigan residents will not put up with it. No pipeline, no way, no how.