Great Lakes water diminishes and EVERYBODY wants some

[ensho]

http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=329624


Great Lakes states protect their water


Dropping water levels in the Great Lakes are forcing heavy-laden ships to turn around or lighten their loads. Booming Midwest suburbs want to tap Great Lakes water to fuel their growth. And hundreds of miles away, drought-stricken states — and even New Mexico’s governor — are enviously eyeing the world’s largest fresh water source.

With those concerns in mind, eight states bordering the Great Lakes have approved and sent to Congress an agreement to severely restrict water removal from the lakes. While in Ohio July 28, President Bush urged Congress, which is required by the U.S. Constitution to sign off on interstate compacts, to pass the measure quickly.

-snip-

“The goal is not to allocate water among the states, but to protect the resource itself,” said Wayne State University law professor Noah Hall, who helped draft the agreement.

Keeping the Great Lakes full is important for shipping, tourism and electric generation, said Peter Johnson, program director at the Council of Great Lakes Governors.

-long snip with reasons NOT to sign-
-----------------------------------------


anything the neo cons are for has to be suspect -

[Kittycat]

1. I'm confused - are you FOR emptying the lakes?

Because that is essentially what will happen if it's opened up to all the states wanting their 'share'.

[ensho]

3. what I want to know is why the neo cons want the lake waters?

all for themselves and their corps.?

[dysfunctional press]

8. where do you get the idea that the neocons "want the lake waters all for themselves"..?

do you think that jennifer granholm and rod blagojevich (governors of michigan and illinois) are neocons..? :shrug:

[ensho]

9. of course not - the lakes should be protected, that's not the question

the neo cons are only interested in what keeps their money rolling in.

their money makers will get the water first, last and always.

[dysfunctional press]

11. my question is why you think it's some kind of neocon plot?

that's what i don't understand.

if they had their way, it would probably be sold and piped to the highest bidders on the global market.

[ensho]

13. its not a plot. its just their business plan.

nt

[dysfunctional press]

14. where do you get that idea?

if neocons had their way, the great lakes would probably be piped directly to the highest bidders. they don't like to see natural resources protected.

[ensho]

16. don't you hear yourself? the 'highest bidder' - that's BUSINESS

money flowing

[dysfunctional press]

17. but that's NOT what's happening. YOU posted the article- why do YOU think it's a neocon thing?

their "business plan", whatever you want to call it. what SPECIFICALLY about the article you posted makes you think that the compact in question is part of some neocon "business plan"?
it's a pretty simple question- i don't understand why you find it so difficult to answer.

[dysfunctional press]

26. your continued non-answer speaks volumes about your lack of understanding.

exactly as i thought.

[jwirr]

2. I to suspect *ss but he may be signing on knowing it will pan the bill.

As to 8 states, they forgot to mention that Canada is none to happy about this issue either. We cannot send water out of the lake to water lawns in Nevada.

[LSK]

4. I thought water levels are up due to a very snowy winter

:shrug:

[marmar]

7. One winter doesn't reverse a long-term slide....

The trend in Great Lakes winters has been milder and drier.

[tokenlib]

10. Every winter without ice cover allows more evaporation...the trend is not good...

There is nothing like seeing a nice bay turned into a mud flat.....

[LSK]

18. huh???

The great lakes or the Artic?????

I live in Chicago. It snowed A LOT this past winter.

[dysfunctional press]

20. snow doesn't hold as much moisture as rain. it takes 10 inches of snow to equal 1 inch of rain.

and although this was a snowy winter, it's been the first one in quite awhile. one snowy winter doesn't reverse a trend.

[MichiganVote]

22. The lake levels are all up, some way up, this year due to the rains we've had.

[LSK]

23. I thought it was the other way around

Snow seeps into the ground while rain would evaporate quicker?

:shrug:

[Zynx]

5. Areas with weak water tabels are not entitled to water. People shouldn't live there.

Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas should not have as many people as they do.

[Auggie]

6. Perhaps by denying water from the Great Lakes it opens the doors to privatized dams

delivery systems, and desalination plants. A water supply crisis could hasten that scenario.

"Only a crisis -- actual or perceived -- produces real change." Milton Friedman

[ensho]

12. and people who own 'privitized dam' hire blackwater to protect them

nt

[Auggie]

19. Ding, ding, ding!!! Blackwater protects Bechtel

[PVnRT]

24. Won't happen

Do you know what kind of permits and studies have to be done to build dams, canals, reservoirs, etc? You can't just plunk down a thick concrete wall in a river and start charging people for water. It simply does not work that way, and no private company has the capital to do it. That's why governments build the dams, as they are the only ones who can afford it.

[Auggie]

25. I hope you are correct. But with local municipalities and states strapped for cash

it might be a viable solution for water districts to sell off parts of their distribution and/or reserves in return for maintenance/expansion provided by privatized companies.

Furthermore, I believe the slide in the economy over the last seven years is a deliberate ploy by Disaster Capitalists (BushCo) to lay the groundwork for the privatization of many government services, both national and local. Social Security, Medicare, police and fire protection, and, yes, water supply.

People are more willing to accept any solution in desperate times, no matter how bad the idea. That's what Disaster Capitalism is all about. As of today in California more than half the people polled favor off-shore drilling for oil. That was unheard of decades ago.

[boomerbust]

15. Arizona

Is eyeing up some Great Lakes water. NO WATER FOR YOU!!!!

[MichiganVote]

21. Uh...all of the Great Lakes water levels are up, some way up and...

the Great Lakes compact is going before Congress soon WITH the support of George Bush, for what its worth. This is and has been a totally bipartisan initiative that also involves Canada. Allocating water among the states is a problem because the lakeshore borders different states in greater or lesser proportion. Including Canada.

This water is not going anywhere. Its a deal breaker for the citizens in Michigan.