Political Quotes

“Today, I introduced the Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection Act as co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force with Senator George Voinovich and several of our colleagues here in the Senate and in the House. This bill is important for our efforts to protect and restore the Great Lakes now and for future generations. The Great Lakes are vital not only to Michigan but to the nation. Roughly 1/10 of the U.S. population lives in the Great Lakes basin and depends daily on the lakes. The Great Lakes provide drinking water to 40 million people in the U.S. and Canada. They provide the largest recreational resource for their 8 neighboring States. They form the largest body of freshwater in the world, containing roughly 18 percent of the world's total. Only the polar ice caps contain more freshwater. They are critical for our economy by helping move natural resources to the factory and to move products to market. While the environmental protections that were put in place in the early 1970s have helped the Great Lakes make strides toward recovery, a 2003 GAO report made clear that there is much work still to do.”