We have droned on about the Great Lakes Compact, about how petty politics, stupidity and self-interest could kill this international coalition to protect one of the world's great resources. Others say it better; Robert Oullette writes:
"It is hard to imagine the Great Lakes being great no more—but it is possible. Just take a look at the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan for an example of what havoc exploitative policies can cause on a seemingly robust ecosystem. We tend to think such savage exploitation will never happen here, but we also thought the Cod Fishery would go on forever, and Passenger pigeons were so plentiful that we could kill them at our pleasure."
Oullette notes that inevitably the pressures to take Great Lakes water will become too great.
"You can hear the trumpeting now. "This is a national emergency." "We must have the water for short-term relief." "The have states must share with the have nots." I have no doubt that's what the bureaucrats managing the Aral Sea once said. But since they are all dead now, who is to know—or care? It is history, just like the Cod. ::Reading Toronto
More in TreeHugger on the Great Lakes Compact
Great Lakes Compact : Selfishness and Self-Interest in Wisconsin ...
The Great Lakes Are Under Threat and Wisconsin Fiddles
Bill Richardson On Great Lakes Water
Vegan Strip Clubs, Dinosaurs in Ohio, Houses for a Buck : TreeHugger
Don't You Dare Touch Our Water