Superior Shores: A Novel of Conservation | By Dave Dempsey
On the shores of the world's largest lake, a slick Chicago developer and a home-grown, small-town Michigan lake advocate collide over his proposed Superior Shores resort. She thinks he's ruining nature; he thinks he's showcasing it. Their differences generate a controversy that reverberates across the lake -- and sparks of another kind.

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A Michigan Law school panel debate over Great Lakes Compact and HR 551
Ann Arbor—Jim Olson's panel debate with Nestle and National Wildlife Federation Attorneys over the "water for sale" loophole to the diversion ban of the Great Lakes Basin, and whether the loophole opens up the Great Lakes and waters in the Basin to claims by foreign or corporations and countries, or states, to export water out of Michigan and the Basin.

Bottled water sales dry up
For the first time in decades, the $11.1 billion bottled water industry is stuttering. Experts say that an increasing sense of environmental awareness across the U.S. is influencing consumer choices. Environmental groups take credit after campaigning for years against the industry over waste, safety concerns and the corporate privatization of water.

Cheap Great Lakes Water Offered In Exchange For Jobs
Michigan—There is a high risk of unintended and unwanted consequences if a cheap water incentive were offered to all comers.

Canadian Cities Leading the Charge Against Bottled Water
Seventy-two municipalities from 8 provinces and 2 territories have implemented restrictions on bottled water. The last 12 months have not been kind to the big three bottled water manufacturers Nestlé, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi, whose bottled water sales are down while the number of bans continues to increase.

The Blue Summit Declaration pdf
Ottawa—Water is essential to life. It is part of the global commons, and belongs to the earth and all its species. It is sacred and needs to be treated with respect. Governments must manage water resources on our behalf as a public trust. They must ensure water is distributed fairly and responsibly. Shrinking supplies of clean water around the world endanger human populations and the health of ecosystems. Water resources and services must not be bought, sold or traded. Water is a public resource, not an economic commodity. The environment and the public interest must not be sacrificed for private profits.

Toxic Chemicals on Tap: How Natural Gas Drilling Threatens Drinking Water
Humans need very few things to survive: air, shelter, food, and water. Fossil fuels (oil, coal and natural gas) pollute the air with smog, soot and global warming pollution, but their effect on water is often overlooked. Natural gas, which the industry touts as the “cleanest of all fossil fuels,” threatens to dirty drinking water with toxic chemicals used in drilling.i Rivers, lakes and groundwater already face threats from industrial pollution, agricultural runoff, and overdevelopment. Adding an unnecessary threat to one of the most valuable resources is dangerous. The government must act to safeguard drinking water. In light of the increased pressure to drill for more natural gas in states across the country, this report focuses on the dangers to drinking water from gas drilling. In particular, we examined hydraulic fracturing (often called “fracking”), a commonly used process gas companies employ to extract natural gas or oil reserves. Natural gas exists in bubbles underground, much like bubbles in carbonated soda. Getting to these pockets of gas requires injecting millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals into the ground in order to crack open these bubbles in the rock to allow natural gas to flow to the surface.

Water Wars Continue
Traverse City, MI—In 1897, when the city still drew its drinking water from West Bay, an engineer noted that sewage that floated down the Boardman River was swept by currents past two swimming beaches east of the river and then back across the bay near city intake pipes. It took the city another 33 years to build a treatment plant. The issues may be different today but the premise is the same: our water wealth is a public trust and we must fight every day to protect it -- and our future.

Bill would declare Mich. waters a public resource
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - A state lawmaker wants to designate all Michigan waters -- including groundwater -- as a resource held in trust for the public. Rep. Dan Scripps, a Democrat from Leland, introduced a bill Wednesday to amend Michigan's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. The new provision would direct state agencies to protect waters and other public natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations.

Great Lakes toxic cleanups lagging badly
Cleanup of the most polluted sites in the Great Lakes is moving so slowly it will take 77 more years to finish the job at the existing pace, according to a federal report. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency still does not know the full extent of the problem even though the highly contaminated spots were identified two decades ago, said the report by the agency's inspector general. "Without improved management, coordination and accountability, EPA will not succeed in achieving the results intended" for the recovery program

Despite federal protection, Great Lakes remain troubled waters
If there's one sure bipartisan thing in the environmental politics of Michigan, it's this: The message to anyone outside the state is "hands off" the waters of the Great Lakes. No Michigan politician would dare advocate exporting Great Lakes water to thirsty Texans, for example. And no politician would issue a news release touting a proposal to sell a share of Lake Michigan to T. Boone Pickens. And yet, unless action occurs soon in both Washington, D.C., and Lansing, we'll end up with exactly those policies in place -- with potentially monumental consequences for the Lakes and for Michigan. How did we get into this mess? If the lesson of Michigan's history of 19th-century forest exploitation should teach us anything, it's that turning over resources that are the property of all citizens to private extractors can be catastrophic. In this case, dramatic declines in the Great Lakes would follow. In these profoundly painful economic times, Michigan needs to keep public control of all water -- the source of life and an essential ingredient in economic growth -- and to attract new business and citizens here with our abundant resource, rather than sell it away.

Michigan water wars continue
What happened in the Michigan Citizens for Water versus Nestle case that put an end to Michigan's longest water battle, and what does it mean for the future of Michigan's water? [An informative overview of the worlds battle against Nestle from a Michigan perspective.]

The Public Trust Doctrine PDF
Western notions of modernity must necessarily be tempered by an understanding that certain natural resources - especially air, freshwater and oceans - are central to our very existence; and that governments must exercise a continuing fiduciary duty to sustain the essence of those resources for the long-term use and enjoyment of the entire populace. The pervasive clash of modernity and ethical values is the very reason we need the constancy of principles like the public trust doctrine; it embodies recognition of continuity, perpetuity and fiduciary duty independent of either modern or ancient desires.

Forum: Public Trust in Great Lakes pdf
April 24, 2009 12:00 am In July 2008, Congress and the Great Lakes states passed the much-heralded Great Lakes Compact as the endprotection to prevent diversions of water out of the Great Lakes Basin. The fanfare masked a flaw in the diversion ban of the Compact, a loophole that will expand, undermining the diversion ban and leading to massive exports of water out of the Great Lakes if raw water is labeled a “product.” Buried in the definitions of the Compact, water in any size container or package that is transferred outside the basin is exempted from diversions. Water exported outside of the Great Lakes Basin as a “product” in any size container or quantity is not subject to the diversion ban.

Unquenchable: American's Water Crisis and What We Can Do About It
"When the well's dry, we know the worth of water," observed Benjamin Franklin in 1774. But he was wrong. In the United States, we utterly fail to appreciate the value of water, even as we are running out. We Americans are spoiled. When we turn on the tap, out comes a limitless quantity of high-quality water for less money than we pay for our cell phone service or cable television. Ignorance is bliss when it comes to water. In almost every state in the country, a landowner can drill a domestic well anywhere, anytime-no questions asked. Many states don't even require permits for commercial wells unless the pumping will exceed 100,000 gallons a day (that's 36 million gallons annually). Water lubricates the American economy just as oil does. It is intimately linked to energy because it takes water to make energy, and it takes energy to divert, pump, move, and cleanse water. Water plays a critical role in virtually every segment of the economy, from heavy industry to food production, from making semiconductors to providing Internet service. A prosperous future depends on a secure and reliable water supply. And we don't have it. To be sure, water still flows from taps, but we're draining our reserves like gamblers at the craps table.

The Great Lakes Compact and the potential privatization of water: an interview with James M. Olson
In an interview with Circle of Blue, James M. Olson discusses the Great Lakes Compact: an international agreement intended to protect the Great Lakes Basin. Olson, an environmental lawyer specializing in natural resource law, highlights the possible unexpected consequences of the Compact. He is the senior principal at the law firm Olson, Bzdok & Howard.

Editorial: Close loophole in Lakes pact
For years environmental attorney Jim Olson has been a voice in the wilderness. Long before the Great Lakes states (including Michigan) and Congress approved the Great Lakes Compact, Olsen was warning that wording included in the final version of the pact created a massive loophole that would allow Great Lakes water to be considered a commercial product and sold as a commodity. His warnings were often met with a shrug. Those writing the compact language disputed his interpretation. For many environmentalists and others, the most important task was simply to get the compact passed by the legislatures of the Great Lakes states, signed by the various governors, passed by Congress and signed by President Bush. So an honest reading of the document that raises concerns even among laymen must be addressed.

Great Lakes Water: Public or Private?
Earlier this year the Great Lakes Compact, the interstate agreement designed to ban diversions of Great Lakes water, made its way through the legislatures of all eight states that share Great Lakes shoreline. Congress then approved the Compact and President George W. Bush signed it into law. Many conservationists hailed it as a major victory for the Great Lakes, but others quickly pointed out a loophole in the Compact that they said is dangerous because it could seriously threaten an ecosystem that contains 20 percent of the world’s freshwater supply—and our future ability to protect it.

Group Wants to Stop the Private Exploitation of Water by Multinational Corporations
TRAVERSE CITY -- A coalition of environmental groups wants to amend a recently enacted Great Lakes water management compact, contending it has loopholes that could enable water grabs by multinational corporations. The groups kicked off their campaign Sunday in Traverse City, led by Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation. Their attorney, Jim Olson, said Congress should reword the pact or enact a bill to make clear that water is a publicly owned resource and not a commercial product.

'Flow' takes on global water crisis
The New York Times called "Flow" a "three-alarm warning" about "our planet's most essential resource -- and third-largest industry." It said the documentary was "less depressing than galvanizing, an informed and heartfelt examination of the tug of war between public health and private interests." "We want to educate people on the Great Lakes Compact," Olson said. "The states passed it and it went to Congress but there's a hole in it. It bans diversions, which is valid, but the ban doesn't apply to water put in containers." Olson said U.S. Rep Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) is working on closing the loophole, but in the meantime there's action people can take about the Great Lakes and the worldwide water crisis.

Editorial: '09 must be better for lakes
When it was finally over, 2008 was a good year for the Great Lakes. But work remains. Lake levels rose after nearing historic lows, a historic agreement to protect the lakes was approved by the Great Lakes states and Congress and the nation elected a president from a Lake Michigan state who is expected to give greater credence to science-based concerns, the environment in general and the lakes. Just a few weeks ago Congress adopted and President Bush signed a long-awaited Great Lakes compact aimed at limiting water diversions and managing state, federal and Canadian water policies. In addition to limiting diversions, the compact also calls on the eight Great Lakes states to regulate their own water use, including withdrawals for drinking water

Resolution to Protect Water Passes Unanimously
Traverse City—On the evening before elections, the Traverse City Commission endorsed a resolution urging all governmental entities of the world to protect fresh water from commercial diversion, bottling and exploitation. It stated in part that "the Earth's fresh water belongs to the earth and all species, and therefore must not be treated as a private commodity to be bought, sold and traded for profit." Authored by Sweetwater Alliance North, and supported by NMEAC, Sierra Club, Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation (MCWC), and We Are Traverse City Inc., the room erupted into applause when the resolution received unanimous support from the City Commissioners. Currently, over one billion people do not have access to safe drinking water. The "solutions" being planned and implemented by global corporations, according to M'Lynn Hartwell, amount to schemes to sell water to the highest bidder. One case of "water for profit" that concerns many who were in the Commission chambers that night is the Ice Mountain water bottling factory in central Michigan.