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Strategic plan targets invasive species
The Superior Daily Telegram (11/17)
Douglas County’s Land Conservation Committee is forwarding a plan to the county board that takes aim at invasive species.
Mich. Clean Marina Program: Public-private partners work together to improve water quality
Grand Rapids Environmental News Examiner (11/9)
Partners from the public and private sector in Michigan are working together in a voluntary program to improve the quality of the Great Lakes.
Researchers seek funding for wind test site in Lake Michigan
Grand Rapids Environmental News Examiner (11/7)
In a recent article in The Muskegon Chronicle, it was reported that researchers at Grand Valley State University’s Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MAREC) cited a lack of year-around data (on wind platform testing) needed by prospective development companies.
COMMENTARY: Senate needs to pass clean energy act to help Michigan
The Grand Rapids Press (10/26)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was absolutely correct with his recent proclamation about the current condition of the Great Lakes State: "The State of Michigan," Reid declared from the Senate Floor, with a copy Time Magazine in his hand, "is in trouble."
First Nation women 'walk the environmental talk'
WeNews (10/23)
Tomorrow's global day of climate activism aims for media and political attention. First Nation women have another way. Since 2003, they've walked the shoreline of a Great Lake or major river, meditating on the needs of an unborn generation.
City making big push for water school
The Business Journal (10/23)
The push is on to convince the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that the best location for its new School of Freshwater Sciences is near the university’s existing Great Lakes Water Institute on East Greenfield Avenue.
What's going on in your neighborhood this month? Meet other people and learn together at recreational and educational events! Our new dynamic calendar is updated daily with current educational events.
Introduction
Canadian Government: History and Organization
U.S. Government: History and Organization
Binational Agreements and Treaties
Canadian and U.S. Laws and Agreements
Resources and More Information
The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River system is the world's largest body of freshwater, containing one-fifth of the world's surface freshwater. The system borders two countries, eight states and two provinces. The basin encompasses more than 295,000 square miles in the United States and Canada, 100,000 miles of navigable water, and is home to more than 33 million people. With so much land and water and so many people, Great Lakes policy is difficult to develop and enforce.
Legislation within the Great Lakes basin involves the federal governments of the United States and Canada. The differences between these governments creates difficulties when enacting binational and regional law; however, regional cooperation and legislation is important in the Great Lakes basin. Water and air from both countries mix with each other, so the actions of each country affect the other. For example, Michigan could pass a law prohibiting industries from dumping a certain toxic chemical into Lake Erie, but if Ontario, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York don't pass the same law, then the water quality of Lake Erie will still suffer. A regional approach between two countries is difficult to manage, but it has been accomplished in the past.
Visit GLIN's Laws and Policies of the Great Lakes Region page for more information.
Graphics: Great Lakes basin; Canadian and U.S. flags
