Restoring Great Lakes May Buffer Against Climate Change

Great Lakes environmental groups and researchers Wednesday released a report claiming that restoring the Great Lakes ecosystem would help buffer the region against ill effects from global climate change.

The plan, called the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy and announced by the Bush administration three years ago, has been partially enacted by Congress, but many elements remain unfulfilled with little or no money. The plan would restore wetlands and other habitat, clean up toxic hot spots in Great Lakes harbors, refurbish sewage facilities to prevent overflows and enact laws to limit the introduction and movement of exotic species.

The report "Great Lakes Restoration and the Threat of Global Warming," released by the Healing Our Waters — Great Lakes Coalition, also notes the likely increase in pressure to tap Great Lakes water from thirsty outside sources.

The groups urged support for the Great Lakes Water Resources Compact that would limit water diversions. That compact already has been approved by Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and New York. Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan still must act on the compact before it can move on to the U.S. Congress.

The groups also urged support for the Lieberman-Warner global warming legislation set for Senate action next week.

Long-term records already show temperature increases across the region and a UMD study found Lake Superior’s water temperature increasing even more rapidly than air temperatures over the last half-century.

"This report is a wake-up call that left unabated, global warming will wreak havoc on Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes, with ramifications for our public health, economy and way of life," said Darrell Gerber, Great Lakes program coordinator for Clean Water Action, in a statement. "We have solutions. It is time to use them."