Can someone explain to me what’s going on with Michigan’s water? I haven’t spent a great deal of time looking into it, but it sounds to me as though we’ve 1) put some safeguards in place to protect it from corporations and other regions, and yet 2) refused to go so far as to say it, as a natural resource, belongs to the people of Michigan… The following clip comes from yesterday’s “Detroit Free Press“:
Michigan lawmakers announced an agreement Monday that would regulate new, large-scale withdrawals of water from the state — a deal expected to clear the way for Gov. Jennifer Granholm to sign an eight-state compact to prevent diversion of water outside the Great Lakes basin.
The agreement, reached after two years of negotiations among legislators and business and environmental leaders, could be voted on in the Legislature as soon as this week. It would limit withdrawals of more than 1 million gallons a day, by manufacturers, bottlers, farmers or others…
Under the legislation, proposals for new uses of water that exceed 1 million gallons a day would be permitted only if evidence showed no serious impact on the water supply would result. Climate change and forecasts of increasing droughts could add pressure to ship Great Lakes water to thirsty regions, experts say.
The deal was announced by state Sen. Patty Birkholz, R-Saugatuck, and Rep. Rebekah Warren, D-Ann Arbor, along with the business and environmental groups involved…
In somewhat related news, I give you all my word that I will clog the pipeline with my giant, fleshy ass if Phoenix ever tries to start sucking away our water. We should not, ever, under any circumstances, be in the position of propping up desert communities in the U.S. that are not even remotely sustainable in the long run. And that goes double for the corporate giants who are making a mint bottling up water that should be in the public trust and selling it back to us at a hefty markup, leaving billions of plastic bottles in their wake.