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Even in these times of division, there is one thing that unites the citizens of Michigan. It’s about protecting and restoring the Great Lakes, providing access to clean drinking water, and supporting our pure Michigan way of life. We have generations of opportunities to act on this support and rebuild the Great Lakes States as leaders in protecting our waters and communities. The list of needs is long and the time between the first conservation majority in almost 40 years may be short.
First, the Michigan Legislature should establish access to clean drinking water as a basic human right. This means prohibiting all water outages and requiring all water utilities to scale their services according to their ability to pay. It’s amazing that this is a national milestone, but Michigan stands at the heart of the drinking water crisis we’ve already endured and the world’s largest freshwater resource. Thinking, we can and should lead the way. Our water utilities are receiving unprecedented levels of financial support from Federal Infrastructure and COVID-19 Relief Funds. Now is the time to use that support to ensure permanent access to drinking water for all.
Second, the Governor and Congress should focus on implementing the Mi Healthy Climate Plan that Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced last year. This is a bold and ambitious plan that will decarbonise the economy to put Michigan on par with the states leading the clean energy revolution and create more jobs with it. Whitmer was stymied by a rebellious Republican-controlled Congress in her first term, but she pushed to outline an agenda that would put Michigan on the path of clean energy and climate justice. Few threats to our future are greater than climate change, but solutions can lead us to justice, equity and prosperity.
Third, the governor and Congress should reinstate the Polluter Pays Act. This law, once the strongest in the country, was repealed in the mid-1990s. We will ensure that taxpayers and underserved communities do not bear the price of corporate misconduct, and that polluted sites continue to be a threat to our health, the environment and our communities. must be Michigan, for example, is now at the center of her rapidly growing PFAS crisis, robbing communities of clean water, but lacking effective tools to demand cleanups. By bringing Polluter Pay to life, you can establish next-generation leadership and prevent future water, health and justice crises.
Fourth, the legislature should join Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel in supporting the closure of Line 5 of Enbridge Energy. Spills devastating the Strait of Mackinac aren’t the only existential threats to this perilous pipeline that uses the Great Lakes as a shortcut. If Enbridge wins in court, Indigenous peoples would have enacted treaty-guaranteed access to fisheries and their sovereign rights over their lands would be diminished. Only if you can ignore the Attorney General’s closure order. Imagine the chain of consequences for resource conservation that this unleashes. Congress has the power to block embridge and strengthen public confidence and Indigenous rights over the long term. Now is the time to do it.
Michigan’s leaders have a unique opportunity to reestablish fair protection for our natural resources and the environment over the next 40 years. It’s time for the Great Lakes States to once again demonstrate bold Great Lakes leadership.
Dr. Mike Schriberg is a Visiting Professor of School Practice and Engagement for the Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. Shriberg previously served as Great Lakes Regional Secretary for the National Wildlife Federation.
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