How about if we Keep the Great Lakes Great?

We need science, common sense, regulation, and a concern about the future.

Dushan Skorich posted – “Musk's DOGE decided to not renew one of the contracts at the Duluth EPA Lab, and May 14th will be the last day for 20-30 of the younger lab staff on this contract.

“It's not a surprise that 8th District Congressman Pete Stauber has remained silent about this while the Minnesota DFL leaders urge continued support for the lab, its mission and the scientists.

“I can appreciate those who are calling for another rally at the EPA lab, and although the combined voices will fall on deaf ears, increased focus on the work going on inside the lab should be spotlighted at every opportunity.”

This is so insulting and dangerous. Lake Superior sits at the top of the Great Lakes – hence the name – and receives waters from the St Louis River and the Boundary Waters Canoe area. Now that trump has made the mines within the canoe country watershed a priority there is every reason to think or feat that will become a reality.

The EPA has been stripped of its ability to regulate water and air quality. I discussed the attack on US environmental laws in a previous post. https://open.substack.com/pub/mikelink45/p/does-the-earth-have-a-vote?r=7vnln&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

But this adds weight to my concerns. We have fought to protect the canoe country for over 120 years against numerous challenges, but we never had to face the Musk/trumper cabal. The double whammy of removing the EPA lab and adding the mine is only the beginning of the attack on the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes are not isolated. They are actually part of an historic river system and the water that moves into Superior ends up moving through the great lakes, over Niagara Falls and finally through the St Lawrence and the Maritimes to the Atlantic. At this time I am the guest speaker on trip that is about to enter this land and cruise into the great lakes from the Maritimes which is a reminder of how all these waters are connected.

It means that quality in Lake Superior and the lakes north of it will ultimately impact the quality of the waters all the way to the Atlantic. If you can remember or read about the fire on the Cuyahoga River and the subsequent issues with water pollution in Lake Erie you might remember how the Lake was declared dead – here is the Cleveland historical society quote – “Lake Erie contained increased levels of phosphorus and nitrogen, which contributed to eutrophication - a process that encourages the development of algal blooms. Dead fish littered the shoreline as a lack of oxygen in the water led to massive fish kills. Episodes like this led to the coining of the phrase - more sensational than factual - "Lake Erie is dead," which started to appear in national publications in the late 1960s.” https://clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/58

On WIkipedia you can find an update on the Lake – “The 1972 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement significantly reduced the dumping and runoff of phosphorus into the lake. The lake has since become clean enough to allow sunlight to infiltrate its water and produce algae and seaweed, but a dead zone persists.” Why did this improvement happen? The EPA was created, clean water act was enacted, and the clean waters from Superior and Huron replaced the waters that flowed out to sea.

Lake Erie is shallow – 210 feet – compared to the Depth of Superior – 1330 feet. It has Michigan, Huron, Lake Superior waters flowing into it. Superior has rivers from the north country and with much less volume.

Each lake has a flushing rate – the time it takes for the waters to be replaced by influx compared to drainage. SeaGrant posted – “Erie’s water quality problems were legend during the environmental movement of the late 1960s, when this “dead” Great Lake became a national symbol of the effects of pollution and neglect. Fortunately, Lake Erie’s flushing time is less than three years — the shortest of all the Great Lakes — and the lake has been the quickest to respond to U.S. and Canadian efforts to improve waste treatment and reduce pollution of the lakes.”

Lake Superior’s retention rate is 191 years. That is the minimum time it would take to clean up the lake if we do not protect it.

The EPA lab in Duluth opened in 1967 – at a time when intelligence was still found in parts of D. C. and has continued to do great work for 58 years. It has created jobs for the Duluth economy, worked with the local universities and organizations and tested for the effects of chemicals such as PFAS on freshwater ecosystems, plus the effects of invasive species and pollution.

The Great Lakes Commission on May 7 published this – “The Duluth City Council will be considering a resolution requesting federal officials to keep the U.S. EPA’s Great Lakes Toxicology and Ecology Division lab in Duluth, Minnesota, open. About 150 employees stand to lose their jobs at the lab that contributes $15 million to Minnesota’s economy each year. “

That is great, but the fact is this lab has protected water throughout the US and is a continental gem in the fight for our environmental quality. The life of the Great Lakes and the life of North Americans is at stake here. It is not just about one mine in the wrong place; it is a recognition of what that mine coming in and our science pushed out means to the future generations.