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Write On: Progressive
News for Northern Michigan November 2003 |
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Local Links Marquette Citizens for Peace and Justice State, National, and International Links |
Water First! Mike Adams Do Lake Michigan and Lake Huron really have a water level of 580 ft above sea level? Your road map probably says so. The truth is the water levels of the Great Lakes have dropped dramatically since its average 1986 levels. Lake Michigan and Lake Huron now stand six feet lower than in 1986. In July 1986, the Lake Michigan water level, as measured by the Ludington National Oceanic Association of America (NOAA) Station (http://co-ops.nos.noaa.gov) was at a healthy average of 582 ft above sea level. From September 1987 to September 1999, the Lake Michigan/Huron water levels fluctuated from 580 to 578 ft above sea level. Then, in February/March of 2001 and 2003, the water levels reached record lows of 576 ft. above sea level. This may not sound like much. However, if you multiply the 6 feet that water levels have lost (vertically) by the area of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, it turns out that 1.26 billion cubic feet of water have disappeared, or 3.5 trillion liters. The amount of water the average human consumes is equal to 145 liters/person/day. At current rates of consumption, this amount of water lost could sustain 100,000 people for 24,397 days (66.84 years). A lot of us around here do not notice a large change in the Lake Superior water level. So, how does Lake Superior “size up” in this matter? The volume of Lake Superior is so large it can hold the volume of the rest of the Great Lakes combined plus three more Lake Eries. Nevertheless, Lake Superior is seeing its water levels decline as well. Although only about 1.5 ft has been lost off the surface of Lake Superior (see graph below) since 1996, the amount of water lost equals 1.3 billion cubic feet or 3.61 trillion liters: Enough to sustain 100,000 people for 25,163 days (68.94 years) at current rates of water consumption. This Graph shows the lake level of Lake Superior as taken from the Marquette, MI coast guard station from 1996 to 2002. Each vertical tick mark represents two years time.
Water First! (Cont’d) The Sweetwater Alliance Targets Granholm to Shut Down Ice Mountain In May of 2002, Nestle Waters North America began withdrawing massive quantities of water from well sites in Mecosta County, MI (a.k.a. the “Sweet Water Aquifer”) in order to feed its Ice Mountain brand bottled water. Just hours after being sworn in as Michigan’s forty-seventh and first-ever woman governor, Jennifer Granholm called for a meeting with members of water activist group Sweetwater Alliance to discuss the future of water takings by the Ice Mountain Spring Water Company, a division of Nestlé Waters North America. The Sweetwater Alliance is a non-profit organization committed to taking any actions necessary to keep our Great Lakes preserved and clean. If you would like to contribute to their worthy cause, look out for the “Going…Going…Gone. Water First!” cans located at; The Sweet Water Café, N. 3rd St., The Maquette Food Co-op, Baraga St., Two Thirty One Art Gallery and Studios, 231 W. Washington St., and Emma Joe’s Coffee House, Presque Isle Ave. NEXT ISSUE of Write On: Why is this happening and where is all the water going? What might happen if this trend continues? What you can do to help preserve our earth’s largest body of fresh water? Go to www.waterissweet.org to visit the Sweetwater Alliance website Go to http://www.provwater.com/conscalc.htm to find out how many gallons of water your family consumes in one week Go to http://www.environmentalindicators.com/htdocs/indicators/6wate.htm to see where America Ranks in water consumption compared to leading industrialized nations In 1997 water consumption was about 145 l/person/day. Don’t think so? Go to http://www.vyh.fi/eng/environ/state/waterre/waterser/wconsum.htm http://csf.colorado.edu/archive/1996/balance1/0640.html Great Lakes Coalition http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/pr/ourlakes/lakes.html
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