The Next Wave - Michigan's Blue Water Economy

by: jcherry

Mon Nov 10, 2008 at 13:30:57 PM EST

I come to this discussion today, obviously, as the Lieutenant Governor of THE Great Lakes state and as the immediate past chair of the Great Lakes Commission.  

But just as importantly, underlying all that, is the personal connection I feel to Michigan’s water and woods. As an upland hunter and person who enjoys spending time on the water, I understand the attraction that our amazing natural resources have to people all across the Midwest.  I  recognize the tremendous impact that Michigan’s water has on the course of their lives and our local economies.

So it is important today, as we focus on big ideas and broad concepts, that we also remain mindful of the profound impact our work and discussions can have on a family, a town, or one tiny stretch of pristine beach somewhere on our shoreline.  

As I noted earlier, Michigan is the Great Lakes State.  

This peninsula we call home touches four of the five Great Lakes and encompasses almost half of the 10,000 miles of Great Lakes coast line.  

Our unique geography confers on us a special obligation to protect this resource which surrounds us, and it also positions us at the global center of transformative economic possibilities.   These two concepts go together. They are two sides of the same coin. And so this afternoon I’d like to talk a little about our tremendous responsibility, and the equally momentous opportunity we have in the Great Lakes Region.

Our responsibility is to protect, clean, and enjoy these waters, and teach the world how to smartly manage a finite and increasingly valuable global resource.  Our opportunity is to capitalize on Michigan’s location at the center of North America’s “freshwater coast.”  A location which positions us as a fulcrum for economic development.  It is an opportunity to leverage our experience with this unique global water resource to help others to solve global freshwater problems.  In doing so, we gain the opportunity to sustainably grow Michigan’s economy, and that of the whole Great Lakes Region.  

Our water made us rich in the Great Lakes – first as the pathway and conduit for the riches of the interior – the furs, timbers, grains and iron ores – to reach the more distant world. And then our water also made us rich as a resource in the making of steel, paper, chemicals, cars, beverages and today, biofuels.  

But as we put our water to use in the Great Lakes, we also put this life-giving resource at risk-- through pollution, toxins, water-fouling plants and brownfield sites.    For example, our trade with the world also brought in exotic species that changed the complexion of these waters. We have come to realize that capitalizing on the magic properties of water for economic growth must be predicated on four goals:  

• Water that is not toxic or quarantined by past damage;
  
• Beaches that are open, not closed due to sewer overflows
  
• Native Great Lakes Fish that are abundant and safe to eat, so there are some out there to catch when you go fishing, with your kids or grandkids
  
• Wetlands, dunes, beaches…which both filter damaging sediments, and afford abundant public access and enjoyment 

Through the work of the Great Lakes Commission and Michigan's Office of the Great Lakes, we know that achieving those four goals will require strong regional collaborations working with dedicated local champions, and you'll be hearing more about those local champions and their successes in the coming months.  

I spent much of the summer visiting Great Lakes communities in an ongoing effort to really understand that link between local economies and water resources, as part of developing a Great Lakes Action Plan for Michigan.  

Then, the Office of the Great Lakes, in collaboration with the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, followed up on that tour with a series of public meetings where we learned how those local champions had succeeded -- and sometimes struggled -- in their efforts to protect and preserve their water resources.

Also, prior to these meetings, a draft of the Michigan Plan was circulated widely and comments were invited regarding suggestions for improving the Plan. At those meetings, a number of common themes and needs emerged out of the conversation, and they include:  

• Increased collaboration and communication among all partners,
  
• The development a statewide policy statement on Great Lakes protection and restoration.
  
• The possibility of reengineering local/state/federal environmental management efforts,
  
• Controlling and preventing the introduction of invasive species
• Increasing educational efforts
  
• Mobilizing volunteerism in protection and restoration efforts
  
• Increasing opportunities for the public to access the Great Lakes
  
• A strong commitment to improve the infrastructure
  
• Sharing planning tools across communities
  
• Effective stormwater management
  
• Controlling pollutants
  
• The consideration of dam removal where appropriate.
  
• Addressing the human health issues associated with the Great Lakes
  
• The need for strong commitments of funding both at the state and federal level. I might add here that we are extremely pleased with President-elect Obama's commitment and look forward to working closely with the incoming administration. It was not lost on Great Lakes advocates that his election night festivities were held on the shores of our Great Lakes.
  

The Office of the Great Lakes is currently integrating all of this work I've described -- ?our work on a draft action plan and the common themes we heard as a result of the public input we have received—integrating them into a set of recommendations that we anticipate releasing before the end of the year. We will share this report widely and I encourage you all to continue your engagement as we begin the hard work of implementing the recommendations in the report.

One other really important theme emerged in our public meetings, and that was the need to treat the Great Lakes as economic assets that must be protected because of the value they provide.

More than any other attribute, water today matters more to our economy, (as Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett put it) because of  its “magic”. “Pure Michigan” has to be more than our marketing slogan.  It can be our economic development driver.

First, it should be noted that protecting our waters has a huge payoff:  A recent Brookings Institution study of the economic impact of cleaning the Great Lakes put a solid dollar figure on this “magic”   Follow-through on the $25 billion Great Lakes Restoration Collaboration effort -- by repairing areas of toxic concern; ensuring sewer systems can do their job—had a $3 to $1 payoff in terms of the jobs and economic gain for our region.  Since 2003, Michigan has provided low interest loans to local governments totaling nearly $1.5 billion for wastewater and drinking water improvements that have resulted in reduced combined sewer overflows, improved water quality, and created 16,700 jobs.

 There is then an additional value added to the direct benefit of infrastructure improvements because in today’s global economy, water is a hugely desired amenity, marking Michigan and the Great Lakes as a special place to live, work, learn and to grow a business.  Today’s mobile knowledge workers who drive economic growth want to live near or on water that they can see, enjoy, and use for pleasure.

  The opportunity for water-based economic development is literally all around us—reclaiming our Great lakes waterfronts for residences, marinas, ports, restaurants, hotels, offices, condominiums.  Success stories demonstrate that we can do all of that while keeping the dunes, beaches, wetlands, and rocky headlands that make the Great Lakes so beautiful and desirable for solitary walks, sunning and swimming, boating, fishing and recreation.

Finally, and just as importantly, there is another transformational economic opportunity that lies before us.  We know that in the past, water was at the root of the wealth that was built in the great Lakes Region -- both as a conduit for commodities from the interior and as a manufacturing resource.  We know today that water is still critical for Michigan businesses -- including biofuels -- and, as water shortages grow, the Great Lakes may again be a magnet for industries that rely on freshwater resources.

But today we also know that our Michigan and Midwest economy must be based less on access to raw materials, and strong backs; and more on brain-power, innovation, new ideas and technologies.

It has been said that “water is the oil of the 21st Century”.  And so the Great Lakes state and its great learning and research institutions can also be at the center of developing the water conservation, management, cleaning  and treatment technologies the world needs.

Water technology and tools to conserve, treat, measure, monitor and smartly manage this precious, finite fuel for life is a growing, $500 billion global business.

90% of China’s urban water is polluted, and they are looking for help. Las Vegas in the West and Georgia in the East are crying for water, and wasting what they have.  

All of these circumstances are an opportunity for Michigan and the Great Lakes to lead the way in solving regional and national problems of water and sustainability; to develop the new technologies and jobs based on cleaning and stewardship of this precious resource.

We can put Michigan Tech, Michigan State, Wayne State, Grand Valley State, and University of Michigan,  (along with our  sister Great Lakes research and learning centers across the region ) -- at the center of solving global freshwater problems—and train people from across the globe. Today, we can’t, and we should not sell our water resource.  But we should sell our resourcefulness, and Michigan as the home of freshwater problem-solving to the world.

So along with a green economy – and the jobs and enhanced quality of life that flow from leadership in new energy technologies, sustainable practices and stewardship of our environment; let’s have Michigan lead the blue economy—the sustainable use of our waters. Waters that define the Great Lakes, make up most of our planet, and enrich our lives with their ever changing beauty and life-giving properties.  Underlying all of this is a simple message: We have a responsibility and an opportunity to work together around our Great Lakes water.  We must protect it, clean it, enjoy it -- then teach the world how to use their water -- and sell them the tools and technologies to do it.

The recent presidential campaign and the events surrounding it reminds me that during his second inaugural, FDR said: “We have always known heedless self-interest was bad morals.  Now we know that heedless self-interest is bad economics.”

But Paul Krugman today reminds us that there is equally a converse:  “Good morals are good economics.”  Our stewardship of the Great Lakes offers us both responsibility and opportunity.

Your commitment reflects our shared perception of the exciting possibilities for the Great Lakes, our economy and the people we ultimately serve.  I look forward to working with all of you to make those possibilities a reality. Thank you very much.

(more at A Whole Lot of People Supporting John Cherry)