Green Jobs for Blue Waters

by: jcherry

Wed Nov 18, 2009 at 06:38:50 AM EST

I want to be clear: I am not proposing to sell Michigan's water. Companies seeking to use our water should locate here in Michigan -- where they can have all the water they need. Instead, through our Green Jobs for Blue Waters initiative, I want to position Michigan as North America's center of excellence for water technology. Right now, water technologies are a $500 billion global market -- but by 2020, that market is expected to grow to nearly $1 trillion. That means great opportunity for Michigan's economy -- and that is why we intend on seizing the opportunity, much as we did to become the Nation's leader in advanced battery technology.

Michigan's unique position in the water technology field proves we are at the forefront of this technology.  Michigan's location in the middle of the Great Lakes, which contain about 20 percent of the world's supply of fresh water, has primed the state's successes in agriculture, tourism and the auto industry.  We need to continue to protect water resources and use it wisely for economic development purposes that include retention of current businesses and the attraction of new ones.  

Build and innovate

by: jcherry

Wed Jun 03, 2009 at 09:53:29 AM EDT

Michigan innovators like Billy Durant, Ransom E. Olds, Henry Ford, and Walter Chrysler  built the auto industry that put the world on wheels. Innovators like Walter P. Reuther helped the auto industry build the modern American middle class and a standard of living second to none. At the start of the Second World War, it was General Motors' president William Knudsen who stepped aside to serve his country, turning the factories of the Big Three into the Arsenal of Democracy that helped us win the war.

We know Michiganders know how to build, and we know how to innovate. It's time to do both.

Yesterday, I visited GM's Romulus Engine plant to talk to workers, plant managers, and local union leadership about the future of our auto industry. There, I saw the faces of our auto industry the national media often overlooks: the hard working men and women who have built Michigan. The Romulus plant has a reputation for quality and environmental stewardship. Last year, it was ranked in the top ten most productive engine plants in North America by the Harbour Report. Romulus workers also were honored in 2003 and 2006 as exemplary "Michigan Clean Corporate Citizens". The workers I met were proud of the job they do, and with the high quality products they turn out -- they should be!

I told Labor Secretary Solis and Dr. Ed Montgomery, White House Director of Recovery for auto communities and workers, that only protecting and increasing employment -- American employment -- will help move us out of the recession we're currently in. Fortunately, GM has a new, innovative labor agreement with the UAW to build subcompact cars here in the U.S., at an existing plant. GM has also announced it will not make cars in China available for sale in the United States. These are the right steps to take in reinventing an great American icon like General Motors, and the only way we'll turn our economy around.

For decades, innovators have called Michigan home. In times of hardship, Michiganders pull together. We innovate. We build. We look to a better, brighter future. I'm confident that despite Monday's wrenching news, we have brighter days to look forward to.  

Happy Great Lakes Day!

by: jcherry

Wed Feb 25, 2009 at 08:35:07 AM EST

Since Monday, I've been in our nation's capital meeting with the international Great Lakes Commission, which includes commissioners from every Great Lakes state, Ontario and Québec. Today, for Great Lakes Day, I'm meeting with legislators on Capitol Hill along with the other participants in the Great Lakes Commission conference: the Healing Our Waters coalition, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, the Chippewa Ottawa Authority, and the Council of Great Lakes Industries.

We're meeting with members of Congress to discuss our priorities for the Great Lakes:
• Fulfilling the promise for sustainable funding for Great Lakes restoration
• Protecting water quality
• Cleaning up toxic sediments
• Closing the door on aquatic invasive species
• Restoring valuable fish and wildlife resources

I look forward to working with Congress and President Obama to help protect and restore Michigan's most precious natural resource - not only for the environmental benefits, but also because we can leverage the Great Lakes to advance Michigan's economic recovery! Yesterday, I presented Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council of Environmental Quality with the MI-Great Lakes plan that was developed with public input from meetings I attended all over Michigan - along with comments on blogs like this one.  I will keep you updated as we move forward on implementing the plan.

Since today is Great Lakes Day, please leave a comment below or email me about your favorite Great Lakes memory. To live in Michigan is to love the Great Lakes, and I'm sure nearly every reader has a great story to share. I look forward to reading your responses!

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

Tuesday in Sault Ste. Marie

by: jcherry

Thu Aug 07, 2008 at 10:33:11 AM EDT

The Locks, which are operated by the Army Corp of Engineers, are themselves one of the issues facing the Great Lakes.   Although the original locks were built in 1855, the current four locks (the Davis Lock, the Sabin Lock, the MacArthur Lock, and the Poe Lock were constructed in stages stretching from 1915 to 1968.  Only one of the Locks, the Poe Lock, is wide enough to handle the widest of modern ships.  Given today's concern with homeland security, it is critical that there be at least two locks capable of handling these wider ships.  Consequently there is an active proposal to replace the Davis and Sabin Locks with a completely new, wider lock.  Senator Carl Levin has championed that cause but with the war in Iraq funding is at a premium, it seems we cannot afford to secure the homeland.