The majority of Michigan citizens have been to at least one of the Great Lakes, if only once. In fact, a large number of Midwesterners have come to Lake Michigan, Huron, Superior, Erie, or Ontario to swim, boat, fish, or any number of other reasons.

Besides supporting Michigan's tourism industry, which is the second largest contributor to our state's economy after manufacturing, the Great Lakes are an important environmental resource, housing any number of freshwater fish and plants. Their freshwater reserves, the largest surface reserves in the entire planet, supply thirsty Michigan and mid-western agriculture (the third largest economic contributor), in addition to many thirsty Michigan citizens, the water necessary to live and grow.

However, what would happen if those lakes weren't there anymore? What would happen if one or more of the lakes were put off limit to tourists and residents, citing high pollution levels? What if the water was unable to be pumped to the cherry producers in Traverse City or the soybean growers in Monroe, let alone to the pipes that wet-the-whistle of Michigan residents daily?

Some would tell you that this will never happen. They have the same false logic as many outside of the state: that Michigan is 'awash' in water. The water cycle, they say, ensures that the thousands of thousands of gallons wasted to water lawns and from table-water at restaurants will somehow comeback to the Great Lakes to be consumed again.

Why then are the Lakes at the lowest levels they have ever been? Why do certain areas of Michigan have to enact water moratoriums every summer to control dwindling water supplies amid drought conditions? The answer is: we do not have unlimited water to do with as we please. The wasteful practices that we have been indulging in for decades are combining with the effects of climate change to come back to haunt us. Unless we change our outlook on the Great Lakes and the environment, we will rapidly destroy the state many of us have come to treasure.

Hope is not lost though. Change is slowly beginning to happen. In 2005, Gov. Jennifer Granholm pushed the Great Lakes, Great Michigan! initiative through the Michigan Legislature. Constraints were placed on Dasani and other water-bottling companies, preventing them from sucking our lakes completely dry. In 2006 and 2007, the Legislature began to make progress on regulating aquifer tapping (the process of draining the ground-water that supplies the lakes, streams, rivers, tributaries, and us), another step in fighting low lake levels. Also, the public outcry was amazing when BP wanted to dump vast amounts of ammonia and sludge into Lake Michigan, with Facebook groups, websites, and the whole nine yards of grassroots activism coming into play to protect our most treasured resource.

Despite this progress, there is more that needs to be done. Michigan, while the only state to border 4 of the 5 Great Lakes, is only one of the seven American states that has territorial claims to them. Efforts need to be taken so that, when Michigan prevents a company from draining the lakes, they don't just relocate to Illinois or Wisconsin to continue their destructive practices. The strongest attempt to do just this is the Great Lakes Compact, an eight-state legislative package that, when fully ratified, will put the power to control water withdrawals into the hands of the people, rather than a few legislators.

This compact, though, is falling victim to the water-politics it is seeking to abolish. Two states (Illinois and Minnesota) have already passed it, while the other states and Michigan are considering it. Wisconsin and Ohio are presenting a challenge to this bill, wanting to amend it to allow more areas than just Great Lakes-basin areas to withdraw water. This is problematic as the compact only goes into effect if every state passes the same language. If one state refuses to agree, it acts as a veto, sinking the entire project.

There is no excuse for this. Politicians from both parties need to have the leadership necessary to fight politics-as-usual and make a decision with the interests of the people in mind, rather than their careers. It is at this point we, the people, need to stand up and show our elected officials that we will not support continuing the policies of the past that risk destroying the Great Lakes, the environmental jewel that sustains us and provides us great enjoyment.

-Tom Choske