Water pact will deplete Great Lakes, expert fears

The potential commercialization of water in Lake Michigan, seen here from the Mackinac Bridge, as well as the other Great Lakes, is at issue in the details of a pact designed to preserve the lakes. Linda Diebel National Affairs Writer A pact designed to preserve the Great Lakes is in reality a "slippery slope" that threatens severe harm to the world's largest body of fresh water, a top U.S. environmental lawyer has warned Canadians. "In effect, a precedent is being set, in that it allows for the commercialization of water. You are privatizing it," James Olson said yesterday of an agreement among eight Great Lakes states now before the U.S. Congress and linked to Ontario and Quebec through a side deal. Among other concerns, Olson criticizes an exemption in the Great Lakes Compact allowing water to be removed by private... [read full story]