Editorial – Winter 2023

Business as usual is no longer an option, yet many government and business leaders continue to promote it as if it will solve our problems. Business as usual (endless growth and destruction) may enhance the profits of a very small portion of the population. It does not solve the major problems faced by humanity as a result of such business. In fact we know it creates even bigger problems. Business as usual means the constant production of consumer goods no one needs, the constant extraction and use of fossil fuels feeding climate change, the constant extinction of species and devastation of ecosystems, and the rising inequalities in every country of the world. It means the creation of artificial needs by corporations like Nestle, the promise of jobs no one should be asked to take, and a widening of the gaps in income and resource access privileges that lead to war.

We are fed endless distractions through entertainment, new technology, election promises which begin right after each election, news reports that ignore real news and give us gossip, celebrity feeds and irrelevant tidbits, or wrap us up in crime and disaster reports but fail to cover anything positive. Meanwhile several billion people are currently threatened with water scarcity, species are going extinct at an alarming rate, ecosystems can no longer sustain the life forms that depend on them, and we are running out of time. What really matters to all living things is water and food. We also need shelter and sustaining relationships with others who share this planet. We can live without the rest and managed to do so for thousands of years. Water has taken some real hits in the years of the pandemic. While most of us have had to cope with illness, isolation, and political turmoil, those who make lots of money from crises have continued to pollute and privatize the water of the commons and exacerbate the climate crisis in numerous ways. Too many of us have had to devote time, energy and resources to just keeping our heads above the ground. So water has taken a back seat for those of us who still have access to it. This is particularly true in the Great Lakes Basin, home to 20% of the world’s available fresh water. Why should we worry? We have other more pressing things we feel we must work on these days. Of course if you are living in a vulnerable community where water cut offs or pollution are a constant threat, and a real affordability plan is not yet in place, water remains at the top of your agenda. The fact is that there is nothing more essential to life than water and our planet’s water is under attack by forces of ignorance and greed. The facts are clear and can be found in numerous journals, media outlets, university research projects and on the ground surveys. The facts are acted out every day for the billions with scarce access to clean water. Read two books to catch up on the water crisis globally: Blue Future by Maude Barlow, and Great Lakes for Sale, revised edition, by Dave Dempsey. You will be surprised by how much we don’t know or remember even though most reading this newsletter are among the better educated on the issue. Then we need to ramp it up and get busy once again as we emerge from the pandemic and learn new ways of actively supporting water and our own future. The water justice movement all over the world is active and growing. We are part of it, but not really in the forefront. This is understandable. Our privileged position in the middle of the Great Lakes can easily get in our way and keep us from seeing the magnitude of the crisis unfolding elsewhere. However, we are all connected so it is essential that we join with our water justice allies in greater numbers. It is also essential that we honor the indigenous wisdom that has protected water for thousands of years. The expression “water is life” didn’t come out of the recent blue. It is ancient wisdom passed down to us by generations of water protectors.

When an investor enters our ecosystems in the hope of extracting profits for himself with no regard for the environment or the people living there, we cannot afford to wait for governments and state bureaucracy to protect the water for us. They take too long. They need a big push from below to get moving and then have to try to appease all those who put them in positions of power just to keep their jobs. We therefore must loudly remind them that we hold the ultimate power once we decide to use it. We vote, we choose how to spend our money, we choose where and when to show up for work and play. We choose how we will join together to raise the necessary collective energy to change the world.

We are running out of time to save our water from the polluters and thieves. Our children are already suffering, their bodies filling up with lead, micro plastics, PFAS, and thirst. If we imagine the election of a few more people who care about water justice will do the trick and we can go back to “normal” lives while they do their job, we are suffering from delusions. Politicians can not act without support and action from the grassroots that chose them. Business leaders will not act unless their shareholders direct them to do so. It is up to us to raise our voices and dedicate our time and energy to demanding clean, affordable, publicly managed and protected water for all. The power to make it happen is really in our hands. Let’s get to work again on what matters most and leave divisive political and social distractions in the dust. No one can live without water. Our job is to put that fact at the top of the agenda and make sure that equity and justice for all are the guiding principles for success.

For MCWC the demands are clear: End all attempts to privatize water. Water must remain a resource available for all living things, protected, and managed under the public trust doctrine. The three bills introduced repeatedly in the Michigan legislature must be reintroduced, heard, and moved to passage immediately, and then enforced at last. No permits should be issued for extractive industries (mining, bottled water, fossil fuel production and transport) without careful environmental impact study, public disclosure and comment, the consent of those who would be impacted, and attention to ecosystem needs. Polluters must pay for clean up. No permits to pollute should be issued without full legal and financial responsibility for clean up and restoration established and secured beforehand. No public money should be granted to private corporations or businesses to secure profits for their investors. Public money should be granted only to assist such companies in performance of a public service that benefits the public, for example, replacing old and damaged infrastructure in water systems for public utilities, or developing renewable energy options for public use. Statewide and national standards must be adopted legally that guarantee all have access to publicly owned, clean water and sanitation services at affordable rates. Water is Life. All shut offs must end. We advocate for income based water affordability plans locally and statewide which do not require more than 3-4% of a household income and contain no rationing provisions.