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WORD COUNT
683
APRIL 6, 2005
GOVERNOR’S MESSAGE
MISSED GREAT LAKES’ INITIATIVE – by Joyce Braithwaite Brickley
(Dear Editor:
Sadly we must report that the fun is over with Joyce Braithwaite
Brickley’s columns, Michigan Matters and Great Lakes Matters. You will
receive her final piece on April 6. Our generous grant from the Joyce
Foundation which supported it has expired. You are certainly welcome to
continue receiving the remainder of the package, or not, as you choose.
Bill Collins/MinutemanMedia.org)
Governor Granholm
proved with her State of the State message in early February that the
best way to advance environmental concerns in Lansing right now is to
talk about them as economic development issues.
Although the Governor
specifically listed the environment along with public safety and health
care as issues she would not address in detail because of her
determination to focus on the economy, her “Jobs Today, Jobs Tomorrow”
plan in fact has a lot to do with the environment, in Michigan, you just
can’t create jobs or defend them — without protecting the air, water and
land. Given that the politically conservative legislature seems
uninterested in, or even hostile to toughening the state’s environmental
standards, maybe it’s wisest to define the issues through their economic
implications.
The agenda outlined
by the Governor is the most detailed and ambitious she has put forth,
and it neatly pairs environmental and economic values. But it
could have been even better.
As Granholm said,
“Michigan, the Great Lakes State, could be the state that finally makes
these United States independent of foreign oil.” It’s a big and bold
vision. The “Jobs Today” part of the plan also addresses the environment
indirectly. By “fast-forwarding” $800 million in planned state capital
investments, Granholm hopes to create 36,000 jobs over three years. The
projects include upgrades of sewage systems, helping protect Michigan’s
rivers and streams, and the cleanup of abandoned city industrial sites,
clearing the way for fresh development. Moving up the timetable for
these projects would provide a needed economic stimulus to the state’s
sluggish economy. The work needs doing, the money is available, and
communities will see the benefits. The balky Legislature should act on
it swiftly.
What was missing from
the Governor’s discussion of Michigan’s economic future was a discussion
of the importance of water. The state’s most abundant resource, water
supports two of the three top Michigan industries tourism and
agriculture — and is also central to manufacturing. But the only
way to protect those industries and water they depend on is to take bold
action now. So here’s what the Governor could have said, and still
should. “Keeping water in the Great Lakes and in Michigan
is critical to our economic future. Retaining and creating water-reliant
jobs means retaining water here and attracting the employers of the
future who will require it. Any policies on managing the waters of the
state and the Great Lakes have to pass this test.”
To protect Michigan
jobs, the Governor should first seek a moratorium on new bottled water
facilities in the state. The controversial Ice Mountain facility in
Stanwood, the subject of a court fight, is providing between 100 and 200
jobs, but also exporting water that used to feed Lake Michigan far
outside the Great Lakes Basin. That’s a dangerous precedent and before
it’s expanded, the state needs to investigate fully the implications
under trade law and constitutional law. If we turn water exportation
into a growth industry, are we also opening the door to exporting jobs
to other regions of the
Another critical part
of the state’s water-dependent jobs strategy should be a campaign to
improve our water stewardship. If Michigan businesses, institutions
and individuals conserve the water they use, they can create
opportunities for new businesses to locate here without harming the
environment — and they can strengthen our legal case against shipping
water elsewhere.
Finally, the
Governor’s jobs program should make the beauty and abundance of Michigan
water the centerpiece of a campaign to attract the industries of the
future. Businesses will locate here not just because of tax breaks or
research dollars, but also because of the quality of life factors in
which Michigan ranks so high because of its majestic environment, it
makes sense to advertise our water — an asset with which the “Parchbelt”
states of the Southwest can’t compete.
Granholm has made an
excellent start on explaining the way in which the state’s future is
linked to jobs created by greening the economy. Now she needs to finish
by building an economic program organized around water — the resource
that most defines Michigan.
--
Joyce Braithwaite-Brickley
was assistant to the Michigan republican Party chairman and political
advisor and campaign manager for former Gov. William G. Milliken. Her
essays have appeared widely in the state.
priorities@charter.net -- A photo of Joyce Braithwaite-Brickley is
available CLICK HERE
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