Great Lakes Governors Sign Protection Deal

kewl! while the powers that be are working hard to privatize water
in the state of Texas, this is some good news for a change

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2005/12/13/ap2389591.html

The governors of eight states and two Canadian provinces have signed
an agreement that would prevent outsiders such as the booming cities
of the Southwest from raiding Great Lakes water.

The pact, reached last month after four years of talks, also seeks to
encourage conservation of water by the states and Canadian provinces
around the Great Lakes. It allows lake water to be transferred only
to communities within the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin.

"The lakes represent a fresh water ecosystem that's unique on our
planet, supporting thousands of species, including human beings.
These agreements will protect our Great Lakes from the threats of
diversions outside this basin," said Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, the
incoming chairman of the Council of Great Lakes Governors.

The pact was motivated largely by fears that states in the booming
but arid Southwest will try tapping into the lakes, which hold 90
percent of the nation's fresh surface water, as their populations and
political clout grow.

Molly Flanagan, Great Lakes water resources advocate for the National
Wildlife Federation, said available fresh water will become the "new
oil" as more states and countries begin looking for the resource.

"Look at statistics from the United Nations and you'll see clean
water is increasingly scarce throughout the world," Flanagan said.

The agreement requires the approval of legislatures in all eight
states before Congress could consider making it law.