Environment

Many have described the Great Lakes as the linchpin for the region’s economy as well as its cultural identity. The lakes and surrounding watershed are a wealth of biological diversity—supporting more than 130 rare species and myriad ecosystems—while providing water for consumption, recreation, transportation, and energy generation.

Yet, despite their large size, the Great Lakes still face a number of challenges. Problems such as air and water pollution, invasive species, and the harmful impact of global climate change are damaging the delicate watersheds of the region. Joyce has responded to these environmental threats by making significant investments in both clean energy and clean water.

Within the region, one of the greatest threats to the environment and the health of citizens is coal-fired power plants, a heavily-used method for power generation in the Midwest. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), emissions from these power plants account for one-third of the total carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere in the Great Lakes region. UCS cites coal emissions as significant contributors to respiratory illnesses such as chronic bronchitis and aggravated asthma.

In 2005, dozens of proposals to build new coal-fired power plants in the region were under consideration. If approved, the investments needed for these plants would have crowded cleaner energy resources out of the market and locked the region into several more decades of harmful energy production that would contribute to global warming, as well as smog, acid rain, and mercury poisoning.

That same year, Joyce launched a new clean energy strategy, in part, to stop the development of the proposed coal plants that would not capture their global warming pollution and also to accelerate the adoption of enhanced technology that would do so.

For example, Joyce grantees, Izaak Walton League of America (the League), and Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA), joined other stakeholders in the region to prevent the construction of a coal-fired power plant known as Big Stone II that would have primarily generated power for Minnesota. Using both legal strategies and a widespread public education and outreach campaign, the League, MCEA, and their partners spread the word about the massive carbon pollution impacts of Big Stone II and emphasized the environmental and economic risks of the plant. By 2009, investors pulled away from the project and construction plans were scrapped.

“Stopping the construction of Big Stone II was a significant victory for both utility customers and the environment,” said William Grant, associate executive director of the League. “Across the region, there are alternative sources of power that are cheaper for consumers and better for the environment. Tapping these resources will save us money, make us healthier, and ultimately curb global warming emissions.”

Using many of the same successful economic and environmental arguments that were used in Minnesota, Joyce grantees Ohio Environmental Council and the Natural Resources Defense Council played key roles in a coalition that succeeded in securing the cancellation of plans to build a coal plant in Ohio in 2009. With the defeat of these two projects, the dozens of proposed new Midwest coal plants are effectively reduced to a single, new project currently pending in Michigan.

In 2009, Joyce grantees scored another environmental victory by advocating for significant federal funding to restore and protect the Great Lakes. During his candidacy, President Obama pledged $5 billion to protect and restore the Great Lakes and his administration has developed a five-year plan to make that promise a reality. In the FY2010 federal budget, Congress approved a substantial down payment toward that pledge by including $475 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), double the investment in such Great Lakes programs from 2008.

This increased funding will help improve Great Lakes protection and restoration by focusing on five key areas: toxic substance clean-up and prevention; control and reduction of invasive species; decrease in agriculture run-off and soil erosion; protection and restoration of wildlife and habitats; and collaborative monitoring and evaluation among Great Lakes regulatory agencies and authorities.

A clean and healthy Great Lakes Basin could pay real dividends for residents as the region looks to rebound from severe economic challenges. According to a cost-benefit analysis conducted by the Brookings Institution and funded by Joyce grantee the Council of Great Lakes Industries, continued investments in restoration activities could lead to billions in direct economic benefits—including increased tourism dollars, higher property values, and reduced water treatment costs in the region. The study concluded that restoring the health of the Great Lakes could create $50 billion in economic benefits for the region—almost twice the amount it would cost to restore the lakes.

“The health of our lakes has a significant impact not only on the quality of our lives, but also on the bottom line of the regional and national economy,” said Andy Buchsbaum, executive director of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Center which collaborated on the study. “Investments made to restore the Great Lakes will help to protect a treasured natural resource and preserve the region for generations to come.”