[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 7320-7321]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     EARTH DAY AND THE GREAT LAKES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, this is Earth Day. This is the day when, in 
the simplest of terms, we are supposed to say smokestacks are bad and 
trees are good, that cars are bad and bicycles and buses are good. 
Those of us concerned about the environment, of course, realize that 
environmental issues have many more facets.
  Consider the case of the Great Lakes. It was in October, Mr. Speaker, 
that many of my colleagues gave unanimous approval to my resolution 
which called on the President and the other body to act to prevent the 
sale or diversion of Great Lakes water to foreign countries, 
businesses, corporations and individuals.

                              {time}  1245

  The House, speaking with one voice, asked that procedures be 
established to guarantee that any sale or diversion of Great Lakes 
water be fully negotiated and approved by representatives of the 
Governments of the United States and Canada.
  I want to remind our colleagues of this House action because, Mr. 
Speaker, there is another threat to the Great Lakes, one which is posed 
by the drilling of oil and gas in and under the waters of our Great 
Lakes.
  Let me take a few moments on this Earth Day to discuss water 
diversion and drilling in the Great Lakes. First, let me pose these 
questions: Are we being alarmists? Are diversion and drilling real 
threats to one of the world's most valuable resources?
  Consider, Mr. Speaker, these facts in terms of this potential impact 
on the

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Great Lakes. Seventy percent of the Earth's surface is covered with 
water, but 97.5 percent of that is sea water. Only 2.5 percent of the 
surface water is fresh water. And nearly 70 percent of the fresh water 
is frozen glacial water.
  The Great Lakes contains 6 trillion gallons of fresh water, one-fifth 
of the Earth's fresh water supply. The Great Lakes are home to 40 
million people. One-quarter of Canada's population lives in the Great 
Lakes basin.
  The World Bank predicts that by the year 2025, more than 3 billion 
people in 52 countries will suffer water shortages for drinking or 
sanitation. More than 300 cities in China right now are experiencing 
water shortages, and more than 100 are deemed to be in a condition of 
acute water scarcity. Citizens of the United States and Canada use and 
consume more than 100 gallons of water per day per person. The global 
water demand is doubling every 21 years. Eighty percent of all fresh 
water is used for agricultural purposes.
  I would like to thank the Buffalo News for many of these facts, Mr. 
Speaker. I present them as random facts because, like pieces of a 
puzzle, they must be analyzed and arranged to see their importance.
  The World Bank has studied this puzzle, and I call the attention of 
my colleagues to a quote from a World Bank report, which the Buffalo 
News used as the jump lead in a March 1999 story. The World Bank report 
predicted, ``Wars of the next century will be fought over water.''
  Are we really be willing alarmists? A company in Sault St. Marie, 
Ontario, just one company, was given a permit to take up to 2.6 million 
gallons per day of water for the next 5 years. I was joined by members 
of the Ontario parliament and the New Democratic Party in bringing 
public attention to this permit, which was then revoked by the Ontario 
government.
  But all fresh water will increasingly be eyed as a potential 
commodity on the world market.
  A Vancouver-based company, Global Water Corporation, has an agreement 
with the Alaskan community of Sitka to take water from a lake and ship 
it by tanker to China. The deal allows Global to take up to 5 billion 
gallons a year for 30 years.
  Now, I have spoken of just two companies. We know the market is 
there. We can easily see the overhead is minimal, the market is 
expanding, and the potential number of speculators and potential 
shippers is unlimited.
  Let me say that one more time, Mr. Speaker, that although I have 
mentioned China twice in my remarks, I am not attempting to invoke it 
as a threat to our own security. China is merely a customer who is in 
need of water now. The world, the entire world, will be eyeing our 
natural resources in the Great Lakes.
  As of today, the sale and diversion of Great Lakes water and all 
fresh water from North America remains unresolved. Following the House 
vote on my resolution, the U.S. and Canada have asked the international 
Joint Commission to study the issue of water diversion along the entire 
border from Alaska to the St. Lawrence River. Their preliminary report 
on diversion should be ready in about 5 months. A final report on our 
joint water resources should be done early next year.
  In the meantime, it is the policy of my home State of Michigan to 
press for drilling of oil and gas under the Great Lakes. Canada allows 
gas drilling directly in the Great Lakes. Proponents of oil drilling in 
the Great Lakes say the risk is minimal, small, tiny.
  I say tiny is too big. A gallon of oil spilled in Lake Superior would 
take 999 years to be cleared out by natural flow; Lake Michigan, 99 
years; Lake Huron, 60 years.
  So if my colleagues want to play Russian roulette, Mr. Speaker, how 
many barrels on their gun would they be comfortable with? 100,000? One 
million?
  I wish my colleagues in the Nation a happy Earth Day, and I ask them 
to consider my legislation to protect this valuable resource.

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