Lake Erie’s Political Waters
- Algae blooms were less prevalent on Lake Erie this year, following 2015’s bloom, the largest on record. In 2014, algae blooms affected the tapwater of the Lake Erie West region for two days. The reduced rainfall and decreased moisture in the climate is responsible for this year’s reduction, as less sewage plant waste and phosphorus runoff from farms ended up in waterways. The only recent year that saw an even more decreased level of algae blooms occurred in 2012.
- The Toledo Rotary Club held a “Taking the politics out… and just doing the right thing” summit regarding the Battle for Lake Erie.
- According to Lt. Governor Mary Taylor, the lake is not “impaired” and proclaiming it as such would be, “Only symbolic, harmful to the economy, and no more effective than our current measures.”
- Mike Ferner, a local activist, sharply disagreed, stating that while commercial fertilizer is responsible for more phosphorus than manure if applied correctly, manure isn’t being applied correctly, resulting in our current dilemma. Manure is much cheaper than commercial fertilizer, more abundant and quite simply, a bigger waste product to be disbursed, rendering it more abundantly applied and with “13 million animals in the 147 Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in the area, manure is a major issue right now that, with all due respect to the Lt. Governor, cannot be ignored.”
- LEEDCO, the Lake Erie Energy Development Commission, has proposed an offshore wind farm with claims that it will be minimally invasive to wildlife and the lake. The wind farm, part of the development project named Icebreaker, plans to position six to ten turbines offshore, capable of generating 21 megawatts of electricity. An environmental consultant employed by LEEDCO stated that “It’s the lowest-risk project I’ve ever worked on.”
- Algae blooms were less prevalent on Lake Erie this year, following 2015’s bloom, the largest on record. In 2014, algae blooms affected the tapwater of the Lake Erie West region for two days. The reduced rainfall and decreased moisture in the climate is responsible for this year’s reduction, as less sewage plant waste and phosphorus runoff from farms ended up in waterways. The only recent year that saw an even more decreased level of algae blooms occurred in 2012.
- The Toledo Rotary Club held a “Taking the politics out… and just doing the right thing” summit regarding the Battle for Lake Erie.
- According to Lt. Governor Mary Taylor, the lake is not “impaired” and proclaiming it as such would be, “Only symbolic, harmful to the economy, and no more effective than our current measures.”
- Mike Ferner, a local activist, sharply disagreed, stating that while commercial fertilizer is responsible for more phosphorus than manure if applied correctly, manure isn’t being applied correctly, resulting in our current dilemma. Manure is much cheaper than commercial fertilizer, more abundant and quite simply, a bigger waste product to be disbursed, rendering it more abundantly applied and with “13 million animals in the 147 Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in the area, manure is a major issue right now that, with all due respect to the Lt. Governor, cannot be ignored.”
- LEEDCO, the Lake Erie Energy Development Commission, has proposed an offshore wind farm with claims that it will be minimally invasive to wildlife and the lake. The wind farm, part of the development project named Icebreaker, plans to position six to ten turbines offshore, capable of generating 21 megawatts of electricity. An environmental consultant employed by LEEDCO stated that “It’s the lowest-risk project I’ve ever worked on.”
