We need champions. We need champions to achieve the visions that concerned citizens and our leaders seek. We need a champion to lead the cleanup of the air, water and land of the Great Lakes Basin.

I have promoted the preservation of the Great Lakes only to realize that the Great Lakes are more polluted now than when I started more than 60 years ago. This, in spite of the fact that during each of the past two years I have been given awards for outstanding grassroots advocacy. Obviously, advocacy is not enough!

Former Vice President Al Gore has been speaking about global warming for several years. He has presented at more than 100 schools and conferences. He has launched a promising program, a movie and a book, An Inconvenient Truth, to alert more of us to the dangers and the part we play in increasing global warming at an alarming rate. Understanding the problem should help us to develop a solution. By supporting this cause, Al Gore may very well evolve as the champion we need to lead us to changes in behavior that will prove to be necessary and beneficial to mankind.

In recent years, a champion, Congressman John D. Dingell, emerged and helped our leaders establish the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge (DRIWR), an environmental resource that is being protected and developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. I predict that by 2100 the DRIWR will be acclaimed Michigan’s greatest natural resource.

Additional international wildlife refuges should be created on the St. Mary’s and St. Clair rivers. (Both rivers flow between the U.S. and Canada.) The St. Mary’s River connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron. The St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair connect Lake Huron to the Detroit River. These potential international wildlife refuges could become world renowned for recreational fishing, boating, bird watching and other sightseeing pursuits.

We need to create conservation easements around each of the Great Lakes, the islands and both sides of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

We need a champion to preserve the great natural wealth of the Great Lakes and connecting waterways.

We need a champion to lead the way to block invasive species from being dumped into our waters.

We need a champion to show us how to slow the pollution of our water.

We have many leaders who have identified what can and should be done. We need champions to help us achieve our goals and fulfill our missions. The future demands that we succeed.