On The Fighting Bob Blog, the reasons are enumerated.
And isn't it ironic, perhaps lamentable is a better word, that the permit applications to ramp up refining at the Murphy Oil facility in Superior seven-fold are being formulated just as the Great Lakes Compact is to be debated in Wisconsin?
The Compact is an effort to preserve the Great Lakes: other efforts are underway to address invasive species and other water quality issues, as consciousness grows nationally and internationally about the many threats to the planet's fresh water - - and 20% of the world's supply of fresh surface water are the Great Lakes.
So on the one hand in Wisconsin, which is getting into the game late there will be in a week or two a full-court legislative press to adopt the Compact and help secure water conservation in the Great Lakes.
On the other hand, there will be a push to bring the big refinery expansion online, on hundreds of acres of filled-in Lake Superior wetlands, using Lake Superior water by the millions of gallons daily in production, with inevitable airborne pollutants or straight-up toxic seepage finding their way into Lake Superior - - still the cleanest of the five Great Lakes.
Suggests something of a disconnect in Great Lakes stewardship in our state, doesn't it?
Recent studies show that the region would gain $50 Billion from the positive impacts of restoration.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.healthylakes.org/news-events/news_story/2007/09/05/50-billion-in-economic-benefit-hinge-on-restoration-of-great-lakes,
I think we should be looking into restoration and preservation of industries that don't harm the lake, rather than unsustainable, dirty industries like oil refining.