Alliance for the Great Lakes has been protecting, conserving, and restoring our Great Lakes for more than 50 years, and they have no intention of stopping any time soon.
Andrea Densham, Senior Strategic Adviser for Alliance for the Great Lakes, knows that one of the top problems for our Great Lakes is plastic pollution.
“Chelsea Rochman at the University of Toronto did a fantastic piece of research with her colleagues," said Densham. "It identified that nearly 90 percent of the surface water sampled across the Great Lakes have high levels of microplastics." For Rochman's complete study, click here.
Microplastics are extremely small pieces of plastic that occur in the environment as a consequence of plastic pollution.
As the studystates, "once in the environment, larger pieces of plastic can breakdown into smaller particles by way of several natural weathering processes. There is clear evidence that macroplastics harm individuals, populations, and communities in aquatic ecosystems."
“We estimate that around 22 million pounds enter the Great Lakes annually," said Densham. "Especially from Dr. Rochman’s research, that's probably a drastic underestimation of the amount of plastic that's entering our Great Lakes.”
"For many of us who have heard a lot of the research in the oceans, the same group of researchers at the University of Toronto noted that the amount of microplastics it in the surface water and the Great Lakes is actually in a higher concentration," said Densham. "So there's more of it, per square inch or centimeter, then there is in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. We think about that being really, really dense and awful. But we actually have higher concentration here in the Great Lakes. And the thing to remember about that is that the Great Lakes is a source of water."
According to Alliance for the Great Lakes, more than 40 million people rely on the Great Lakes for drinking water every day.
Joel Brammeier, the President and CEO of Alliance for the Great Lakes, sat down with FOX 17 to discuss why Alliance for the Great Lakes began. “The Great Lakes have endured a lot of hurt and a lot of harm over the decades from industrial pollution and overfishing," said Brammeier.
In 1970, a group came together to help clean up our vast freshwater resource, initially focusing on Lake Michigan. "It was really in response to a lot of big pollution problems of the day," said Brammeier. "So sewage overflows, industrial pollution, that was largely unregulated in the United States until 1972.”
As their efforts grew, they decided to expand Great Lakes wide.
“It became the Alliance for the Great Lakes in 2005," said Brammeier. "Since then, we've been working to ensure the Great Lakes are protected and restored." Their mission requires action.
"Our work includes working to clean up the Great Lakes, making sure that they are protected for today and for future generations," said Brammeier. They want to make sure that the waters of the Great Lakes remain available, safe, and clean for everyone who lives in the region. "We do this by advancing public policies that protect the Great Lakes, and doing the research and sharing information about the issues that we think people need to know about to prioritize the Great Lakes in their own lives.”
That just scratches the surface of what Alliance for the Great Lakes accomplishes. They fight for environmental justice by releasing policy recommendations, personally reduce plastic pollution in the Great Lakes through their Adopt-A-Beach volunteer program, and prevent invasive species.
Alliance for the Great Lakes has a hand in reducing the amount of plastic through their Adopt-A-Beach volunteer program, which is spearheaded by Olivia Reda.
“Every season, we have cleanups happening in every Great Lakes State bordering the Great Lakes,” said Reda. "In those cleanups, folks are removing litter from Great Lakes shorelines, litter that could otherwise end up in the Great Lakes that could be ingested by wildlife.”
In addition to removing the plastic, what they pick up during their volunteer events is converted into data and then sent out to researchers. "This is our 20th year of that data collection," said Reda. "We have data to sort of paint a picture about what we're finding on on Great Lakes shorelines.”
Alliance for the Great Lakes says that the bottom line is reducing how much plastic we use.
“Encourage our local municipalities. If you're in a synagogue or a church, if you're on the school board, if you're on the local city council, you can move things forward," said Densham. "If you work in small businesses, you can make purchasing decisions that make a really big difference.”
Sometimes the effort you give can simply be putting in the time.
"Whether it's swimming, or boating, or walking along the shoreline, or frankly, just drinking water out of the tap, you're participating in the protection of the Great Lakes," said Brammeier. "Because you're becoming more aware of how important this water is to all of us."
“At our core, our vision of the Alliance is a healthy, Great Lakes for all people and wildlife," said Brammeier. "We want to make sure that that's something that's available to everyone who lives here, and to every generation that may be here in the future.”
For ways you can help our Great Lakes and volunteer in their Adopt-A-Beach program, visit their website.
