What the Public Can Do

Many people feel that the Great Lakes are important to their daily lives, however only a few people feel that they can really contribute to protecting the Great Lakes.

You don’t have to be a scientist and find a solution to climate change, pollution or invasive species to help protect the Great Lakes, you just need to be aware of what little things you can do to help like educating yourself about the Great Lakes and what you can do to protect them.

In “A Citizen’s Guide to Protecting the Great Lakes” published by The Sierra Club, you can learn about how to reduce polluted runoff water,  protect beaches, reduce the flow of toxic contaminants, keep invasive species out of the Great Lakes, and protect the Great Lakes habitat with a few simple steps.

In 2011, a first-of-its-kind Great Lakes summit combined four conferences in Detroit: the International Joint commission; Environmental protection Agency, U.S. Areas of Concern Program; Great Lakes Commission; and Environment Canada/ Healing Our Water. The Great Lakes Week conference was the first time such a big conference about the Great Lakes was televised for the world to see, engage in, and learn from.

Knowing and understanding the issues in the Great Lakes are the first and easiest way for the public to help protect the Great Lakes however if there is no platform for the Great Lakes, how will be public learn about what they can do?

That is where Great Lakes Now comes into play. With televised conferences and town halls on Great Lakes topics available to the public for free on TV or online, it gives the public knowledge about the issues that affect millions of people.

You need to keep the public educated and engaged with the Great Lakes. The more people see and hear about the Great Lakes in forums, on television and online, then the more it stays in their mind and projecting them becomes a trend and that is knowledgeable with everyone.