"Obama Admin Breathes New Life Into Long-Delayed Great Lakes Restoration Program"

"Decades of languishing industrial pollution, combined with emerging threats like invasive species and a spike in a new chemical compounds known as endocrine disrupters, have rendered large sections of the Great Lakes inhospitable to both humans and wildlife.

Yet, years of accumulated knowledge on such problems has not translated into real solutions for the lakes, whose stature as a national and even global source of freshwater has grown in recent years as climate change and other environmental stresses threaten to dry up freshwater resources in other regions.

Recognizing the clock is ticking on the lakes' recovery prospects, U.S. EPA is rolling out a new package of restoration programs that could begin shifting the Great Lakes back toward ecological health. The program, known as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, is backed by a $475 million pledge from the White House and House of Representatives, which approved full funding for the program in June."

Daniel Cusick and Patrick Reis report for Greenwire August 13, 2009.