Hi Craig, I don't know if this will interest you, but I thought I'd pass it along. I got this through email from the Park District...
Dear Concerned Citizen:
The City of Chicago and Chicago Park District are concerned about the planned expansion at BP's Whiting Refinery. With this intended expansion a considerable amount of additional ammonia and industrial sludge will be polluting Lake Michigan, the very source our city depends on for fresh water.
We are outraged at the exemption BP has received from state environmental laws by Indiana state regulators threatening the efforts of the last 30 years to preserve and protect the Great Lakes, our region's greatest natural resource. We are so fortunate to have one of the world's largest sources of fresh water right at our doorstep and we need to take action in protecting this resource.
On Saturday, July 21 and Sunday, July 22 we will be staging a volunteer effort along the City of Chicago entire Lakefront to Save Our Lake. We will be asking everyone to help out by signing a petition to Save Our Lake. In addition we are recruiting volunteers to help in these efforts by informing citizens about the detrimental effects of dumping ammonia and industrial sludge in Lake Michigan and seeking additional signatures for petitions.
Clean, fresh water is an essential human necessity that we require to sustain a healthy lifestyle. It is a basic human right. We must unify to preserve and protect this valued natural resource, Lake Michigan, so that future generations can use and enjoy its clean water. I urge you to join us in asking for BP's leadership in its protection, rather than its destruction.
To start getting signatures in your neighborhood, click here to download a copy of the petition. If you are interested in helping Save Our Lake this weekend please call 312.742.4775 or email us at janis.taylor@chicagoparkdistrict.com.
I checked and there should be someone at Loyola Beach taking signatures. So, if any of your readers are out this weekend for a summers walk at the water, maybe they could keep an eye out and sign the petition.
Just a heads up!
Thanks~
Robin
3 comments:
Thank you....
Clean water - It's a basic human right? I didn't see that in the bible or constitution, nor did I ever think of water as a "right".
Also while the lake is "the very source our city depends on for fresh water." we do have plenty of sanitation plants in place to protect us.
While I support your efforts to keep the lake clean, I think you are selling it the wrong way.
Take out the alarmist, how dare a big company attitude, and look at it from a legal perspective.
Take the emotion out of the argument, regardless of how important it is to you, and fight with logic.
Access to "the minimum essential food which is sufficient, nutritionally adequate and safe" as well as "sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water" are considered basic human rights internationally. International consensus on this issue has been in place for decades.
Governments are responsible for providing access to adequate food to eliminate hunger, malnutrition and starvation. The right to food is directly addressed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations (1948).
Governments must assure citizens of accessibility, availability and security of food and water. Availability is the very presence of food or means of production of food in a community or household; this includes a water source. Accessibility is the ability of the people to actually obtain the available food and resources; in many countries accessibility is more of a problem than the actual availability. Security means that food and water are always available and accessible to the population, both in the present and for future generations.
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