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6 Chi.-Kent J. Env't Energy L. 1 (2015-2016)

handle is hein.journals/jeel6 and id is 1 raw text is: SECURING THE SYSTEM: IDEAS IN LAW AND POLICY TO CONTINUE MOMENTUM FOR SAFEGUARDING THE GREAT LAKES CAMERON DAVIS1 It is ironic that, with six quadrillion gallons of water in bodies visible from outer space, holding roughly twenty percent of the Earth's fresh surface water, and a shoreline nearly 11,000 miles long, the Great Lakes are still often overlooked.2 For close to two centuries, the Lakes have been neglected and viewed primarily as a source of materials, supplying fish, sand for manufacturing, clean water, and other building blocks for commerce. But the Lakes are much more than that. They are also a resource that requires maintenance so they can keep renewing a region known for recreation, drinking water, and industry for products exported on a global scale. The effort of this renewal-restoring ecological function, which in turn can support a more sustainable regional, national and even binational economy-is critical to strengthen the Lakes as our region's life support system. This article is an abbreviated history of: (I) damage to the Great Lakes; (II) more modern efforts to restore the ecosystem; and (III) a brief roadmap for continuing these restoration efforts even more effectively into the future. I. DAMAGE To understand how to restore the Great Lakes, we have to go back two centuries to understand how they were damaged in the first place. Cameron Davis is the Senior Advisor to the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The views and positions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of the U.S. EPA. Special thanks to Kate Balasa, special assistant at U.S. EPA, for assistance. 2 Great Lakes Information Network, Great Lakes Facts and Figures, GLIN, http://www.great- lakes.net/lakes/ref/lakefact.html (last visited Oct. 2, 2016). 1