Pelicans soaked in oil sludge. Shrimp fisherman wondering aloud what they'll do to make a living now. Whole communities, dependent on tourism, now virtual ghost towns. The BP spill has ruined lives, destroyed jobs, and permanently damaged the Gulf waters to maximize its profits.

Now imagine it happened here.

If friends of dirty energy succeed in opening the Great Lakes to Big Oil, we could be next. It could be our $9 billion boating and $7 billion fishing industries washed away by a flood of tar balls. The Great Lakes are what so many of us love about living in Michigan - and they're also the lifeblood of our economy.

The Lower Perkiomen Valley Regional Sewer Authority (LPVRSA) plans to double its capacity by constructing a new sewer line along the Perkiomen Creek.

There is no data that proves the need to increase sewer capacity. The middle section alone will cost over nine million dollars. Where is the money coming from? All ratepayers are expected to pay part of this in rate increases, and future developers are expected to pay as well. Don't feed sprawl: Help protect the Perkiomen Creek from sewer development.

Ask Gov. Granholm to reduce diesel emissions pollution.

Diesel pollution is bad for our health! Pollution from diesel vehicles like buses and trucks will cause an estimated 443 premature deaths in Michigan in 2010, as well as 648 non-fatal heart attacks, 15,004 asthma attacks, and 57,561 lost work days. Our children are particularly at risk.

Recently, Gov. Jennifer Granholm took a big first step toward cleaner air and healthier families in Michigan when she signed an Executive Directive calling for idling limitations for state vehicles.

While we applaud the governor for her efforts, we need help to make even bigger strides to protect our health and our environment, and create good-paying jobs in Michigan.

Sign our petition calling on Gov. Granholm to take another step forward for Michigan families.

Create your virtual baby and join the crawl

Help send a million babies to Washington, DC, to push for reform of the outdated and ineffective Toxic Substances Control Act, so that we are all protected from harmful toxins. Join the Million Baby Crawl to DC online by creating your own virtual baby.

Chemicals are currently regulated by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), a decades-old law that experts say has utterly failed to keep the nation’s environment and its citizens safe from materials that cause cancer and a host of other serious illnesses. In fact, in the 33 years since TCSA was enacted, the EPA has required testing on only 200 of the more than 80,000 chemical compounds now in use.

This year, we have an opportunity make real progress toward building a new energy economy -- to reduce global warming pollution, create jobs and improve the quality of life in the Granite State. The New Hampshire Department of Transportation wants to re-introduce passenger rail service linking Concord, Hooksett, Manchester, Bedford (for the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport), Merrimack, and Nashua with Boston.

Clean Water Action and coalition partners call on our leaders and on all sectors of society to embark on an Energy Empowerment Revolution that will protect all the inhabitants of this state from the ravages of recession and cold winter winds and to secure the future for our children and our planet. Please take a moment to review the Declaration of Energy Empowerment's (Link to Declaration PDF) goals calling for $1 billion dollars to weatherize every building and home in Massachusetts. This initiative would create over 10,000 jobs, help pull people out of poverty with decent paying jobs, and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Clean Water Action is working to make a clean, renewable energy economy a reality in Minnesota and on the national level. We advocate for strong, science-based policies both in the State Legislature and Congress.
In the state, Clean Water Action advocates for a variety of clean energy policies, focused primarily on Cap, Auction and Trade legislation - to reduce Global Warming pollution quickly and effectively.

To beat back global warming, we need to summon a new natural resource — real political will.  Help raise the voices of Great Lakes residents on federal climate change legislation!

Sign up to be a Climate Precinct Captain with 1Sky and Clean Water Action today!        

Join Clean Water Action & 1Sky Michigan to send a clear message to our leaders that America wants bold action on climate change. Tell them to support solutions for a better future for the Great Lakes State and the rest of the nation!