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River
Currents Newsletter - July 2009 |
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Dire
Forecast. Where's The Action?
Every year we hear forecasts and reports
about the
Dead Zone. By this we mean the
growing Mississippi River area in the Gulf
of Mexico that's incapable of producing or
supporting life due to severely depleted
oxygen levels. We hear the annual
pronouncements of the severity and its
growth, but no unifying action results. What
will it take, many ask, to find a
whole-River approach to this system-wide
problem?
At America's Waterway, we say what about a
National Dialogue for the Future of
the Mississippi River? We're
talking about a time in place where all the
players - the agricultural and industrial
interests, along with the scientists,
tourism promoters and cultural heritage
aficionados - take a day to discuss
possibilities for a national approach to the
Mississippi River.
Right now, we never get beyond the
perspective - or regulatory vantage point -
of one state or grouping of municipalities.
The people who actually experience the Dead
Zone can easily see the effects of upstream
practices. Getting that across to people who
cause the Dead Zone, when urgent, immediate,
local River problems take precedent is
almost impossible. And even if they could
address the problem where they are, the
solution requires jurisdictional cooperation
and whole-River coordination. It's the
aquatic equivalent of needing a federal
stimulus package, but no political
constituency exists with enough clout to
push for action.
We could wait until there are no shrimp left
for people to eat and see if there will be
enough shrimp eaters to lobby Congress for a
solution. Unfortunately, the economic
hardship of a single group doesn't often
muster enough to create legislation, let
alone pass it.
And, is a solution to the Dead Zone really
all that's needed as far as the future of
the Mississippi is concerned? From
conversations we've had up and down the
Mississippi River, issues of urban
development, cultural heritage, recreation
and economic development have many groups
and individuals asking why this major
ecological and cultural resource isn't
handled comprehensively as a water system,
like the
Great Lakes or the
Chesapeake Bay?
At America's Waterway, we've created a
process for addressing the Mississippi as a
national treasure and as a resource. It's a
combination of grass roots organizing using
a tried and true process called the
21st Century Town Hall Meeting and
placing the results of the Meeting on an
on-line community Web site for collective
action. It's not confined to one solution
over another. Rather, it's designed to set
up a process for finding a whole- River,
system-wide approach to the Mississippi.
Even though it's not a direct, frontal
attack on the causes of the Dead Zone, it
holds the promise of a process that could
unify the Mississippi so a whole-River
solution - with all the parties involved -
could emerge.
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August Conference
to Address Vision
for Sustainable
Mississippi |
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The
National Great
Rivers Research and
Education Center and
the Nature
Conservancy will
host a national
conference Aug. 10 -
13 in Collinsville,
IL that will feature
speakers who will
explore the
recreational,
navigation, and
agricultural
attributes of the
Mississippi River
and its future. The
conference will
culminate with a
special
policy forum
where
recommendations will
be delivered to key
elected officials.
Go to
www.Conferences.uiuc.edu/mississippiriver
for the latest
details on the
conference. |
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For more information please email:
www.americaswaterway.org |
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