Rotary Battle Against Lake Erie Algae Likened to Rotary's Successful "End Polio" Campaign
A recent article published in The Toledo Blade makes clear why Rotary is the organization to marshal forces to solve Lake Erie's toxic algae crisis.Here's an excerpt:
(click on blue headline to read entire article)
Rotary tackles algae issue with same fervor as polio
BY TOM HENRY BLADE STAFF WRITER
The upcoming Rotary Lake Erie Crisis Conference mirrors several other symposiums held on the topic over the past year with one notable exception: Organizers are motivated by the group's worldwide efforts to help eradicate polio.
(Rotary's) most famous campaign is the near-eradication of polio, working with the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to promote global use of the Salk polio vaccine.
The same kind of passion used to address polio on a global scale is now being used to address algae and other water-quality issues on a global basis, including here in western Lake Erie.
BY TOM HENRY BLADE STAFF WRITER
The upcoming Rotary Lake Erie Crisis Conference mirrors several other symposiums held on the topic over the past year with one notable exception: Organizers are motivated by the group's worldwide efforts to help eradicate polio.
(Rotary's) most famous campaign is the near-eradication of polio, working with the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to promote global use of the Salk polio vaccine.
The same kind of passion used to address polio on a global scale is now being used to address algae and other water-quality issues on a global basis, including here in western Lake Erie.
The Rotary Lake Erie Watershed Crisis Conference
October 23 & 24 - Downtown Toledo
October 23 & 24 - Downtown Toledo
The Rotary Club of Toledo has organized the Rotary Lake Erie Watershed Crisis Conference, being held October 23 & 24, at the Grand Plaza Hotel & Conference Center in Downtown Toledo.
We have brought together the people with the best minds and resources to solve the toxic algae problem, once and for all, as only an independent, non-partisan, and politically neutral organization as Rotary can do.
Participants Include:
Cameron Davis
President Obama's "Great Lakes Czar"
Cam for politicos
Cam Davis' official title is Senior Advisor to the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the Great Lakes. As such, Davis is the chief federal official in charge of cleaning up the Great Lakes. He is also in charge of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the largest funding mechanism for cleanup of the Great Lakes.
Mr. Davis will be providing the keynote address at the Conference Dinner Friday night.
Jason WellerChief of NRCS
Jason Weller has served as Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) since July 2013. As Chief, he oversees programs that help protect the environment, preserve our natural resources and improve agricultural sustainability through voluntary, private-lands conservation. He leads a staff of more than 10,000 employees across the country and manages a budget of about $4 billion.
The NRCS is the division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that deals directly with agricultural soil and fertilizer runoff - the largest contributor to Lake Erie's toxic algae blooms.
Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur
(D) Ohio
kaptur for politicos
With a congressional district stretching from Toledo to the western suburbs of Cleveland, Congresswoman Kaptur's district covers more than 100 miles of Lake Erie shoreline - western Lake Erie. Ground zero for toxic algae blooms. Ms. Kaptur has been instrumental in looking for solutions, and successfully pushing legislation to fund solutions to Lake Erie's toxic algae bloom crisis.
Senator Randy GardnerOhio Senate District 2
Senator Gardner's Senate District 2 covers more Lake Erie shoreline than any other Ohio Senate District, including the popular tourist destinations of the Lake Erie Islands and Sandusky/Cedar Point.
Randy has served alternately in the Ohio Senate and Ohio House of Representatives continuously since 1985, and has held the roles of House Speaker Pro Tem and Senate Majority Leader.
Sen. Gardner was the sponsor of the Budget Amendment establishing the Healthy Lake Erie Fund, and he sponsored the Clean Lake Erie Act of 2015, which makes it illegal to dump dredging materials into the lake, and also sets limitations on farmers, prohibiting them from spreading manure or fertilizer on frozen ground, which increases nutrient runoff into rivers and Lake Erie.
For his work on Lake Erie issues, Sen. Gardner has been honored by both The Nature Conservancy of Ohio and the Ohio Environmental Council as Legislator of the Year.
Some highlights of the conference:
Friday, October 23, features social, "getting acquainted" events, including a cocktail reception at the National Museum of the Great Lakes, tours of a Great Lakes freighter, banquet dinner at the Grand Plaza Hotel & Conference Center with keynote speaker Cameron Davis.
Saturday, October 24, we get down to work, learning the history and causes of the toxic algae blooms, the choices of remedies, and then we'll choose which remedies to pursue.
Friday, October 23, features social, "getting acquainted" events, including a cocktail reception at the National Museum of the Great Lakes, tours of a Great Lakes freighter, banquet dinner at the Grand Plaza Hotel & Conference Center with keynote speaker Cameron Davis.
Saturday, October 24, we get down to work, learning the history and causes of the toxic algae blooms, the choices of remedies, and then we'll choose which remedies to pursue.
Join us as we begin our battle. Click here to register for the conference we believe will be the beginning of the end of the toxic algae crisis in Lake Erie.
Questions?