Great Lakes For Sale: From Whitecaps to Bottlecaps

May 7: The UM Press has released an announcement and interview with Dave Dempsey, author of, Great Lakes for sale from Whitecaps to Bottlecaps. According to the UM Press announcement, "This is a book for anyone interested in saving the Great Lakes, a huge fresh-water system that contains about 25 percent of the world's fresh surface water. The book asks -- and answers -- important questions about the export and diversion of Great Lakes water. Not only does Great Lakes for Sale examine past and present water-diversion practices; it also shows readers what they can do to save this natural resource." The book contains a Foreword by Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI).

Congressman Stupak says, "Dave Dempsey's book is an important part of the effort to remind people why commercialization of Great Lakes water is a dangerous threat. It's not simply a matter of how much water in the short term is bottled and shipped away; the long-term threat is control of water and the possibility that private interests will assert ownership of the very substance of the Great Lakes. This is an issue that could determine the fate of the Great Lakes."

In the interview, Dempsey, former environmental advisor to Michigan Governor James Blanchard (1983-89) says, "The public trust doctrine reaches back to the Roman empire. It essentially says that some natural resources are so precious they are the common heritage of humankind. Water, the source of life, is one of those. By adhering to the doctrine, the people (through their governments) can assure Great Lakes water is accessible to all now and in the future – not hoarded and owned and sold by giant special interests." Dempsey is the author of two other books: Ruin and Recovery: Michigan's Rise as a Conservation Leader and William G. Milliken: Michigan's Passionate Moderate. He now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Access the announcement and interview (click here). Access additional information from UM Press on obtaining the books and links to related websites (click here).