Jan 12: Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) released the results of a study conducted by the Detroit District of the Army Corps of Engineers estimating the annual economic impact -- both direct and secondary -- of recreational boating on the Great Lakes at $9.4 billion, including $5.1 billion in sales and $1.8 billion in personal income. According to the report, an average of 911,000 boaters visit the Great Lakes annually, supporting 60,000 jobs.
Levin said, “This study clearly demonstrates that hundreds of thousands of recreational boaters come to the Great Lakes every year because the lakes are such a treasure, and they bring with them billions of dollars in economic activity and jobs. Recreational boating is an important part of our economy in Michigan and around the Great Lakes and this study provides further support for federal funding to keep this economic engine running.”
The Great Lakes Recreational Boating Report, prepared in accordance with Public Law 106-53, the Water Resources Development Act of 1999 (WRDA), Section 455(c), analyzes the economic importance of recreational boating to the Great Lakes states by tracing the flow of spending throughout the regional economy. In particular, the report finds that the nearly one million recreational boaters on the Great Lakes spend $2.44 billion each year on boating trips and $1.44 billion each year on boats, equipment and supplies.
The U.S. Coast Guard’s registration data for 2003 indicated that there were almost 4.3 million recreational boats in the eight Great Lakes states (including boats registered both within and outside the Great Lakes basin) that year. This comprised a third of all U.S. recreational vessels, and represented a 1.3 percent increase over the five-year period between 1999 and 2003. Michigan is first among Great Lakes states having nearly one million registered recreational boats, less than half of which belong to people living in coastal counties.
It is estimated that there are more than a quarter million marina slips available in Great Lakes states. About 51 percent of the slips are located in counties fronting the Great lakes and 89 percent are seasonal rental slips. An average of 93 percent of the
accessible seasonal slips in the counties that border the Great Lakes were occupied during the summer of 2003. About 107,000 boats were kept in Great Lakes marinas during the boating season. These boat owners spent $665 million on trip-related expenses and $529 million on craft-related items.
Access a release from Senator Levin (click here). Access the complete 103-page report (click here).
Showing posts with label Economics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Economics. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
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).
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).
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Brookings Institution Report On Great Lakes Economic Leadership
Mar 28: The Brookings Institution has issued a new report entitled, The Vital Connection: Reclaiming Great Lakes Economic Leadership in the Bi-National U.S.-Canadian Region.
The report recommends the following: establishing a bi-national innovation fund that targets investment and research in next-generation energy technologies, the science of the Great Lakes, and areas such as advanced manufacturing and medical health; enhancing and marketing the "Freshwater Coast" with a deeper investment in Great Lakes restoration and the establishment of a new Great Lakes Coastal Development Authority; improving the movement of goods along the U.S.-Canada border; creating a common market in the Great Lakes region for human capital and commerce; and setting and meeting renewable energy standards and carbon-reduction goals.
According to the report, "The bi-national Great Lakes region can continue to model what economic regions will look like in the global economy -- and also how they can thrive. To realize this vision will require leadership and purposeful actions that acknowledge the unique opportunities provided by the Great Lakes economy. Only the U.S. president and Congress, along with the Canadian prime minister and Parliament, can promote understanding of the economic opportunities to be realized. Working together, and working with federal leadership, the opportunity is real for the Great Lakes region to forge a new economic leadership position, and serve anew as a model for world economic and social innovation."
Access the complete 28-page report (click here). Access a presentation to Canadian officials (click here). Access the Brookings the Great Lakes Economic Initiative website (click here).
The report recommends the following: establishing a bi-national innovation fund that targets investment and research in next-generation energy technologies, the science of the Great Lakes, and areas such as advanced manufacturing and medical health; enhancing and marketing the "Freshwater Coast" with a deeper investment in Great Lakes restoration and the establishment of a new Great Lakes Coastal Development Authority; improving the movement of goods along the U.S.-Canada border; creating a common market in the Great Lakes region for human capital and commerce; and setting and meeting renewable energy standards and carbon-reduction goals.
According to the report, "The bi-national Great Lakes region can continue to model what economic regions will look like in the global economy -- and also how they can thrive. To realize this vision will require leadership and purposeful actions that acknowledge the unique opportunities provided by the Great Lakes economy. Only the U.S. president and Congress, along with the Canadian prime minister and Parliament, can promote understanding of the economic opportunities to be realized. Working together, and working with federal leadership, the opportunity is real for the Great Lakes region to forge a new economic leadership position, and serve anew as a model for world economic and social innovation."
Access the complete 28-page report (click here). Access a presentation to Canadian officials (click here). Access the Brookings the Great Lakes Economic Initiative website (click here).
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