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Article: Saving the great lakes: eight states and two Canadian provinces in the Great Lakes watershed are working to protect this important resource.
- Article from:
- State Legislatures
- Article date:
- May 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 National Conference of State Legislatures. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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We don't call them "great" for nothing. Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario make up the largest body of fresh water on the planet and provide drinking water for 42 million Americans and Canadians. There's enough water in the Great Lakes to cover the contiguous states nine feet deep.
Some 162 million tons of dry bulk cargo--iron ore, coal, stone, grain, salt, cement and potash--are shipped through the lakes every year. Some 20 percent of U.S. manufacturing takes place in cities along their shores. The Great Lakes area generates $5 billion a year in shipping business and $4 billion in the sport, commercial and Native American fishing industry.