1997 GREAT LAKES STUDENTS SUMMIT PRESENTATION

Tina Preston, 1997 Great Lakes Students Summit, Buffalo, NY

Yes, I agree. Tough act to follow. Good afternoon, my name is Tina Preston and I am from Buffalo, New York. I am one of many coordinators of the 1997 Great Lakes Students Summit which was held in Buffalo this past May.

This is our Biennial Great Lakes Students Summit. The first one was held in May of 1995. We hope it will be one of many, many more students summits that will be happening around the Great Lakes basin for the many, many years to come.

In May of this past year, 225 students and their teachers from throughout the entire Great Lakes basin came to Buffalo New York from grades five through nine. At that time, they learned all about Great Lakes water quality issues, toured watershed in the Buffalo area. They shared their concerns, their projects, what they were doing, many were similar ones to those you just saw. Most importantly, they collaboratively got together and talked about what their vision is for the future, and their vision for 2022. We were very pleased to be joined by Commissioner Alice Chamberlin at that event and we wish to thank her once again for taking the time to be there with us. In addition to the staff, Doug Bondy and others who are so wonderful in helping us put our event together. We wish to encourage the IJC and both governments to facilitate additional events such as our and the one that happened in Pennsylvania. We think it is incredibly important and applaud your efforts to this point and couldn't stress enough the need for your support in the future.

Back in May, although our summit was two years in the planning, we originally intended to bring our message to Biennial Meeting in 1997 and many of you know in May, we didn't have a Biennial Meeting so we decided that if the IJC won't give us a vehicle for us to come to them, we'll invite the IJC to us, and Alice did join us which pleased us. We cannot say enough how thrilled we are that there is a Public Forum right now for us, our students to be heard and others to be heard, and citizens throughout the Great Lakes basin. Our students will be the first the tell you that the need for such a thing is incredibly important.

Our presentation is a little unique, so I request that you do the best to pay attention. We won't be at microphones to give it but I hope that you will listen. Not all the students could be here, all 225, although we sure wish they could. So they have requested that I bring their mascot which they carried throughout the 2-1/2 days in Buffalo and which became part of the whole essence and mission of what they were doing and why they were here. It is my honor to present to you an extraordinary group of young people who have worked very hard for the last two years and wish to present to you their vision for 2020 in regards to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Please join me in welcoming the 1997 Great Lakes Students Summit delegation.

[Presentation from floor without microphone -- summary follows]

1997 Great Lakes Student Summit, Our Vision for 2022

By the year 2010 we see an environment above and beyond the expectations we have now. We find pure water, fresh air, bountiful land, healthy food, and ecologically-conscious citizens. No longer will people accept pollutants to be released to the ecosystem.

By the year 2022 we see an environment cleaned of the pollutants from the past to a point where they will not be a threat to any living creature.

In order for our vision to become reality, we must take action now. With the concerns for ourselves and future generations, now is the time to set goals for solving the problems that we are faced with today and prevent new problems from arising. Our thoughts on what to do are:

• no more pollution after 2010
• complete recycling and reduced packaging in communities and businesses to stop any long-term wastes from going to landfills
• more respect for the environment
• clean rivers and streams and lakes for fishing and swimming
• plenty of preserved lands, wildlife habitats, and green spaces
• safe, beautiful cities to help stop more houses and buildings from being built where forests and farm lands are now
• clean, safe transportation methods that use renewable energy
• schools that teach by practicing ecological principles.

Our main goal is to convince The United States and Canadian Governments with the assistance of the International Joint Commission [IJC] to initiate the global effort to reach zero discharge of pollutants by 2010. Our main objectives are to have the IJC:

1. Within one year recommend and design planning seminars for the major polluting industries. These groups would be composed of members from the industries, governments, research labs, United Nations, and environmental advocates.
2. Participate in the planning seminars which will complete their work by the year 2000. The plans will include inventories of their pollutants, a timeline for reaching zero discharge, government incentives and deterrents, methods to share information, support for joint research, marketing ideas to support the industries, and ways to provide jobs.
3. Participate in on-going monitoring of the progress towards zero discharge.

Cleaning up current pollutants in the environment will take much longer but the goal of being virtually clean by 2022 is reachable. The IJC can help by setting specific goals and publicizing these goals.

In closing, we the participants of the 1997 Great Lakes Student Summit contend both the U.S. and Canadian Governments do everything possible to fulfill the vision put forth in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.

Chairman Baldini

I thought sometimes you people made demands on us. I mean -- Woo! By the way, that vision statement is part of the time capsule so future generations, when it is resurrected in 25 years, that vision statement is a part of that time capsule.

I was sitting here thinking, when we first started 25 years ago, were we going to make any accomplishment and where are we going to be in 25 years from now. But with people out there already excited and involved very knowledgeable -- I think we have a very solid basis to move this whole process forward. Let's give them another round of applause, they were great. Also, I think we'll see these students again in two years.

We are now at that point in the program where we are going to open it up for comments. House lights please. As you know, we always take the opportunity to hear from the public in groups like we have just heard and also from individuals who have some comments, points to make, issues to bring before us. We take those comments very seriously. We also ask that when you come to the microphone, you identify yourself and that you keep your comments as close as possible to a three to five minute timeframe. We also ask everyone else in the audience to be respectful of what other people have to say. That has always been something we like to advocate, is that we respect other people's rights to make comments on particular issues brought before us. You'll each have an opportunity to speak. Again, we ask that you treat one another as you, yourself would like to be treated. We have cards that were filled out this morning, there will still be opportunity for you to fill out cards if you want to speak tomorrow. I am now going to turn this over to these three gentlemen, Tom Behlen, Murray Clamen and Jim Chandler who will read off four names ...

Jim Chandler

I will be announcing the first four speakers which will give you time to get up to the microphones and move this along. There are quite a few speakers who wish to make statements today and we'll try to get in as many as possible. Those that MUST speak today will be called first.