The Context Before Perrier came to Michigan, the Ontario-based Nova Group received permission in 1998 from the Canadian government to withdraw annually up to 156 million gallons of water from Lake Superior for sale in Asian markets. The proposal would have been the first to allow bulk transfer of water by tanker from the Great Lakes. The public's concern is justified. Globally, clean fresh water is a dwindling resource. Population growth promises more thirsty people.
Climate change threatens to redistribute water around the planet.
Diminished political representation of Midwestern states at the national level means less power to lobby for Great Lakes protections. And globalization, as well as international economic treaties, weakens the United States' authority to control the trade of its natural resources. The value of fresh water only rises in this global context. That's why Great Lakes residents approach highly consumptive proposals such as that put forth by the Nova Group with careful scrutiny and advance water conservation efforts such as the proposed Annex 2001. That's 106 million gallons more than the Nova proposal, and raises similar social, economic, political, and environmental concerns.