Great Lakes' protection vital, expert warns MACKINAC ISLAND (UPI)- The diversion of Great Lakes water is no longer a far-fetched futuristic idea and the only hope surrounding states have of protecting their water rights may be the creation of an interstate compact, a legal expert said yesterday. Wayne State University law professor Robert Abrams told the Great Lakes Water Resources Con- ference an interstate compact agreement by water bordering states and Canadian Provinces is the only available means of thwarting diversion attempts by dry western states. "Basically it should say that water will be kept at home for use at home and any decision otherwise should be made collectively," Abrams said. FOUR GREAT Lakes governors- host William Milliken, Lee Dreyfuss of Wisconsin, Robert Orr of Indiana and Albert Quie of Minnesota-and Ontario Premier William Davis, will discuss the future of lakes protection during a con- ference session today. Representatives of Govs. James Thompson of Illinois; James Rhodes of Ohio; Richard Thornburgh of Pen- nsylvania and Hugh Carey of New York, as well as agents of Quebec Premier Rene Levesque, also will join in the two-day meeting. The conference is being held on the picturesque resort island located on the straits linking Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. In his presentation, Abrams said to approve a compact each state Legislature must endorse its language to enhance the agreement's power and Congressional approval is needed. HE SUGGESTED the existing Great Lakes Commission, an organization of Former 'Wolverine receiver r Jim Smith arrai gned By BUDDY MOOREHOUSE 'Former Michigan wide receiver Jim Smith, currently a member of the Pit- tsburgh Steelers, was arraigned in Washtenaw County District Court Wed- nesday on charges of carrying a con- cealed weapon and felonious assault. The charges stem from an incident on May 26 at Smith's Pittsfield Township home, according to a Pittsfield Town- ship Police spokesperson. Smith allegedly threatened three men with a weapon after a brief verbal argument. The 6-2, 205-pound Smith, who works in the Washtenaw County sheriff's of- eight bordering states should be expan- ded and awarded managerial powers over any compact. Other experts warned diversion of water could have negative economic and ecological effects on the Great Lakes region. "Not only does the water move, so does the economic opportunity," Abrams said. JONATHAN Bulkley, a civil engineering professor at the University of Michigan, said basic calculations show a hypothetical proposal to divert water from Lake Superior to the Missouri River could cost at least $20.77 billion to construct. Bulkley's figures were based on diverting 10,000 cubic feet per second of water some 615 miles to the Missouri River as a means of replacing river water South Dakota recently sold to Wyoming. He said as well as the high construc- tion cests of aquaducts and pumping stations, a $10 billion system of new power plants would be needed to operate the diversion system. Despite high costs, others at the con- ference said money will not prevent sun belt states from seeking Great Lakes water. Texas officials have indicated they intend to spend $30 billion by the year 2000 to bring water to Texas' growing population. No formal requests to transport Great Lakes water long distances have been made but experts believe such projects will be suggested within the decade as southwest populations grow and occasional drought conditions oc- cur. Daily photo by MARK GINDIN Point blimp The Goodyear blimp had to rise above the Renaissance Center to provide a bird's-eye view of last week's Detroit Grand Prix activities. Schools fail test for future, consultant says By SCOTT STUCKAL The present system of advancing professors for work outside the classroom rather than for their teaching ability is a misguided ap- proach toward educating people for a future high technology society, said a business consultant who specializes in the needs of the future Wednesday night. Felix Kaufmann, president of Science for Business, a local business con- sulting firm, said universities place too much emphasis on "little, unimportant papers" their faculties produce and not enough time on the students they are preparing to meet society's future needs. "One of the problems in the incentive system (at universities) is that teaching is not at all considered," Kaufmann told an audience of 200 gathered at the Ann Arbor Sheraton for the sixth in a series of lectures on high technology sponsored by Eastern Michigan University's College of Technology and the Michigan Technology Council. KAUFMANN did not single out higher education as the only institution guilty of improperly preparing the nation's youth for dealing with the future. He said there need to be im- provements at all levels of education, including elementary and secondary. America's educational system must improve because workers will need bet- ter skills as high technology in- novations and third world labor displace America's unskilled labor pool, Kaufmann said. Schools at all levels must undergo changes to properly educate the coun- try's future workers, Kaufmann said. "We will need a workforce more literate, numbered (mathematically talented), and much more sophisticated. The unskilled will be vir- tually unemployable." He added that society can not look to the present educational system setup to supply the skills we will need tomorrow. ALTHOUGH Kaufmann stressed that his criticism of American education was not a condemnation of teachers themselves, he said "the productivity of the education industry is absolutely abysmal." One solution for America's education problems is the use of computerized video display units to give students in- dividual attention and allow them to learn at their own rates, he explained. "The children take to (the use of per- sonal computers) with phenomenal speed," Kaufmann said. The wunderkinder who will be taught on personal computers will have close to two years of an educational headstart on college when they leave high school, he said. Smith - charged with assault fice during the off-season, was released on $1,000 bond and ordered to appear for trial on June 29. If convicted, Smith could facea maximum sentence of nine years in prison and $4,500 in fines. At Michigan, Smith played from 1973- 76 and earned All-American honors his senior year. He is in third place on the Michigan career reception list with 73 catches for 1,687 yards and 14 touch- downs. His best year as a Steeler was 1980, when he caught 37 passes for 711 yards and nine touchdowns. t'