5
OPINION

Thursday, July 18, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com OPINION

ANNE ELSE | COLUMN

O

n July 5, as tempera-
tures rose and Ann 
Arborites flocked to 
the river to spend their day on 
the water, they were met with 
a disappointing development. 
A sanitary sewer main break 
occurred that morning causing 
sewage to enter a storm pipe 
and empty into the river. City 
officials managed to repair the 
pipe break relatively quickly, 
but there were still roughly 
3,000 gallons of raw sew-
age that managed to enter the 
water. This sewage leak could 
affect several species that live 
in the river, as well as summer 
activities.
This local destruction of 
waterways prompted me to 
think 
about 
how 
precious 
Michigan’s water really is. 
After years of enduring the 
Flint Water Crisis, some fami-
lies still do not have access 
to clean water. In 2019, there 
are still pipes sending lead 
tainted 
water 
to 
people’s 
homes, although the city of 
Flint is thankfully approach-
ing the issue with efficiency 
and replacement strategies in 
order to eradicate any remain-
ing lead pipes. It is baffling to 
me that people in Michigan are 
still unable to access freshwa-
ter due to unsafe water sources 
and political decisions. A state 
known for its immense amount 
of freshwater access due to 
the beloved Great Lakes can-
not even provide safe drinking 
water to its own people. 
My most fond memories of 
growing up in Michigan are 
trips up north and days spent on 
lakes. My out-of-state friends 
always point out that us Michi-
ganders talk about up north a 
great deal. I have found it acts 
as our safe haven. We yearn to 
road trip upstate to bask in the 
sun, spot the glittering expans-
es of freshwater, dive into clear 
rivers. After the sewage out-
break and the heartbreaking 
state of Flint, how can we be 
sure that Michigan’s beloved 
water will remain unaffected 
by man-made issues? I want to 
know that there are people that 
support our state’s beauty and 
nature. I want to see actions 
that prove there are defend-
ers of the Great Lakes and the 
waters that we call home. 
Thankfully, 
protectors 
of 
our waters do exist: in the 

form of local advocates and 
in the form of the renowned 
non-profit Clean Water Action. 
Clean Water Action has offices 
around the country, spread-
ing their mission in hopes that 
climate change and human 
mistakes will not destroy our 
country’s 
water 
resources. 
In Michigan, there are three 
offices, including one in Ann 
Arbor, that canvas around sev-
eral different townships. Their 
mission is straightforward and 
action-based. It states that they 
strive “To protect our environ-
ment, health, economic well-
being and community quality 
of life.” They also state some 
initiatives for a clean future: 
“Get health-harming toxics out 
of everyday products; protect 
our water from dirty energy 
threats — drilling and frack-
ing for oil and gas, and power 
plant pollution; build a future 
of clean water and clean ener-
gy; keep our clean water laws 
strong and effective to pro-
tect water and health.” Their 
drive to get legislation passed 
and spread the information 
through canvassing is benefi-
cial to promoting environmen-
tal change. 

Meredith Gillies, program 
manager of the Clean Water 
Action 
Ann 
Arbor 
branch, 
weighed in on the importance 
of getting their message across 
to the local community. Gillies 
said, “Polluters in Michigan 
are not required to pay for any 
cleanup of the contamination 
that they cause unless the state 
proves they are responsible in 
court … The legislation we are 
advocating for would reverse 
the burden of proof, requiring 
polluters to prove they are not 
responsible for the release of 
hazardous substances in order 
to avoid paying for cleanup. It 
would also increase cleanup 
standards to ensure that our 

natural resources are pro-
tected.” These companies are 
causing the most harm yet still 
reaping rewards by not having 
to pay for cleanup. Her insider 
perspective helps to provide a 
complete picture of the faults 
of polluters in Michigan. 
Clean Water Action are sup-
porters of keeping Michigan 
waters 
clean 
through 
eco-
conscious legislation. Through 
their Michigan dedicated arti-
cles, I learned about the det-
rimental factors specifically 
in the state of Michigan that 
could affect our water systems 
greatly. For example, climate 
change causes an increase in 
stormwater runoff into the 
Great 
Lakes. 
Unfortunately, 
our state does not have the cor-
rect environmental infrastruc-
ture in place to manage this 
issue. An even more shocking 
fact is that Michigan “remains 
the only state in the United 
States that lacks a statewide 
septic code, and as a conse-
quence, 25 to 30 percent of 
our 1.4 million septic systems 
statewide are failing and leak-
ing more raw and untreated 
sewage into our groundwater,” 
highlighting a need for new 
policy considerations. Michi-
gan 
law-makers, 
politicians 
and citizens should all be sup-
porting Clean Water Action’s 
important work if they believe 
in a human right to clean water. 
Their valuable canvassing and 
campaigning has the potential 
to help generations to come 
by adjusting Michigan’s infra-
structure to the rising effects 
of climate change.
It is vital that we keep our 
freshwaters clean and free from 
corporate harm and man-made 
destruction. Through efforts to 
help residents of Flint, workers 
at Clean Water Action and sup-
porters of waterway protection, 
our source of life will hopefully 
be preserved across the entire 
country. Water access should 
not be solely about politics and 
lobbying, but these actions are 
what provide clear change in 
the way that states and water 
systems are run. If we can set 
aside political affectations, we 
can come together to support 
the universal need of clean 
water. 

Protect our waters

Anne Else can be reached at 

aelse@umich.edu.

T

his March, 1.4 million 
kids took to the streets 
to protect their futures. 
Some were marked absent from 
school, and many were lambast-
ed by local news outlets, but all 
helped bring to light the threat 
of climate change and govern-
ment inaction. Ever so slowly, 
people are taking note. From the 
World Bank to the New Zealand 
government, those in power are 
recognizing that they must take 
major strides to mitigate the cli-
mate crisis. 
This is not the case at the 
University of Michigan. During 
Ann Arbor’s thousands-strong 
climate change protest, offi-
cials arrested 10 participants 
including University students, 
high school students and com-
munity members. The protesters’ 
demand? Simply for University 
President Mark Schlissel to meet 
and discuss strengthening the 
University’s weak attempts to 
fight the climate crisis. 
The protest and arrests fol-
lowed 
months 
of 
unanimous 
student government resolutions, 
public letters and testimonials at 
Board of Regents meetings aimed 
at getting the University to 
address climate change beyond 
quick fixes and token programs. 
The 
University 
continually 
maintains that it is a big ship and 
it takes a long time to change, but 
we no longer have time to wait. 
Sustainability 
projects 
that 
benefit our campus, like ener-
gy-reduction plans, composting 
programs and educational cam-
paigns, were brought to fruition 
by passionate individuals, but 
the University administration 
refuses to consider long-term 
solutions — like true carbon neu-
trality, renewable energy infra-
structure or education reforms 
— that reflect the urgent action 
we need. 
For instance, along with the 
vague promise to “(put) U-M on 
a trajectory towards carbon neu-
trality,” the University bought 
a greater percent of renewable 
energy, which would be excit-
ing, but the purchase was only 
made as a last-minute, publicity-
generating attempt to reach a 
Planet Blue Sustainability goal 
that should have, instead, been 
met with real innovative energy 
solutions. 
Even the new U-M President’s 
Commission on Carbon Neutral-
ity is an ineffectual response to 

climate activists, lacking direc-
tion, a focus on environmental 
justice and any indication that its 
recommendations will be acted 
upon. During the first commis-
sion meeting, the committee was 
told that the Central Power Plant 
new gas-powered turbine and 
the University’s investments in 
fossil fuels was out of the scope 
of their discussion. This is a huge 
mistake, since emissions from the 
use of gas-powered turbines are 
under-researched and investment 
in fossil fuels increases global 
carbon emissions.
The arrests are a clear attempt 
for the University to hide its com-
plicity in the climate crisis. By 
refusing demands to reshape the 
way it approaches the climate cri-
sis, the University has shown that 
it does not support its students, 
understand the research of its 
faculty or believe in the hercule-
an efforts of its environmentally-
minded staff. By encouraging the 
state prosecutor to press charges 
for arrests made, the University 
administration is disrupting the 
studies and research of its own 
students in order to silence pro-
test; thankfully, the state pros-
ecutor refused U-M’s request to 
charge the 15 and 16 year-olds. 
These are not the actions of an 
institution that supports a safe 
future for its students, nor their 
freedom of speech. 
The University should remem-
ber the forward-thinking institu-
tion it was when it hosted the very 
first Earth Day 50 years ago. You, 
reader, can help to make that hap-
pen. You can write to the people 
listed below and encourage them 
to take appropriate action. 
Here are a few suggestions: 
request the state prosecutor drop 
trespass charges against those 
arrested at the Climate Strike on 
March 15; bind U-M to recom-
mendations from the PCCN and 
instate a dedicated justice advi-
sor; halt the construction of the 
natural gas power plant until 
options for a transition to alter-
nate fuels are explored; begin 
divestment from fossil fuels.
Your voice matters, and we 
need you to use it. Our Univer-
sity will not change unless we as 
a community make clear that it 
needs to, for all of our sakes. 

U-M complicit in climate change

KRISTEN HAYDEN | OP-ED

Kristen Hayden is a junior studying 

Earth and Environmental Sciences and 

PiTE and a member of the Climate Action 

Movement.

Thankfully, 
protectors of our 
waters do exist