Therefore be it resolved that Great Lakes United call on the federal Minister of the Environment to realize the overwhelming public concern about a project that can inflict unmentionable harm on our children and future generations and, Be it further resolved that Great Lakes United opposes the planned construction of this Deep Geologic Repository and demands that the federal Minister of the Environment have this first-of-its-kind project brought before an Independent Panel for an in-depth Review with full public participation, under the provisions of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

Therefore be it resolved that Great Lakes United urges the United States and Canadian governments to collaboratively adopt the key principles outlined in the Louisville Charter as an important step for chemicals policy in North America to protect the health of our communities and the environment.

Therefore be it resolved that Great Lakes United endorse the principles behind the original proposal for Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) legislation in Europe and Be it further resolved that Great Lakes United endorse and advocate the need for the similar legislation in Canada and the United States.

Therefore be it resolved that Great Lakes United opposes the trading of any mercury emissions and reaffirms its support for the virtual elimination of the human use, generation and release of mercury to the environment.

Therefore Be It Resolved That Great Lakes United (GLU) supports the adoption of municipal bylaws and ordinances in Canada and the United States to restrict the use of cosmetic pesticides on public and private property; and Be It Further Resolved That GLU communicate this support to municipal associations (eg. Federation of Canadian Municipalities), the International Conference of Great Lakes Mayors, public health associations, provincial and state governments; and Be It Finally Resolved That GLU support efforts to improve federal and provincial/state pesticide regulations.

Therefore, be it resolved that Great Lakes United, wherever possible, source food and farm products locally, with a preference for organically grown products.
Be it further resolved that Great Lakes United, wherever possible, sign on to sustainable food and food system policies. Be it further resolved that Great Lakes United urge and support its network to do the
same.

Therefore, be it resolved that Great Lakes United promote the goals of Health Care
Without Harm and the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that GLU supports an immediate moratorium on the growing of
genetically engineered crops; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as an interim measure all GE foods presently on the market be immediately labeled as such; and BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that GLU opposes patents on life.

The United States had a record 210 million automobiles on the road in 1999, up 15 million from 1994, and the total for all of North America in 1996 was more than 235 million. Each year, some 12 million of these vehicles are retired from useful life. Many of the materials used in their production create problems along the way, either in the vehicleÕs manufacture, use or end-of-life. This report examines the historic and continuing use of the highly toxic metal mercury in automobiles and estimates its releases to the environment from end-of-life vehicle (ELV) processing. The report will show that emissions from vehicle recycling and disposal processes are one of the largest sources of mercury contamination to the environment. The report also examines strategies for cleaner production and proposes key policy solutions to eliminate mercury hazards from both new and existing vehicles. 

Fish advisories are warnings to the public from state health departments and federal agencies that eating certain fish poses a danger to health because of chemical contamination. They provide graphic public testimony to the risks chemical contamination poses to local and regional ecosystems. The Great Lakes region of the United States contains a disproportionate share of the nation’s fish advisories. While the states bordering the Great Lakes account for 27 percent of the nation’s people, they are home to 75 percent of the nation’s fish advisories and 72 percent of all of the nation’s fish advisories due to POPs contamination. Fully 100 percent of the Great Lakes waters and their connecting waters are under advisories.