Good for you, and you, and you…

We’ve previously talked about the clear economic benefits of Great Lakes restoration. The Brookings Institution’s Healthy Waters, Healthy Economy report demonstrates that implementing the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration Strategy would, with an investment of $26 billion, create between $80 and $100 billion worth of benefits. But while this report made a convincing argument that we’d see a return in increased property values, tourism, fishing, and decreased municipal costs, among other categories, it didn’t answer the question: where?

Now Brookings and partners (the Council of Great Lakes Industries, the Healing Our Waters Coalition, and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative) have created a supplement that might be sufficiently local to get the attention of our local leaders. You can read the press release here, and the Place-Specific Benefits report here.  An excerpt from the press release:

“Millions of people depend on the Great Lakes for their drinking water, recreation and way of life,” said Andy Buchsbaum, co-chair of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “This analysis shows us that restoring the Great Lakes isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.  Cleaner lakes mean a healthier regional economy and a healthier place to call home. The time to act is now.”