Monday, December 12, 2011

Advocacy Project: Letter to Elected Official


December 12, 2011

Representative Robert J. Dold
United States House of Representatives
212 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

VOTE YES FOR H.R. 425 GREAT LAKES WATER PROTECTION ACT

Preserving the Great Lakes is something that needs to be done more actively.  As a citizen of Duluth, MN and living on the great lake of Lake Superior I know the mystique and beauty the lake brings to the community.  Also, as a health educator I know the damage that is being done to these lakes because of people.  If this continues, the lakes will not be safe for people who rely on them.

The Great Lakes are not being protected how they should be.  There is some being done to preserve these great lakes such as cleaning them up, protecting them from pollution, habitat destruction and species loss, but there is more that needs to be done.  Nearly 40 million people rely on the lakes for drinking water, food, work, and for recreation.  The lakes are taking a toll for what people do to them.  There has been a reduction in groundwater flow, dewatering of tributaries, and destruction of habitat.  People in surrounding communities of the lakes are being affected the most.

Some opponents to this act may say that preserving the lakes would take too much time and money.  It takes the cooperation and time of a lot of people working together to preserve them.  It takes money to clean up the lakes and people may not want to put as much effort into this issue as they should.  These barriers, however, can be overcome by people wanting to make a difference and this act being passed.  This act will provide the sustainability that the lakes need and the recognition of the problem to help keep the lakes clean.

We appreciate your time and support of the Great Lakes Water Protection Act.  We hope you understand and realize that the best course of action to protect these great lakes is to vote yes on H.R. 425 Great Lakes Water Protection Act.  If you would like any additional information or how to help further, please contact me at 555-555-5555 or abcdefg@yahoo.com



Bailey Stachour

3 comments:

  1. Hi Bailey-

    I appreciate you wanting to support an act as such. There should be some type of law mandated to protect lakes, considering that most people rely on lakes as their main source of drinking water. Also, the opponents need to understand that, yes it may cost money to maintenance lakes, but what about the pollutants and damage that are being done not only to humans but to fish as well!

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  2. I think you did a great job on this letter. You can really tell that you care about this topic and you want a change to be made. I think that is so important...to not just state facts and statistics but put feeling into it. I think that in the long run keeping the lakes clean will be the most beneficial no matter the cost.

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  3. Hey Bailey!!

    I feel the same way you do about the Great Lakes and how they enrich living in this area. Just wanted to let you know that I had an issue with getting my letter posted, but it's up now. I figured it's better to get it up late than not at all. If you would like to read and comment on it, feel free!

    Your comment, "40 million people rely on the lakes for drinking water, food, work, recreation" is a huge impact on this letter's importance. This shows how important these lakes are to the economy, lifestyle, and well-being of 40 million people in this country.

    Something that would also help this letter is when you previously mentioned the rate of no swimming zones in the Great Lakes due to pollution. That fact that you posted previously to this was a shocker and made it really clear that this is a big issue on the health of the community.

    Your letter also mentioned that yes, changing our ways would require work, but you mentioned that it's worth it in a motivating way! Great letter darlin!

    ~Shannon Flaherty

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