Last week, the State House voted to pass the Water Legacy Act, making Michigan the last of the Great Lakes states to live up to a 1985 agreement to limit large-scale water diversions. While the Act represents a first step on this issue, no one who is truly committed to protecting our Great Lakes can consider this bill a victory.

The single biggest problem with the law – among several – is that it continues to treat our water as a product, and allows for the diversion of Great Lakes water outside the basin.

By focusing on the container instead of the diversion, the GOP-controlled House has put the interests of the bottled water industry above the interests of the people of Michigan.

We deserve better.

We need representatives who truly represent the environmental priorities of the people of Northwest Michigan, and understand that public officials have a responsibility to serve as stewards of our shared environment. We need representatives who look beyond short-term profits, and focus instead on the long-term sustainability of our ecosystems. And we need representatives who are willing to take action today to preserve our land, lakes, rivers and streams for future generations, and oppose schemes that allow our greatest natural resource to be drained one plastic bottle at a time.

This watered-down water bill shows the importance of replacing the anti-environment Republicans in the State House (like my opponent) with representatives who will consistently put the Michigan’s people and environment first.