04/16/2006

Editorial

Millikens put environment on top of state's agenda

Before 1976, Michigan's highways were, to put it politely, filthy.

Empty bottles, broken glass, paper, cardboard and just plain trash littered the roadsides.

In the mid-70s there was so much phosphorus in Lake Erie — from fertilizers and laundry detergents — that the lake was considered "dead." It made news worldwide. Levels were rising in the other Great Lakes.

Before 1970, the state's relatively few environmental laws were weak and disjointed.

Before 1976, the state had no way to fund the purchase of key pieces of land for parks or to protect critical natural resources.

Before 1979, wetlands were considered swamps that were being filled in willy-nilly. The fact that they helped clean groundwater, provided habitat for critical species and moderated flooding was virtually unknown — or ignored.

But all that changed, and largely because of the leadership of one man — Traverse City's native son, Gov. William Milliken.

In just over a decade, from 1969 to 1982, Milliken helped Michigan residents understand just how fragile and important our lakes, streams and forests are and how important it is to fight for them.

He shepherded a host of new laws and ballot efforts that resulted in the bottle deposit law, the Natural Resources Trust Fund, the state Wetlands Act and the state's Environmental Protection Act. He pushed environmental awareness and regulation to the top of the agenda in Michigan.

It was nothing less than a green revolution. And as its leader, the Republican governor suffered the wrath of his party and longtime GOP backers in business and industry — to do what he knew was right. In the process, he became the state's longest-serving chief executive, proof of the environmental ethic he helped create in Michigan voters. Today, we take all this for granted. Of course we have an Environmental Protection Act and a Wetlands Act; how could we not?

But in the late 1960s and 70s, as the environmental revolution was just gaining traction, it was far from a sure thing. When the Legislature refused to pass the bottle bill, Milliken and his wife, Helen, publicly supported a ballot proposal that won by a 2-1 margin.

As biographer Dave Dempsey recounts in his new book about the former governor ("William G. Milliken: Michigan's Passionate Moderate"), Milliken tussled with Amway Corp. co-founder Jay VanAndel (partner of Dick DeVos, father of current GOP gubernatorial candidate Richard DeVos) over phosphorus levels in laundry detergent. Milliken won.

Almost immediately after the phosphorous ban was in place, the explosive growth of algae in lakes Erie and Michigan, which had been fueled by high phosphorus levels, stopped.

It is no exaggeration to say Milliken helped change the way Michigan residents thought about their state and opened their eyes to how critical clean water and clean air was to them and future generations.

Milliken is often called a moderate, and in political terms of left and right, liberal and conservative, he probably was. But he wasn't moderate on the environment or the threats that runaway industrial pollution posed for the state. He was a giant.

For her part, Helen Milliken was every bit the environmentalist her husband was, and she gained a reputation as an active and independent voice. The Millikens were a team, and together they accomplished small miracles.

On Friday, the Millikens will be honored at the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council's annual Environmentalist of the Year Celebration.

It certainly won't be the first such honor for Traverse City's First Couple. But given the fact that it's coming from people in his own back yard, people who were inspired by his example to dedicate themselves to environmental issues, it might be the most heartfelt.