The Great Lakes hold 6 quadrillion gallons of fresh water, one-fifth of the world's fresh water, and 95 percent of the U.S. supply. Yet every day we carelessly pollute these beautiful waters. Below are some of the major issues facing our Great Lakes today and what we can do to help.

MEET BP OF WHITING, INDIANA

The biggest contributor to Great Lakes pollution is British Petroleum in Whiting, Indiana. The massive BP oil refinery was planning to dump significantly more ammonia and industrial sludge into Lake Michigan, running counter to years of efforts to clean up the Great Lakes. Indiana regulators exempted BP from state environmental laws to clear the way for a $3.8 billion expansion that will allow the company to refine heavier Canadian crude oil. They justified the move in part by noting the project will create 80 new jobs. Under BP's new state water permit, the refinery, already one of the largest polluters along the Great Lakes, can release 54 percent more ammonia and 35 percent more sludge into Lake Michigan each day. Ammonia promotes algae blooms that can kill fish, while sludge is full of concentrated heavy metals. How bad is it? The company would now be allowed to dump an average of 1,584 pounds of ammonia and 4,925 pounds of sludge into Lake Michigan every day.

The recent announcement is that BP is halting its planned increase in pollution into Lake Michigan. But it is clear that the real problem has just been obscured. In order to avoid a future public scandal over the company's environmental degradation, the company should apply for a new discharge permit that ensures that no increase in pollution happens to our lake. Yet they haven't done that. What happens remains to be seen, but what is certain is that BP remains one of the largest polluters along the Great Lakes. To help fight BP and other polluters, you can join many online groups that fight these large corporations. Many of these groups can be found on Facebook and Myspace. Your support can help make a difference.

PROBLEMS ON THE FLOOR

In just a few years, the gravel and white boulders that for centuries covered the bottom of Lake Michigan between Chicago and the Door County, Wis., peninsula have disappeared under a carpet of mussels and primitive plant life. The change is not merely cosmetic. In the last three years or so, scientists say, invasive species have upended the ecology of the lakes, shifting distribution of species and starving familiar fish of their usual food supply. Signs of the shift have been hard to ignore. Mats of dead, smelly algae wash ashore on Lake Michigan from Chicago to the Straits of Mackinac, castoffs of a vast underwater expanse seen from boat decks and from hilltops at Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan. Fishermen haul it up in their nets, dubbing it "lake moss." The rapid shift has researchers scrambling to understand what is happening and how widely the impact will be felt. "The lake is changing faster than we can study it," said University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee researcher Harvey Bootsma, whose small team of researchers hunts explanations from this new lake bottom in weekly dives off the Wisconsin shore. What's causing these rapid changes? No one is quite sure but you can bet pollution and global warming are to blame.

PROTECTING THE SUPPLY

On August 1st, 2008 the Senate voted to ratify a compact to prevent the diversion of water from the Great Lakes, quickly approving legislation sought by the region's governors worried that thirsty places would covet one of the world's largest sources of fresh water. The Senate passed the measure without objection, and it now awaits action in the House. "Senate passage of this compact will help us protect the Great Lakes from water diversions and preserve this invaluable resource for future generations," said Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the bill's chief sponsor. The agreement, negotiated by eight Great Lakes states, prevents remote states from tapping into the lakes from their natural drainage basin with rare exceptions. In addition, states would be required to regulate their own large-scale water use and promote conservation. Michigan was the final state to approve the pact last month.

THE FACTS

Spread evenly across the continental U.S., the Great Lakes would submerge the entire country under 9.5 feet of water.