In 2019, an impressive referendum - 'do you agree that the Lake Erie should have the same legal rights as people to exist, grow, and naturally form?'

Can you imagine one day when you were warned by the city government to "do not drink water"? Seven years ago, citizens living in Toledo, Ohio, were suddenly restricted from drinking water. In 2014, a crisis of eutrophication of Lake Erie, which citizens rely on daily, suddenly broke out. Algae bloomed in the lake, the concentration of microcystin in the water was too high. The city’s fresh water became poisonous water. There was no water to drink for 2-3 days, and even the hospitals were unable to disinfect the equipmentr and had to cancelled bunch of operations due to lack of water and. Why was Lake Erie suddenly harmed by eutrophication? According to the survey, the nutrition from fertilized farmland and other pollutants flowed into the lake with heavy rain. And the high temperature caused by global warming made algal bloomed. However, this referendum was officially rejected by the court in early May 2020. There were many reasons behind it. One was the livelihood of farmers. Although the bill was not passed in the end, the governor of Ohio has launched another "H2Ohio" project. The aim was to build wetlands that filtered phosphorus to help residents improve domestic water use, while also protecting the agricultural economy.

"We also care about Lake Erie!" The farmers said so, believing that by working together, we could have better power.