The Death and Life of the Great Lakes

**A master reporter’s landmark work of contemporary ecology.**The Great Lakes hold 20 percent of the world’s freshwater, and they provide food, work, and weekend fun for tens of millions of Americans. Yet they are under threat as never before.In a work of narrative reporting in the vein of Rachel Carson and Elizabeth Kolbert, prize-winning reporter Dan Egan delivers an eye-opening portrait of our nation’s greatest natural resource as it faces ecological calamity. He tells the story of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Chicago ship canal—good ideas in their time that have had horrendous consequences. He explains how invasive species such as Asian carp, sea lamprey, and zebra mussels have decimated native species and endanger the entire United States. And he examines new risks, such as unsafe drinking water, the threat of water diversions, and “dead zones” that cover hundreds of square miles of water—while showing how the Great Lakes can be restored and preserved for generations to come. The Great Lakes--erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario And Superior--hold 20 Percent Of The World's Supply Of Surface Fresh Water And Provide Sustenance, Work And Recreation For Tens Of Millions Of Americans. But They Are Under Threat As Never Before, And Their Problems Are Spreading Across The Continent. The Death And Life Of The Great Lakes Is Prize-winning Reporter Dan Egan's Compulsively Readable Portrait Of An Ecological Catastrophe Happening Right Before Our Eyes, Blending The Epic Story Of The Lakes With An Examination Of The Perils They Face And The Ways We Can Restore And Preserve Them For Generations To Come. For Thousands Of Years The Pristine Great Lakes Were Separated From The Atlantic Ocean By The Roaring Niagara Falls And From The Mississippi River Basin By A Sub-continental Divide. Beginning In The Late 1800s, These Barriers Were Circumvented To Attract Oceangoing Freighters From The Atlantic And To Allow Chicago's Sewage To Float Out To The Mississippi.^ These Were Engineering Marvels In Their Time--and The Changes In Chicago Arrested At Deadly Cycle Of Waterborne Illnesses--but They Have Had Horrendous Unforeseen Consequences. Egan Provides A Chilling Account Of How Sea Lamprey, Zebra And Quagga Mussels And Other Invaders Have Made Their Way Into The Lakes, Decimating Native Species And Largely Destroying The Age-old Ecosystem. And Because The Lakes Are No Longer Isolated, The Invaders Now Threaten Water Intake Pipes, Hydroelectric Dams And Other Infrastructure Across The Country. Egan Also Explores Why Outbreaks Of Toxic Algae Stemming From The Overapplication Of Farm Fertilizer Have Left Massive Biological Dead Zones That Threaten The Supply Of Fresh Water. He Examines Fluctuations In The Levels Of The Lakes Caused By Manmade Climate Change And Overzealous Dredging Of Shipping Channels. And He Reports On The Chronic Threats To Siphon Off Great Lakes Water To Slake Drier Regions Of America Or To Be Sold Abroad.^ In An Age When Dire Problems Like The Flint Water Crisis Or The California Drought Bring Ever More Attention To The Indispensability Of Safe, Clean, Easily Available Water, The Death And Life Of The Great Lakes Is A Powerful Paean To What Is Arguably Our Most Precious Resource, An Urgent Examination Of What Threatens It And A Convincing Call To Arms About The Relatively Simple Things We Need To Do To Protect It.--jacket. The Front Door. Carving A Fourth Seacoast : Dreams Of A Seaway ; Three Fish : The Story Of Lake Trout, Sea Lampreys And Alewives ; The World's Great Fishing Hole : The Introduction Of Coho And Chinook Salmon ; Noxious Cargo : The Invasion Of Zebra And Quagga Mussels -- The Back Door. Continental Undivide : Asian Carp And Chicago's Backwards River ; Conquering A Continent : The Mussel Infestation Of The West ; North America's Dead Sea : Toxic Algae And The Threat To Toledo's Water Supply -- The Future. Plugging The Drain : The Never-ending Threat To Siphon Away Great Lakes Water ; A Shaky Balancing Act : Climate Change And The Fall And Rise Of The Lakes ; A Great Lake Revival : Charting A Course Toward Integrity, Stability And Balance. Dan Egan. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [325]-347) And Index. "The Great Lakes--Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior--hold 20 percent of the world's supply of surface fresh water and provide sustenance, work and recreation for tens of millions of Americans. But they are under threat as never before, and their problems are spreading across the continent. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is prize-winning reporter Dan Egan's compulsively readable portrait of an ecological catastrophe happening right before our eyes, blending the epic story of the lakes with an examination of the perils they face and the ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come. For thousands of years the pristine Great Lakes were separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the roaring Niagara Falls and from the Mississippi River basin by a 'sub-continental divide.' Beginning in the late 1800s, these barriers were circumvented to attract oceangoing freighters from the Atlantic and to allow Chicago's sewage to float out to the Mississippi. These were engineering marvels in their time--and the changes in Chicago arrested a deadly cycle of waterborne illnesses--but they have had horrendous unforeseen consequences. Egan provides a chilling account of how sea lamprey, zebra and quagga mussels and other invaders have made their way into the lakes, decimating native species and largely destroying the age-old ecosystem. And because the lakes are no longer isolated, the invaders now threaten water intake pipes, hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure across the country. Egan also explores why outbreaks of toxic algae stemming from the overapplication of farm fertilizer have left massive biological "dead zones" that threaten the supply of fresh water. He examines fluctuations in the levels of the lakes caused by manmade climate change and overzealous dredging of shipping channels. And he reports on the chronic threats to siphon off Great Lakes water to slake drier regions of America or to be sold abroad. In an age when dire problems like the Flint water crisis or the California drought bring ever more attention to the indispensability of safe, clean, easily available Water, The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is a powerful paean to what is arguably our most precious resource, an urgent examination of what threatens it and a convincing call to arms about the relatively simple things we need to do to protect it"--Dust jacket. "A landmark work of science, history and reporting on the past, present and imperiled future of the Great Lakes.--The Death and Life of the Great LakesFor thousands of years the pristine Great Lakes were separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the roaring Niagara Falls and from the Mississippi River basin by a "sub-continental divide. "Beginning in the late 1800s, these barriers were circumvented to attract oceangoing freighters from the Atlantic and to allow Chicago's sewage to float out to the Mississippi. These were engineering marvels in their time7and the changes in Chicago arrested a deadly cycle of waterborne illnesses7but they have had horrendous unforeseen consequences. Egan provides a chilling account of how sea lamprey, zebra and quagga mussels and other invaders have made their way into the lakes, decimating native species and largely destroying the age-old ecosystem. And because the lakes are no longer isolated, the invaders now threaten water intake pipes, hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure across the country.--In an age when dire problems like the Flint water crisis or the California drought bring ever more attention to the indispensability of safe, clean, easily available water,--is a powerful paean to what is arguably our most precious resource, an urgent examination of what threatens it and a convincing call to arms about the relatively simple things we need to do to protect it."-- Provided by publisher A master reporter’s landmark work of contemporary ecology. The Great Lakes hold 20 percent of the world’s freshwater, and they provide food, work, and weekend fun for tens of millions of Americans. Yet they are under threat as never before. In a work of narrative reporting in the vein of Rachel Carson and Elizabeth Kolbert, prize-winning reporter Dan Egan delivers an eye-opening portrait of our nation’s greatest natural resource as it faces ecological calamity. He tells the story of the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Chicago ship canal—good ideas in their time that have had horrendous consequences. He explains how invasive species such as Asian carp, sea lamprey, and zebra mussels have decimated native species and endanger the entire United States. And he examines new risks, such as unsafe drinking water, the threat of water diversions, and “dead zones” that cover hundreds of square miles of water—while showing how the Great Lakes can be restored and preserved for generations to come. Introduction Part one. The front door. Carving a fourth seacoast : dreams of a seaway Three fish : the story of lake trout, sea lampreys and alewives The world's great fishing hole : the introduction of coho and chinook salmon Noxious cargo : the invasion of zebra and quagga mussels Part two. The back door. Continental undivide : Asian carp and Chicago's backwards river Conquering a continent : the mussel infestation of the West North America's "dead" sea : toxic algae and the threat to Toledo's water supply Part three. The future. Plugging the drain : the never-ending threat to siphon away Great Lakes water A shaky balancing act : climate change and the fall and rise of the lakes A Great Lake revival : charting a course toward integrity, stability and balance.