Book
The death and life of the Great Lakes / Dan Egan.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780393246438 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: xix, 364 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York, NY : W. W. Norton & Company, [2017]
- Copyright: ©2017
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Formatted Contents Note: | The dream of a fourth seacoast : building the St. Lawrence seaway -- Three fish : the story of lake trout, sea lampreys and alewives -- Farming the lakes : the introduction of coho and chinook salmon -- Noxious cargo : the invasion of zebra and quagga mussels -- Continental undivide : Asian carp and Chicago's backwards river -- Conquering a continent : the mussel infestation of the west -- America's dead sea : toxic algae and the Toledo water crisis -- 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. |
Search for related items by subject
- Baker & Taylor
An award-winning journalist traces the scientific, historical and ecological factors that are endangering the Great Lakes, discussing the late-19th century's effort to connect the lakes to the Atlantic, which unexpectedly introduced invasive species from the natural world. - Baker & Taylor
Traces the scientific, historical, and ecological factors endangering the Great Lakes, discussing late-nineteenth century efforts to connect the lakes to the Atlantic, which unexpectedly introduced invasive species from the natural world. - Book News
Prize-winning author Eganâs book draws on more than a decade of reporting for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, covering the Great Lakes as his full-time beat since 2003. The Great Lakes are the worldâs largest freshwater system. Only about 3 percent of the water in the world is freshwater--most locked up in polar ice caps or inaccessible because it is so far underground. About 20 percent--one out of every five gallons--can be found in the Great Lakes--Michigan, Ontario, Erie, Huron, and Superior. Egan tells the tale of the imperiled lakes and their endangered future. While the Clean Water Act lulled much of the public into thinking that the lakes were in recovery, they were instead being inoculated regularly with biologically contaminated water discharged from domestic and international ships (now home to 186 nonnative species which can invade dams, pipes and other infrastructure). Annotation ©2017 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com) - WW Norton
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 âsub-continental divide.â Beginning in the late 1800s, these barriers were circumvented to attract oceangoing freighters from the Atlantic and to allow Chicagoâs sewage to float out to the Mississippi. These were engineering marvels in their timeâand the changes in Chicago arrested a deadly cycle of waterborne illnessesâbut 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 âdead zonesâ 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.The Death and the Life of the Great Lakes
