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Author Egan, Dan, author.

Title The death and life of the Great Lakes / Dan Egan.

Publication Info. New York : W.W. Norton & Company, [2017]

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Avon Free Public Library - Adult Department  577.6 EGAN    Check Shelf
 Berlin-Peck Memorial Library - Non Fiction  577.6 EGAN    Check Shelf
 Bristol, Main Library - Non Fiction  577.63 EGAN    Check Shelf
 Burlington Public Library - Adult Department  577.6 EGAN    Check Shelf
 Canton Public Library - Adult Department  577.6309 EGAN    Check Shelf
 Cheshire Public Library - Adult Department Lower Level  577.6309 EGAN    Check Shelf
 Glastonbury, Welles-Turner Memorial Library - Adult Department  577.63 EGAN    Check Shelf
 Manchester, Main Library - Non Fiction  577.6 EGAN    Check Shelf
 Marlborough, Richmond Memorial Library - Adult Department  577.63 EGAN    Check Shelf
 New Britain, Main Library - Non Fiction  577.6 EGA    On Display

Edition First edition.
Description xix, 364 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages [325]-347) and index.
Summary 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.
"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."--Jacket.
Contents 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.
Subject Lake ecology -- Great Lakes (North America)
Great Lakes (North America) -- Environmental conditions.
Introduced organisms -- Great Lakes (North America)
Nonindigenous aquatic pests -- Great Lakes (North America)
Water quality -- Great Lakes (North America)
Lake ecology. (OCoLC)fst00990855
Ecology. (OCoLC)fst00901476
Great Lakes. (OCoLC)fst01240563
Introduced organisms. (OCoLC)fst00977836
Nonindigenous aquatic pests. (OCoLC)fst01038761
Water quality. (OCoLC)fst01171832
HISTORY / United States / State & Local / Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI)
NATURE / Ecosystems & Habitats / Lakes, Ponds & Swamps.
POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Environmental Policy.
SCIENCE / Environmental Science (see also Chemistry.
Water quality -- Great Lakes (North America.)
ISBN 9780393246438 (hardcover)
0393246434 (hardcover)
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