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The Resource The death and life of the Great Lakes, Dan Egan

The death and life of the Great Lakes, Dan Egan

Creator
Author
Summary
"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
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xix, 364 pages
Contents
  • 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
Isbn
9780393246438
Instance
Label
The death and life of the Great Lakes
Title
The death and life of the Great Lakes
Statement of responsibility
Dan Egan
Creator
Author
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
"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
Tone
Writing style
Award
  • Booklist Editors' Choice, 2017.
  • Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History, 2017.
  • National Academies Communication Award, 2018.
  • New York Times Notable Book, 2017
  • Wisconsin Library Association Literary Award, 2018.
http://library.link/vocab/ext/novelist/bookUI
10554519
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Egan, Dan
Dewey number
577.630977
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • maps
Index
index present
LC call number
QH104.5.G7
LC item number
E43 2017
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/resourcePreferred
True
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Lake ecology
  • Introduced organisms
  • Nonindigenous aquatic pests
  • Water quality
  • Ecology
  • Introduced organisms
  • Lake ecology
  • Nonindigenous aquatic pests
  • Water quality
  • Great Lakes (North America)
  • Great Lakes
Label
The death and life of the Great Lakes, Dan Egan
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
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
Control code
1740626
Dimensions
25 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xix, 364 pages
Isbn
9780393246438
Isbn Type
(hardcover)
Lccn
2016039546
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustations, maps
System control number
  • (Sirsi) i9780393246438
  • (OCoLC)951070858
Label
The death and life of the Great Lakes, Dan Egan
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
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
Control code
1740626
Dimensions
25 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xix, 364 pages
Isbn
9780393246438
Isbn Type
(hardcover)
Lccn
2016039546
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustations, maps
System control number
  • (Sirsi) i9780393246438
  • (OCoLC)951070858

Subject

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