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1-Page Summary of The Death and Life of the Great Lakes

Overall Summary

The book is a scientific analysis of the Great Lakes. The author, Dan Egan, delves into key issues that have affected the ecology and politics of the Great Lakes in recent years. He also reveals what has been done to improve this situation. He graduated from Columbia Journalism School and now works for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Great Lakes are the largest freshwater system in the world. They have been of great interest to European colonizers since they first set foot on North America. As American Industrialization began, many people started working on creating a water passage from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico through the Great Lakes so that there would be greater flow of goods and commerce between those two areas. Both countries believed it was their right to build this new “Fourth Seacoast” because they thought it was what nature intended for them.

When the Erie Canal was completed, it led to a boom in transportation. However, an unexpected problem occurred because of ships that carried non-native wildlife in their hulls. This caused ecological and commercial chaos by introducing invasive species into the Great Lakes. Asian carp and quagga mussels destroyed local fish populations and hurt fishing and tourism on the Great Lakes; they also threatened drinking water for nearby cities like Chicago.

Egan uses historical records, interviews with a variety of sources (like fishermen, scientists and government officials), and his personal connection to the topic to discuss the scope and scale of the fishing industry. He utilizes multiple points of view throughout the book, including first person perspective when he shares his own thoughts on what’s happening in this field.

Egan’s reporting in this book underscores the dangers of shortsightedness and arrogance. Scientists were curious about how to control a non-native species, but they didn’t think through all the consequences that their actions would have on the ecosystem. Most scientists today are trying to fix the problem by looking for short-term solutions rather than an overarching solution.

Although there’s a lot of doom and gloom in the Great Lakes, Egan has some solutions. He suggests that we stop allowing freighters to enter the lakes and instead use freight trains or other methods to transport goods inland.

Introduction

In this passage, the author establishes the Great Lakes as a beautiful body of water and outlines their unique properties. The lakes are so large that they’re like oceans, and contain 20% of the world’s freshwater—97% of which is saltwater. Millions around the world still lack access to clean drinking water; however, with 97% being saltwater already, it would be hard for them to find any source better than what they already have.

The Great Lakes are threatened by a variety of problems. One problem is that water from the ballasts of overseas freight ships enters the ecosystem, disrupting it. The Clean Water Act was passed in the 1970s, but there’s an exception to allow this contaminated water into the lakes because it would be too much trouble for shipping companies if they had to dispose of their ballast elsewhere.

In this passage, Egan describes how the discharge of ballast water from ships is an effective way to introduce invasive species into the Great Lakes. The author then goes on to describe some of the effects that these new species have had on the environment and economy of North America. Ultimately, this invasion threatens other parts of North America because there are waterways connecting the lakes to other bodies of water in both Canada and Mexico.