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The Great Lakes: The Natural History of a Changing Region (David Suzuki Foundation Series) ReviewQuite so. That's a good thing, given that this one is written by one of Canada's pre-eminent science nature writers. Grady caps a long career in depicting our understanding of Nature's phenomena with this examination of the string running over part of the Canadian-US border. Containing nearly a fifth of the world's supply of fresh water, the lakes are important to vast lands and populations in North America. Grady points out that many misconceptions about the Lakes abound. Change is endemic in the Lake system, and artificial change must be considered with the utmost care, based on careful analysis. His flowing prose, enhanced by lavish maps, photographs and illustrations, imparts the view of the lakes as a dynamic system.
The book's subtitle "the Natural History of A Changing Region" sets the theme. Resulting from the scouring of the Laurentide Glacier as it retreated ten thousand years ago, the Lakes exhibit individual profiles and behaviours. The final outlines of the Lakes emerged about the time Egypt began constructing the Pyramids. A view of "The Water World" explains how lake water "turns over" according to the season, and how the varying depths influence the flow and the life in and around them. Which Lake is deepest may not be a surprise, but the second deepest and shallowest may reveal misconceptions. Lake Superior holds more water than the others combined, and is the fourth largest in the world.
Delimiting the outlines is only the beginning for Grady, who takes us through the entire ecological framework of the region. We are shown the forest types around the Lakes, the wetlands of the their margins, and the river systems feeding them. The forests are divided into three zones, Boreal, Great Lakes-St Lawrence and Carolinian. Each is populated with various proportions of tree types, bird, animal and fish life. The planet's longest surviving species of bird, the Sandhill Crane resides here - and has for 10 million years. The oldest known tracks of an animal, a euthycarcinoid strode along some Ontario sand nearly 500 million years ago. The soils are of one kind here, another there. All the description is wrapped in a picture of shifting conditions. The dynamics of the Lake environments are the key to our understanding their past, present and future. What we see today isn't just "there" - it has all derived from past times and environments.
Although the Lakes' shorelines aren't densely inhabited, the demand for their waters comes from adjacent and distant regions alike. It has been estimated that 95 per cent of North America's fresh water derives from the Great Lakes. Will it always be available? Recent studies show the levels are dropping - some shipping must empty ballast or off-load cargo to sustain passage in some seasons and locales. The US Army Corps of Engineers has already shifted drainage patterns over the years, with more proposed. The Bourassa government of Quebec attempted a plan to dam James Bay, turning it into a freshwater lake that would have drained into Lake Superior. The firm founded to implement that plan still exists, Grady reminds us. The draining of the Oglalla Aquifer by US farmers and ranchers is already raising calls for Great Lakes water to replace it. Such siphoning would have incalculable consequences for the entire system.
The interactions of the different environments would be wildly disrupted by such a change, although intrusive species have already commenced that process. Grady notes that 185 "exotic" species have invaded the Great Lakes region since European settlement started. These include what he calls "the First Spike", the perennial known as the Purple Loosestrife that is overwhelming native plant species. The displacement is driving insects, birds and small animals to other areas, forcing yet more disruption. Lampreys, travelling up the St Lawrence Seaway have attacked native fish populations resulting in the depletion of both commercial and sport species. The zebra mussel quickly replaced native species while the quagga has blocked drainage and nuclear plant cooling systems. Such invaders also accumulate mineral pollutants, which are then taken up by diving birds. The pollutants create mutations in the birds, reducing their numbers.
Grady's chapter on "The Future of the Great Lakes" bears careful reading. Ordinances to control incoming ships' ballasts has reduced the number of large invasive species, but many water-living species are being carried in. Pollutants have been reduced in some industries, but ignored in others. According to the International Joint Commission monitoring the Lakes, the US is still putting 110 tonnes of mercury into the Lakes. In the meantime, diverted waters to provide hydroelectric power has increased significantly in recent years, removing 3 billion cubic metres of water per DAY to generate electricity. To Grady, and anybody who takes a moment to consider the numbers, these conditions are unsustainable. Add the effects of climate change, reduced snow cover and destructive storms, and protection of the Lakes' ecosystem is a matter of concern for us all. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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