The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, Dan Egan (4.0)
It’s hard to imagine living within miles of Lake Michigan
for many years of my life and not knowing the large variety of ecological
issues brewing. We definitely knew the stink of the dead alewives on the
beaches, but I guess as a child, it took something so sensory to have impact.
The degree to which the lake ecosystem was being tinkered with was below our
radar. As a journalist for the Milwaukee Sentinel, Dan Egan followed the health
of the lakes closely. With grants he was able to go back into history to fill
in some of the ‘hows’ as well. While the book is quite scary with regards to
the disregard many have had when making changes to the lakes (introducing new
species both inadvertently and purposefully, making significant changes to
ingress and egress points, etc.) Egan does give you hope that if the lakes have
made it through these horrific episodes, all hope is not gone. What is possibly
more frightening is how easily some of these invasive species have made it over
the continental divide and now threaten many smaller lakes in the West. I found
this book both interesting and important and highly recommend it for everyone.
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