A century worth of human innovation including the industrial revolution can wreck havoc to any environment that it comes into contact with. With leaps in scientific measurement we can now look at the world in completely new ways and a side effect of that is being able to look into the future with some certainty. Climate change is a hot topic along with its effects. The Great Lakes and global warming is a situation that will significantly change an entire region.
Global warming is not the only threat to this particular region. It is already dealing with a number if invasive species overtaking native species and altering the ecosystem. Climate change is another issue that will inform any regional policies. One of the most important roles for the region is as the producer of twenty percent of the entire planet’s fresh water.
Spending time talking about how important the Great Lakes are cannot be cast aside. Drinking water, as important and essential it is, is not the only thing the lakes provide. The region gives a huge amount of hydroelectric power to surrounding areas and is a main waterway for shipping routes. In terms of nature, it is a hub for a number of plant and animal species.
With all of these positives, there is a flipside to use and land development including air and water pollution and urban encroachment into habitats. Because of these issues, the region is more susceptible to being affected by global warming. Something as innocuous as climate change can reap disastrous results.
Warming temperatures will increase the melting away of the ice cover that is already quite thin upon the lakes. This melting will result in an increased evaporation of the lakes themselves, bringing the water level down.
Lake Superior was at its lowest levels in seventy seven years as recently as last year and the future could bring another meter of water loss. The effects of low water levels will impact shipping routes and will concentrate the pollutants left behind which will damage overall water quality, as well as the tourism industry such as cruises.
Acting now to restore the Great Lakes region is imperative and already building steam in terms of enacting policy. The reality, however, is that the project will cost billions of dollars and last dozens of years. Antique sewage systems will need to be completely replaced and already polluted sediment will have to be cleaned. Wetland areas will need to be bulked up and restored so as to act as a natural barrier against invasive species.
Another issue outside of a lower water level includes more droughts and storms which will create a cycle that could result in increased pollution runoff, virus transmission, as well as oxygen free dead zones within the lake due to the growth of algae.
What does the future hold? It cannot be known with absolute certainty, but models have provided some statistics. Storms may increase by 25%, but with the temperature increases (ranging between two and four degrees), the water levels can drop up to eight feet!
The future may seem to hold a number of destructive elements, but they can be tempered by being proactive in the present and working to make the Great Lakes as great as they once were.
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