Sunday, August 14, 2005

The Great Lakes: An endangered legacy

New threats, old wounds cripple precious waters

By Brad Heath, Deb Price and Gene Schabath / The Detroit News

Dale G. Young / The Detroit News A stunning sunset shines down on Lake Michigan near Epoufette in the Upper Peninsula. Numerous harmful influences threaten the long-term health of all the Great Lakes. Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

The Great Lakes are being squeezed from all directions.

Invasive pests, stowed away in the bellies of freighters, are reshaping life in the water in ways people are powerless to stop. Development around the shore is intensifying pollution pressures. Sewage routinely fouls beaches. Thousands of tons of industrial waste run down sewer pipes and up smokestacks every year.

For decades, unbridled development and industrialization have transformed the Lakes.

While much of the damage inflicted over the years is beginning to heal, other threats are intensifying: More invasive species appear headed for the Lakes, threatening to change their ecosystem forever. Development is proceeding at a steady pace. More than 34 million people now inhabit the vast slab of land that drains into the Great Lakes, one that includes nearly every inch of Michigan. Forty percent of U.S. manufacturing and two-thirds of Canadian industrial production is based here.

Almost everything that happens on land touches the water. To clean up the Lakes that store a fifth of the world's freshwater, Michigan lawmakers plan to push for a massive package of federal aid this fall. It would be the largest piece of environmental legislation ever considered by Congress.