I waited for weeks to get my hands on this book as it seemed like something “right up my alley”, but when I finally did, my schedule prevented me from completing it. After acquiring it a second time, I was finally able to finish it, and mightily pleased I did!
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Most of us are aware of the growing problems with our environment but many of us don’t feel a sense of urgency about it. The Death and Life of the Great Lake sheds light on the severity of these issues as they pertain to the Great Lakes.
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is an eye-opening description of the damage caused to the world’s largest fresh-water system at the hands of commercial shipping. It all started with the opening up of shipping channels into Lake Erie via the Erie Canal and the St. Lawrence Seaway. “Hitchhikers” aboard foreign vessels, primarily through ballast water, have infiltrated the fresh-water system and taken over causing a detrimental “domino effect.”
Some bold measures were taken to control the predators, but the motivation seems to have been to increase sport fishing instead of restoring the balance that was there beforehand. Nevertheless, Mother Nature has stepped in to take back control and slowly but surely, things are returning to their original state with the re-emergence of the Lake’s Trout and other native species.
I believe that humans should just cease to meddle with “Mother Nature’s” works, as it has been shown repeatedly that she will eventually mend the situation. Mankind should not be so arrogant as to think that he is above her, after all, she’s dealt with perpetual catastrophes for billions of years, while man has only been around about 200,000 at the very most.
Dan Egan seems to have devoted many years of his life to the future of the Great Lakes and his heart is in it. You can sense the love of the subject matter as you go through these pages.
Reading The Death and Life of the Great Lakes was a learning experience, it’s one of the most enjoyable of my reads this year.
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