Overview of the Issue: The Great Lakes Basin comprising of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario make up the largest surface freshwater system on Earth and holds one-fifth of the world's supply of freshwater. To visualize this, " if only the Earth were flat and the lakes adaptable as buckets, there'd be enough H20 here to flood all the land of the Western Hemisphere under two feet of water" according to J. Mitchell. Each day, four trillion litres of water are pumped from the Great Lakes. As natural influences as well as human factors are putting tremendous pressures on this water system, the water levels are dropping at an alarming rate. The falling water levels present an enormous environmental impact to thousands of species of plant and wildlife and to the 45 million inhabitants who dwell in the Great Lakes area according to the Council of Canadians. Lake Huron and Lake Michigan are the two lakes that have been the most affected.
Environmental Impacts: There are several theories explaining the declining water levels. The water levels of the Great Lakes are dependent on three major components: They are the evaporation off of the surface of lakes, the precipitation directly on to the surface of lakes and the runoff of precipitation coming from the land (groundwater and streams). One of the major causes that has occurred over the years is the change in weather patterns. Changes in water supply are driven by climatic factors including precipitation and temperature. The Great Lakes are particularly affected by winters. If the winters are severe with higher snowfalls and colder temperatures, ice cover (which acts as an insulation), will result in higher water levels. If the winters are milder with warmer t...
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...er than the bottled water available for purchase. Also the amount of energy wasted in producing the plastic bottles is not necessary because water is available from every tap in most households.
4) Residents in Canada should attempt to reduce water usage. After water is stored, piped, measured, calibrated, purified and delivered, we then proceed to flush 40% of it down the drain according to L. Pollack. All of these steps use energy, which contributes to global warming, further leading to evaporation. One way is to increase the use of rain barrels to water lawns and gardens.
To conclude my report, there are many factors that affect water levels in the Great Lakes. I personally think that evaporation due to climate change is the major factor. As humans, we can change our activities to benefit not only the great lakes, but all of the wonderful resources that we have.
Water is the foundational basis of life on Earth. Ecosystems, society and humans are completely dependent on it, and as the world population continues to grow, there will be more mouths to feed, and those people will need water to continue their daily lives. However, shortages and poor management leads to the destruction of natural habitats and human suffering. Desertification of land in China is ever-increasing, turning green, lush land into desert. However, this is due mainly in part, because of human activity, and global warming (Wang, Yang, Dong, & Zhang, 2009). The United States could experience a crisis similarly to China’s, but for now they have averted such a catastrophe, because of heavy regulation of water. Though there are water shortages in many parts of the world, it is unwise to export water from the Great Lakes to those regions. Two major reasons why diverting the Great Lakes is a terrible idea, one: it allows for waters wars to start on the basis of who is allowed to access it and for commodification purposes. Two, diverting water on such large scales could have cataclysmic effects on the local residents as well as the environment.
As global temperatures and ocean levels rise, the water levels of the Great Lakes continues to fall. As the lakes hit their all time lowest level in global history in 2012, society remains ignorant to the imposing doom that lurks ahead. Since the Great Lakes make up the largest group of fresh water lakes on Earth and are responsible for approximately 21% of the Earth’s fresh water supply, this issue is becoming one of the largest environmental and economical issues our modern world faces. The effects of this issue include destroying animal habitats and a major economic market; shipping. Water levels in the Great Lakes have been dropping for the past fourteen years, but it wasn’t until boats were scraping the bottom of Lake Huron that people began to take notice. This terrible environmental issue has been dubbed a long term cycle of over evaporation and not enough precipitation to replenish the Lakes. Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology for the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit has been monitoring this issue for a decade and has made startling discoveries, such as in 2012, he discovered Lake Michigan and Lake Huron’s water levels only rose four inches after winter, whereas the Lakes have been regularly recorded as gaining a foot of water after the winter season had ended. This amount of water added is not enough to maintain a proper water level during the dry, hot summer seasons that evaporate much water from the Great Lakes. While some scientists say that this is just a cycle that will adjust itself naturally, most experts that have been studying this phenomenon, such as Kompoltwicz, would agree that the issue has gone to far
...tario. The great lakes Water Quality Agreement is an international agreement between Canada and the United States their collective goals are to restore and maintain the Great Lakes. The agreement outlines the commitments of both countries to restore and maintain water quality and aquatic ecosystem health in the Great Lakes. Since 1989 Canada has spent 355 million dollars to help restore the ecosystems. Canada currently invests 48 million a year on the restoration projects. President Barack Obama's administration developed the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative in 2009, that provided $475 million dollars the first year and $300 million annually since. Last year a house subcommittee proposed slashing the allocation to 60 million starting in 2014. It is feared that this 80% cut would gut the programs and this would have a major impact on Canada and the U.S. Sources
...ld 17.5 million acre-feet (5.7 trillion gallons) of water. However… The river now averages about 14.7 million acre-feet per year” (National geographic) In addition, the water level of the rivers two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, have dropped over the past couple of years. (National Geographic) One of the biggest signs that the river is struggling is that it discharges little to no water to the sea for months at a time. (National Geographic)
...akes water levels to future climate scenarios with an emphasis on lake michigan-huron. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 36, 51-58. doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2009.09.006
The Great Lakes Water Compact and Agreement was adopted in 2008 to protect the health of the world’s
Latham, A., Wright, E., & Tsang, A. (n.d.). Pollution's Effects on the Great Lakes Ecosystem: Introduction and Background. Pollution's Effects on the Great Lakes Ecosystem: Introduction and Background. Retrieved May 28, 2014, from http://sitemaker.umich.edu/section5group1/introduction_and_background
The water levels in the Colorado River continue to fall as the seven states that rely on it for water grow. With this growth, we must stop wasting water or we will see the water supply drop to even more alarming levels. Some states have started to implement rewards to residents who remove their grass lawns or put strict rules on their water usage, however, even if we slow our consumption and waste, we are using our water at an unsustainable rate. Global warming, in combination with our current drought, has made this an issue for our generation and not the next.
Moreover, the energy used in bottle production can supply energy to over 190,000 homes. The resources that can be conserved by ceasing the production of water bottles can solve many global problems faced by a growing population. The cost involved in water bottles is inconceivable to many. Bottled water costs 240 to 100,000 times more than tap water, which can be brought to your house for just pennies per day.
65-70 percent of water is wasted throughout the world. We can reduce water loss by wasting less water, subsidizing
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which oversees the bottled-water industry, Americans drink more than eight billiongallons of bottled water each year. Most of that water is packaged in plastic bottles.The EPA estimates that plastics such as those used to make water bottles make up nearly 13 percent of our trash. An industry watchdog group reports that it takes nearly eighteen million barrels of oil to make the amount of plastic needed to meet Americans'thirst for bottled water. That's about the same amount of oil that a million vehicles use in one year. Oil is a nonrenewable resource—once it's gone, it's gone. Worse yet, the vehicles used to move bottled water from place to place release harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Perhaps more alarming is that people recycle fewer than 20 percent of their empty bottles. Most emptybottles are tossed in the trash. From there, they end up in a landfill, where they cause further environmental damage.
Water is one of the most essential non-renewable natural resources on the Earth. Technically, an un-hydrated human being can live no more than three days. In the United States, people consume water mainly from tap water and bottle water. However, the consumption between these two sources is not even but lean to one side heavily. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, people consume from 240 to over 10000 times more per gallon for bottled water than they usually do for tap water. (NRDC) In addition, according to a survey from US National Library of Medicines, only 17% of the participants prefer to drink tap water exclusively.(US National Library) Compared to the bottled water which is shining like a superstar, tap water is like a diligent worker in the shade, unpopular but useful. The extremely unbalance of bottled water consumption implies that a commonly hold conception exists: bottle water is superior to tap water. In fact, scientific evidence proves that tap water is nothing different than bottle water. More importantly, the excessive consumption of bottled water is an irrational use of resources and creates severe environmental issues.
The first step is worldwide awareness of the water crisis: governments and the citizens they govern worldwide need to know about this problem and be actively involved in solving this problem. One of the best ways to solve this problem would be for these cities or countries to embark on water-saving programs that would drastically reduce water consumption to sustainable levels.... ... middle of paper ... ... For example, in all corners of the world, there is growing empirical evidence of increased severe weather events, flooding, and diminished ice cover, all of which worsen the problem of water shortages and can be attributed to climate change.
As greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap more energy from the sun which causes the oceans to absorb more heat. This is resulting in an increase of ocean temperature and rising sea levels as well as the melting of our artic icecaps. Although the ocean does help with the reduction of climate change by storing 1/3 of the carbon dioxide that humans put into the air by the burning of fossil fuels, the increasing levels of carbon in the ocean are changing the chemistry of sea water and making it more acidic.
Rogers, Peter. 2008. "Facing the Freshwater CRISIS. (Cover story)." Scientific American 299, no. 2: 46-53. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 4, 2010).