The Death and Life of the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes--Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Superior--hold 20 percent of the world's supply of surface fresh water and provide sustenance, work, and recreation for tens of millions of Americans. But they are under threat as never before, and their problems are spreading across the continent. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is prize-winning reporter Dan Egan's compulsively readable portrait of an ecological catastrophe happening right before our eyes, blending the epic story of the lakes with an examination of the perils they face and the ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come.

ISBN-13: 9780393355550

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Norton - W. W. & Company - Inc.

Publication Date: 04-10-2018

Pages: 384

Product Dimensions: 5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)

Dan Egan is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Death and Life of the Great Lakes. A two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, he lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with his wife and children.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Part 1 The Front Door

Chapter 1 Carving a Fourth Seacoast: Dreams of a Seaway 3

Chapter 2 Three Fish: The Story of Lake Trout, Sea Lampreys and Alewives 36

Chapter 3 The World's Great Fishing Hole: The Introduction of Coho and Chinook Salmon 75

Chapter 4 Noxious Cargo: The Invasion of Zebra and Quagga Mussels 108

Part 2 The Back Door

Chapter 5 Continental Undivide: Asian Carp and Chicago's Backwards River 151

Chapter 6 Conquering a Continent: The Mussel Infestation of the West 187

Chapter 7 North America's "Dead" Sea: Toxic Algae and the Threat to Toledo's Water Supply 212

Part 3 The Future

Chapter 8 Plugging the Drain: The Never-Ending Threat to Siphon away Great Lakes Water 247

Chapter 9 A Shaky Balancing Act: Climate Change and the Fall and Rise of the Lakes 277

Chapter 10 A Great Lake Revival: Charting a Course Toward Integrity. Stability and Balance 300

Acknowledgments 323

Notes 325

Selected Bibliography 345

Illustration Credits 349

Index 351