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.
10,000 years ago, glaciers cut through the valleys in the north regions forming what would much later become The Great Lakes. As the largest freshwater system on earth, they are known for their vast area covering over 94,000 square miles, and have been the key asset to settlement in the surrounding regions. Serving as highways for migration, trade and travel the regions prospered from the abundance of natural resources. Lake superior is the worlds largest freshwater lake. It is also one of the most clear lakes in the world with an average visibility of 27ft with some regions as deep as 100ft.
...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)
The Great Lakes Water Compact and Agreement was adopted in 2008 to protect the health of the world’s
...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 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.
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
As the temperature rises, global warming causes droughts. In Lake Tahoe, California, the drought has caused Tahoe’s water level to drop. “ Chaol Blanchard predicted earlier this year that by fall of 2014 , Tahoe would drop below it’s natural rim.’’ , writes Scott Sonner from Associated Press. It actually did, in October 2014, the lake went down from 6,223ft to 6,222.9ft. With hot weather, there’s no snow to even out the water that flows out the Truckee river. If we don’t get snow we will eventually have to close the truckee river, either to save water of because the water won't reach the dam in Tahoe City. Another drastic drought happening now is the drought in Southern California. In the small town of East Porterville, the drought is so bad
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
Brown, L.R. 2008. Draining our future: The growing shortage of freshwater. The Futurist 42 (3): 16-22. Academic Search Premier. http://web.ebscohost.com/ (accessed November 20, 2010)
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rogers, Peter. 2008. "Facing the Freshwater CRISIS. (Cover story)." Scientific American 299, no. 2: 46-53. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 4, 2010).