FRESH WATER No MORE

By Amanda Mills

The Grc.it Lukes of North An1erica are the largest supply of fresh water in the world. Water is the main ingredient to human survival anu has been since the dawn of man: however. now 01u11hos reached an era of technology that causes more dnrnage than guod. Nature has tried to remain in tact but is losing the bull le. For thc lust century man ha1;r1:alizcd that the Orem Lake need help to rep;.iir itself, but what steps are being LOokco fix the Jumagc we have done? Man has uamagcd the Great Lakes beyonu lhcir repair.

Nmurul occurrences such as rain anu topographical location continues to destroy lhe Great L11kesecosystem. The lakes are like u fancy fountain, one lake !lows into another and finally to a greater pool. Lake Superior is approximately 500111 deep, starting from 190m above sea level to 300m below. The smallest lake i Lake l:::ric, which sits at approximately 65m deep, starting at 175m abov1:sea level. This makes Lake Erie the most polluted lake. Lake Michigan lies entirely in the United States, 11owsinto Lake lluron. then St. Clair Lake, followed by Erie and then Ontario.

Nature designed these lakes about 200.000 y1:arsago during the ice age. Pollution from the near by cites all llow into the lakes anu then out to the se11.Ports such as 1heone 011 the Chicago River arc used for sanitation purpl>sesand rain for,es the over• tiow into Lake Michigan. T<lpogruphicul elevation p1:rsuadcs all pollution itJ the ground to now in to these lakes. And like so muny problems New l 1oundland has it's because of the water now. The Great Lakes' pollution has cuuscd flshing damage by causing a decrease in fish population. The rnin and elevation is a factor in why the lakes arc so polluted bul they arc only pollut• eel because man made the 1:heinicals fir.~t.

Man's drive to be the best made a few sacrifices when it comes to the environment. Technology is the f111Ure,bul at what cost'! Today's society has a great need for pesticides, hospitals. sewagc disposal, and vnrinus other toxins that end up in our main source of fresh wawr. Compunies !>U<.:has Stclco and Defusco make up most of th1:pollution heing dumped into Lake Ontario.

In 1998, scientists did a chc111icalcxtrncti<rn test on Hamiltun Oay, Ontario. They pulled 400 unidentit1able chemicals, and this ii- not including the ham1ful toxins they did finu. Last yeur they lost count at 500 they couldn't identify. rr this is Lake Ontarin, how 111unyarc in Lake Erie, the niosl polluted lake'? In the summi.:r gwcnish-hrown foam rolls over the waves on Lake Erie's shores. Never once have I heard about a report on Luke Erie·s waier, or any of the other lakes for that mutter. l've hearu about the mist from Niagara Fults bei11ga leading cause of <.:nnc1:rin Nit1gara-on-the-Lakc region. The ground in Ontario is ~o loaded with pesticides then: wus a provinci11I warning not tl) e.it any gmwn food without bcing wa~hcd first. Severn! chick• cns and cm>.•~have hecn affected ;ind it is now not safe to eat any rare n1c<1tfrom Ontario forms. People huvc been affectc<l us well, with the spread of conta111inu1euwa1cr in Walkertnn, Ontario re ulling in four clenths.

Air ~1uality isn't much better. There have been several warnings where peorlc living in airflow c.;011wic1inghomes were warned not to op1:n lht:ir windows. Regular pcorlc , ere rold not to gu outside unless necessary. Schools were clused and elderly people were evacuated rmm their homes to be in a more i..uitable cnvirnnment. With lishing und tourism shutting down anada has mnre thnn a lillle walcr to clean u11but u whole country.

Cleaning the Great Lakes has rnken u long time to start. Nature and Mnn must wl1rk together 1i1rectil'y this situatiun qnd restore the Lakes to al least touclwhle conditions. Lawl'.i have been made nhout illegal dumping and yet seen to have no real effect. Sewag1:companies that use wat1:r in !heir flllration sys• tems hn\'e been given several byluws tu follow to ensure that the water being plnc.;edback in is not cont minated or h;irmful in any way. There has cven been wlk in Ontario nf a group nf sci• ehti~ts plocing more chemicals in !he lakes lt1 counteract the last ones. This is just unsubstantiuteJ I.Ilk bu1 in all hints there is some truth.

The brntnn1 line i:; that C.inada .incJparts of the United State:. nre killing the Great Lukes and tire dning very li11lc to lielp Nature is trying ln work against mnn hut is l11si11gMun has evolved into the technology m plastic age. but with advance ment are n,me waste ahd more respon~lbility lo i:nnsetve what is precious to ull humans. \Hiler.