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Allison McFeely

The Pollution of. Allison McFeely. the Great Lakes. What will I be presenting?. 18% of the world’s supply of water Largest fresh surface water system on Earth Supports many people and wildlife. Lake Erie, The Detroit River and Lake St. Clair. Lake St. Clair. Detroit River. Lake Erie.

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Allison McFeely

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  1. The Pollution of Allison McFeely the Great Lakes

  2. What will I be presenting? • 18% of the world’s supply of water • Largest fresh surface water system on Earth • Supports many people and wildlife

  3. Lake Erie, The Detroit River and Lake St. Clair Lake St. Clair Detroit River Lake Erie

  4. Objectives • How did the Great Lakes become a degraded ecosystem? • What was done in response to water quality concerns? • How effective were those responses?

  5. How did this happen? • Retreating glaciers 10,000 years ago • Left behind sediment and nutrients that made the land fertile • Native people lived with the ecosystem • European settlers came in on tributaries, left with valuable natural resources

  6. The Second Wave of European Settlers • Logged • Farmed • Commercially fished • Built sawmills • Clear cut forests

  7. 20th century • Industrialization progressed • New chemicals introduced to ecosystem • 1920s PCBs (pesticide) • 1940s DDT (pesticide) • 1950s phosphorus (detergents & fertilizer) • Massive algae blooms • Depleted oxygen levels • Eutrophication (especially Lake Erie)

  8. People began to realize the poor shape the environment was in…

  9. Response to Water Quality Concerns • Target loads established • Areas of concern pin pointed • 1972 The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

  10. 1980’s Target Loads • The amount of a pollutant that may be assimilated by the environment • Biological accumulation in the food chain • Eating wildlife is more dangerous than drinking water

  11. Areas of Concern • Uniform standard across jurisdictional boundaries • 1981 Water Quality Board said: “Any locality where agreement objectives and/or standards of the local jurisdiction were exceeded or desired water quality objectives could not be obtained”

  12. Detroit River (AOC) • Lost over 95% of it’s coastal wetland habitat • It still has one of the highest diversities of wildlife and fish in all the Great Lakes • It is estimated that 300,000 diving ducks stop in this area to rest and feed during their fall migration from Canada

  13. Detroit River (AOC) • Major sources of pollution • Steel production • Detroit Sewage Treatment Plant *By establishing these sources, the pollution could be controlled*

  14. Steel Mill on the Detroit River

  15. The Water Quality Agreement • U.S. and Canada • Emphasized avoidance of toxic substances • Whole ecosystem approach…

  16. 1987 revisions • Began to track which nutrients entered the lake • Set a goal of unimpaired use • Populations became more stable, indicating a better quality habitat

  17. How effective was this? • Nuisance conditions were less frequent • Oil slicks began to disappear • Floating debris began to disappear • Dissolved oxygen levels improved • Fewer odors of decaying substances allowed beaches to reopen • Algal mats depleted as nutrient levels declined

  18. A Problem that Requires a Whole Ecosystem Approach • Invasive species: a specie that takes over a habitat by out competing the native species • Ballast tanks take up billions of tiny crabs, fish, clams, plants and other organisms that are then released into the Great Lakes • Over a dozen invasive species of aquatic plants, fish, and mollusks already exist

  19. Atlantic Erie - Great Lakes Vessel

  20. What is being done? • Michigan representative Candice Miller presented legislation that addresses the source of the problem • Her legislation requires foreign ships to discharge 95% of ballast water in the ocean before entering the St. Lawrence Seaway. • Do you feel this is a good approach?

  21. My view… • This legislation is effective for the entire ecosystem, so that’s using an entire ecosystem approach, but… • It does not solve the problem of the dozen invasive species that are already present

  22. In Conclusion… • How did the Great Lakes become a degraded ecosystem? overtime, people abused the environment, and further degraded it when harmful chemicals were introduced • What was done in response to water quality concerns? Many different techniques were used including legislation, and monitoring techniques. • How effective were those responses? The Great Lakes ecosystem is doing much better, although some environmental damages are irreversible.

  23. The Future… We’ve come a long way, thanks to years of people’s dedication to the environment. It is only right to continue where they left off. What more can be done? The way I see it, our wasteful lifestyles threaten future life on this planet. Changing our lifestyles is the next barricade to conquer in the battle for a clean environment.

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