Death of the Great Lakes

In 1959 the St. Lawrence Seaway allowed entry to over 186 nonnative species (through ballast water). This includes trillions upon trillions of zebra and quagga mussels who unleash havoc on hydroelectric dams, drinking water systems and irrigation, and make the water appear clear by sucking the life out of it. Other dangerous species include the Asian carp,1 the spiny water flea, the threespine stickle back, the bloody red shrimp and the fishhook water flea. Human meddling on the Great Lakes also led to the invasion of sea lampreys which decimated the lake trout population. Native-fish populations have been decimated by the ballast water on container ships. Bird-killing botulism outbreaks plague lakeshores. A virus that causes deadly hemorrhaging in dozens of species of fish has become endemic and threatens to spread across the continent. One out of every five gallons of freshwater readily available for human use can be found in the Great Lakes.


1 The Asian carp was introduced in the 1960s and used in government experiments to gobble up excrement in Arkansas sewage lagoons. The fish can grow to 70 pounds and eat up to 20 percent of their weight in plankton per day. Today it threatens Lake Michigan.