Every year, the Chancellor at UW-Madison chooses a hot-topic book for the Go Big Read initiative. Discussions about the book are held at public libraries and the book is read in college classes. It’s an impressive program that involves both campus and the surrounding community, and past books have covered a ton of different topics!
This year, the Go Big Read book is The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan, which addresses challenges and opportunities for the Great Lakes in the 21st century. As you can imagine, my coworkers over here at the Aquatic Sciences Center (where the Wisconsin Water Library lives) are pretty thrilled about the choice!
Photo: cover of the Go Big Read 2018 book, The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, Dan Egan.
After reading the book, I took away three important ideas (and a ton of amusing facts that will serve me well in trivia nights).
First, the Great Lakes are basically one big environmental mess right now. And they have been for a long time because of human decisions. Ecological imbalance, habitat destruction, erosion from high water levels, and aquatic invasive species are a few of the largest issues the lakes are facing today.
Photo: Quagga mussels, a small aquatic invader with a huge impact. https://www.newscientist.com/.
Second, tackling the topic of Great Lakes challenges is no easy feat! When we consider the Great Lakes, we have to talk about much more than just ecology. Here are a few examples of other important aspects of Great Lakes conversation:
- Political forces that drive decisions about the lakes and determine who has access to the precious fresh water resource
- International relations with our Canadian neighbors
- Water and environmental education for diverse communities
- Fishing and recreation economies and the environmental protections that are needed to maintain them
The list could go on forever! Because fresh water is such a scarce and essential resource, it touches every aspect of life.
Photo: fishing on Lake Michigan, a critical economic activity on the Great Lakes. https://www.boatsetter.com/.
The third thing I learned while reading the book was that all hope isn’t lost. Despite the enormous challenges that face the Great Lakes today, there are still opportunities to revitalize and protect them. It’s not too late, but the status quo needs to change ASAP!
Our experts here at the Aquatic Sciences Center at UW-Madison and regional colleagues weighed in on opportunities for improving Great Lakes conditions. They have some great insights and advice:
- Funding for Great Lakes research and programming is good right now, so we need to use it wisely while we have it
- Citizen science, citizen restoration, and other individual actions make a huge impact
- Great Lakes literacy is improving through place-based, experiential programs for communities
- Green infrastructure can help prevent stormwater runoff and untreated pollutants from contaminating the Great Lakes
Again, this list could go on forever! With each challenge facing the Great Lakes today, there is an opportunity to improve it. Just think of how many chances we have to make a change!
Photo: Lake Superior in the fall. http://bobber.discoverwisconsin.com/.
If you’re interested in learning more about Great Lakes challenges and opportunities, here is the schedule of events for Go Big Read (you can come even if you haven’t read the book, but you should totally read the book). Dan Egan himself is the keynote speaker at the free October 16th event. On top of that, our very own Anne Moser from the Wisconsin Water Library is leading a few discussions and presentations at local libraries! Hope to see you there!