The Death and Life of the Great Lakes

De: Dan Egan

Narrado por: Jason Culp

A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
Winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Award

A landmark work of science, history and reporting on the past, present and imperiled future of the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes—Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior—hold 20 percent of the world’s supply of surface fresh water and provide sustenance, work and recreation for tens of millions of Americans. But they are under threat as never before, and their problems are spreading across the continent. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is prize-winning reporter Dan Egan’s compulsively readable portrait of an ecological catastrophe happening right before our eyes, blending the epic story of the lakes with an examination of the perils they face and the ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come.

For thousands of years the pristine Great Lakes were separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the roaring Niagara Falls and from the Mississippi River basin by a “sub-continental divide.” Beginning in the late 1800s, these barriers were circumvented to attract oceangoing freighters from the Atlantic and to allow Chicago’s sewage to float out to the Mississippi. These were engineering marvels in their time—and the changes in Chicago arrested a deadly cycle of waterborne illnesses—but they have had horrendous unforeseen consequences. Egan provides a chilling account of how sea lamprey, zebra and quagga mussels and other invaders have made their way into the lakes, decimating native species and largely destroying the age-old ecosystem. And because the lakes are no longer isolated, the invaders now threaten water intake pipes, hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure across the country.

Egan also explores why outbreaks of toxic algae stemming from the overapplication of farm fertilizer have left massive biological “dead zones” that threaten the supply of fresh water. He examines fluctuations in the levels of the lakes caused by manmade climate change and overzealous dredging of shipping channels. And he reports on the chronic threats to siphon off Great Lakes water to slake drier regions of America or to be sold abroad.

In an age when dire problems like the Flint water crisis or the California drought bring ever more attention to the indispensability of safe, clean, easily available water, The Death and the Life of the Great Lakes is a powerful paean to what is arguably our most precious resource, an urgent examination of what threatens it and a convincing call to arms about the relatively simple things we need to do to protect it.

Reseñas de la Crítica

Dan Egan’s deeply researched and sharply written The Death and Life of The Great Lakes…nimbly splices together history, science, reporting and personal experiences into a taut and cautiously hopeful narrative…Egan’s book is bursting with life (and yes, death). —Robert Moor, New York Times Book Review

Engaging…[and] impeccably researched…Told like a great story rather than an academic lecture.—Anna M. Michalak, Nature

Living up to . . . early acclaim, [The Death and Life of the Great Lakes] is easy to read, offering well-paced, intellectually stimulating arguments, bolstered by well-researched and captivating narratives. —Lekelia Danielle Jenkins, Science

Fascinating and brilliant.—Vicky Albritton and Fredrik Albritton Jonsson, Los Angeles Review of Books

This book feels urgent to policymakers and laypersons alike.—Kerri Arsenault, Literary Hub

An accessible, even gripping narrative about the massive, unforeseen costs of our interventions in the natural world. . . . The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is an engaging, vitally important work of science journalism. —Eva Holland, The Globe and Mail

The Death and Life of the Great Lakes reads like a mystery. . . . Egan knows how to pare a story to its most interesting elements. Having finished the book, I immediately started over. —Louise Erdrich

Dan Egan has done more than any other journalist in America to chronicle the decline of this once-great ecosystem, to alert the public to new threats, and to force governments to take remedial action.—Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment, Special Merit citation

Fabulous Read

l'm involved in water issues and this spoke to me on many levels. I hope many people will take the time to read or listen to this book.
Toward the end there was an unexpected description of the genetic engineering they are using to eliminate invasive. Fabulous listen/read.

Lots of Good Factial information

I liked that this was not based on opinion but on research facts and historical facts.

Every Midwesterner needs to listen to this book!

As a child of Ohio and resident of Michigan I have grown up with a certain awe and appreciation for the Great Lakes. I am never not in awe of their size, beauty, fishing, boating, and history. They are truly unrecognized seas.

This book was heartbreaking with the history of how humans have wrecked this magnificent treasure. Nonetheless, this history is critical for anyone who drinks, bathes, or earns their livelihood from these magnificent bodies of water.

The condition of algal blooms in Lake Erie and the Detroit River are special concerns to me. I appreciated the authors review of these factors.

In the end the book gave me a promising perspective and critical information that I need to be aware of as a Lake State resident, voter, taxpayer, and landowner.

Everyone who drinks Great Lakes water must read this book!

Death and Life of the Great Lakes

Very well thought out written book detailing everything about the lakes.I really enjoyed it.
The Lamprey was the Serial Killer finally killed or at least knocked down to 10% population in 60s.

Interesting and entertaining

Great to learn about the lakes and how to sustain them. Enjoyed learning about the history.