Climate change to make Great Lakes muddier

(Photo of Lake Erie with ice from Flickr and photographer kuddlyteddybear2004/Mark K.)

News Update: Global warming, if allowed to continue, will change the climate of the Midwest so it feels like the Deep South, according to a researcher at the University of Illinois. And as temperatures go up – in summer, between 5 and 15 degrees – the Great Lakes, which hold 20% of the world’s fresh surface water – will shrink. Without ice cover, for example, Lake Erie’s level could go down 1.2 feet by 2050, said atmospheric scientist Don Wuebbles. As water evaporates and levels go down, it will not only interrupt shipping but increased algae and sediment will make the waters muddier, he said. For one who lives on the Great Lakes, this is distressing news. I won't be here in 2050 but my grandchildren will. The lakes are a wonderful resource, not only for the ever-shrinking water supply, but for beauty, boating, fishing, swimming and a shipping economy. Let's not lose them. (Sources: Greenwire, Sandusky Register)