The Great Lakes basin (Land and Water) covers 295,200 square-miles, of North America. The lake's industries, mines, commerce, and agriculture, makes this area important to the sustainability of North America.

Major industries in the area of the Great Lakes, are manufacture of steel, and other metals, for automobiles, machinery and chemicals, rubber, glass, and furniture, and petroleum refining. Eight million kw, of hydroelectric power centered on the Niagara and St. Lawrence rivers are now exceeding over 20 million kw of thermal lake shore fossil-and nuclear-fueled plants.

The United States area of the Great Lakes basin,devoted to farming consists of 67 square-miles, Canada has 10,000 square-miles devoted to farming with the remainder of the land devoted to lumbering, and mining, crops raised on the land, grains, fruit and vegetables, sugar and beets. Great lakes fishing, of salmon and trout providing a relaxing past time and commercial fishing.

Since the 1970s global warming has been affecting the lakes, with reduction in snow coverage with effects showing on the shore-lines around the lakes. Invasive species, and regulations modifying shore-line habitats, resulting in near-shore changes with sediment erosion, leaving behind the formation of beaches.

The water levels are declining as warming encroaches and reduces runoff. Regulation keeps the water levels lower, than what would occur naturally and in the earlier centuries before settlement. The invasion of Zebra Mussels has increased, with improved water quality also submerged plant cover. Global warming has encouraged the waterfowl to migrate less, making them vulnerable as the, snow-cover denies the essential food, also with the lower levels of water.

As I research this question all my reading is leading to the same result here in Australia. I have discovered many similarities to Australia and in America.

Around the Great Lakes, where water once came up to the shore line, there is now beaches and you must now walk down on the rocks to reach the lakes. In the past the area had been always under water.

There has been over the past few summers, less rain fall, and short winters with little snow, ultimately this does not top up the water levels.

Migration of birds are effected, with less snowfall all food sources have been drying up by late December. Birds were able to feed for a while on what the storms are washing ashore, but once that is gone, there in nothing . Some birds are supposed to migrate to the East coast for the winter but now several breeds are remaining.

Politicians do need to stand up and take notice, the consequence of the changes that are occurring slowly will not go away and the sooner they realize this, hopefully things will change. We humans are part of this problem and must work together to right the wrongs of the past centuries.

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