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Please see EPA's Climate Change site for current information on climate change and global warming. EPA no longer updates EPA's Global Warming Site, but is maintaining this archive for historical purposes. Thank you for visiting the archive of EPA's Global Warming Site.
Great Lakes
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What Can be Done?
"Small changes in climate, which we may not even notice, may make the difference as to where certain trees can grow."
- John Pastor, Minnesota Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota, March 1997 |
To address the threat of climate change, first we have to understand the risks. U.S. and Canadian scientists have been studying potential impacts on the Great Lakes region through programs such as the bi-national Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Basin Project, the Canada Country Study, and the U.S. National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Climate Change.
Prevention of human-induced climate change also is an important strategy. Some global warming probably will occur no matter what we do, because some of it is natural. But also, humans have become dependent on fossil fuels. The burning of fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases, which may remain in the atmosphere for years, decades, or even centuries, exacerbating the natural warming. But we as individuals can take action now to reduce our own consumption of fossil fuels by improving energy efficiency and using alternative energy sources. (See "Searching for Solutions" and "What People Can Do".)
Isle Royale National ParkAs Holling noted in Paddle-to-the-Sea, Lake Superior is shaped like the head of a wolf. The wolf's eye is Isle Royale, the largest island in the world's largest lake. This roadless 45-mile long island is part of an archipelago off Lake Superior's northwestern shore. Isle Royale is an International Biosphere Reserve and is known worldwide as a living laboratory, the site of the longest continuous ecological study of wolves and moose. The Royal National Park has 400 islands, 165 miles of hiking trails and 36 campgrounds, and is used by backpackers, boaters, scuba divers, and anglers. Park waters contain the most productive native fishery and the most genetically diverse lake trout populations in Lake Superior.
In the park staff's own summation, Isle Royale "offers visitors a chance to experience wildness, seclusion, solitude, and recreation. It restores the human spirit. It is a wilderness to be entered on its own terms. It is an adventure."
Visitors who climb to Lookout Louise on Isle Royale have a spectacular view of the island's heavily wooded north shore and the Ontario mainland 20 miles away. In 50 or 100 years from now, the view might be quite different. There still would be plenty of trees, but the conifers that dominate the north shore today might be largely replaced by deciduous species such as the maples that today are more common on the island's southwestern shore and interior.
The moose on Isle Royale browse heavily on balsam fir, one of the tree species that researchers believe may be strongly affected by global warming. Balsam fir prefers colder climates and may shift its range northward as the temperature warms.
A study published in 1999 found that changes in winter snowfall affect the hunting behavior of wolves on Isle Royale, which in turn affects the population density of moose and ultimately the growth of balsam fir trees on the island. In years of high snowfall, wolves hunt in larger packs and kill more moose. With fewer moose, the growth of understory balsam firs increases. This study concludes that changes in climate can cause what ecologists call a "trophic cascade," an impact that trickles down through the food web with repercussions for the larger ecosystem.
Voyageurs National Park and Boundary Waters"Here as all know is the last great wilderness area of its kind on the continent," proclaimed the noted Minnesota nature writer and conservationist Sigurd F. Olson in a speech to the Izaak Walton League in 1929. "Nowhere else can such beautiful lakes be found. Nowhere else can you find them close together enough to make what is known as a canoe country, and nowhere else is there so much beauty concentrated in one spot as here. It is the last area of its kind in the country."
 Olson was referring to Superior National Forest in Minnesota's north woods, an area that includes popular recreational areas such as Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
Voyageurs National Park lies on the southern fringe of the Canadian Shield. The park contains a classic boreal ecosystem, with bogs, beaver ponds, swamps, lakes, and islands. The nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Quetico Provincial Park are famous canoeing and camping destinations.
Established in 1978, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has changed little since the glaciers melted. With 1,500 miles of canoe routes, nearly 2,200 designated campsites, and 1,000 lakes and streams, the Boundary Waters draws more than 200,000 visitors each year.
What People Can Do
We all add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere whenever we use energy from fossil fuels. Residential energy use accounted for 19 percent of overall CO2 emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels in 1997, and motor vehicle use accounted for approximately 20 percent. Here are a few actions that people can take to reduce their emissions.
- Use mass transit, carpool with friends, or ride a bike whenever possible.
- When it's time to replace the family vehicle, consider one that gets more miles per gallon than your present vehicle.
- If you have a small boat for fishing and recreation, run it with "human power" when possible.
- When it's time to replace an appliance, look for the Energy Star® label identifying energy-efficient models.
- When buying or building a new house, an Energy Star model gives greater quality and comfort as well as lower monthly costs. For more information, go to the Energy Star Homes web site.
- Buy products that feature reusable, recyclable, or reduced packaging to save the energy required to manufacture new containers and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from landfills.
- Encourage your company to join EPA programs such as Energy Star BuildingsSM and Waste Wi$e recycling programs, and to buy office equipment with the Energy Star label.
- Plant trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air.
- Educate others. Let friends and family know about these practical, energy-saving steps they can take to save money while protecting the environment.
- Encourage scientific research and public discussion on global warming and solutions such as energy efficiency and alternative energy.
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These wilderness areas provide visitors with exciting opportunities to observe wildlife, catch fish, hear wolves, and spend time in a landscape rich in the lore of the north woods.
One study suggests that global warming could cause forests in the southern portion of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the adjacent Superior National Forest to shift from boreal evergreens such as spruce and fir to northern hardwoods such as sugar maple. Under one computer model scenario, a 400-year-old stand of balsam fir on fertile, moist soil in the Boundary Waters would lose two-thirds of its area by 2010, with sugar maples moving in to take the place of the fir.
Waterflow in PerilThe plentiful lakes and ponds in the Great Lakes region support large numbers of ducks, geese, and other waterfowl. Will they be affected by global warming? Unfortunately, the answer appears to be yes. Waterfowl may be vulnerable to changes in water quality, the availability of food resources, and impacts on wetlands and other nesting habitats.
Global warming is expected to affect the prairie pothole region of the north-central United States and south-central Canada, where 50-80 percent of North America's ducks and other waterfowl nest. The shallow prairie wetlands are vulnerable to drought, and computer models indicate that global warming is likely to bring stronger and more frequent droughts to the prairie pothole region.
According to one study, global warming could cause the number of prairie ponds in the north-central United States that hold water in the spring to drop from today's average of 1.3 million to just 0.6-0.8 million by the year 2060. This loss of habitat could reduce the average number of ducks settling to breed in this area from 5 million birds today to between 2.1 and 2.7 million. The Great Lakes also serve as important staging areas for migratory waterfowl and other birds. Changes in water levels and food availability may affect migrants as they pass through the region.
What can be done to protect the pothole region from the potential effects of global warming? Scientists recommend that we start by protecting the least drought-sensitive areas so they are available to birds in the future as the climate warms.
Searching for SolutionsTo address the threat of global warming, the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest states could improve the health and resiliency of natural ecosystems, prepare for a changing climate, and work to limit future global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Programs to improve the health of the Great Lakes environment, such as the Great Lakes Basin Compact and the remedial action plans for the 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern, will help make the region's ecosystems more robust. A healthy environment will be better able to withstand some of the potential impacts of global warming.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes National Program Office, located in Chicago, brings together federal, state, tribal, local, and industry partners in an integrated ecosystem approach to protect, maintain, and restore the chemical, biological, and physical integrity of the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes 5-Year Strategy, developed jointly by EPA and its multistate, multiagency partners, provides a promising agenda for management of the Great Lakes ecosystem: reducing toxic substances, protecting and restoring important habitats, and protecting human and ecosystem health.
Slowing Climate ChangeToday, action is occurring at every level to reduce, avoid, and better understand the risks associated with global warming. Many cities and states across the country have prepared greenhouse gas inventories, and many are pursuing programs and policies that will result in reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.
At the national level, the federal government is working in partnership with businesses, states, and localities to address global warming while also strengthening the economy. In addition, the U.S. Global Change Research Program coordinates the world's most extensive research effort on climate change.
For More Information
 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's global warming site includes detailed information on climate change, impacts, and actions.
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