Biodiversity, Conservation and Environmental Management in the Great Lakes Basin

About this book

The Great Lakes Basin in North America holds more than 20 percent of the world's fresh water. Threats to habitats and biodiversity have economic, political, national security, and cultural implications and ramifications that cross the US-Canadian border. This multidisciplinary book presents recent research to demonstrate the interconnected nature of the challenges facing the basin.

Chapters by US and Canadian scholars and practitioners represent a wide range of natural science and social science fields, including environmental sciences, geography, political science, natural resources, mass communications, environmental history and communication, public health, and economics. Biodiversity, Conservation and Environmental Management in the Great Lakes Basin covers threats from invasive species, industrial development, climate change, agricultural and chemical runoff, air emissions, dependence on fossil fuels, energy exploration and hydraulic fracturing, disease and pollution. Overall the book provides political, cultural, economic and social contexts for recognising and addressing the environmental challenges faced by the Great Lakes Basin.

Contents

1. Introduction

Part 1: Habitat, Conservation and Restoration
2. Dams: A Mixed Bag of Tricks for Great Lakes Fish
3. Irrigation in the Great Lakes Basin: Prospects and Conflicts
4. Artificial Reefs and Reef Restoration in the Laurentian Great Lakes

Part 2: Species Loss and Extinction
5. Georgian Bay, Lake Huron: Turtles and Their Wetland Habitat in a Changing Landscape
6. Commemorating Martha: News Coverage of the Centennial of the Passenger Pigeon's Disappearance
7. Ice Age Extinctions in the Great Lakes Region: Pattern, Process and Paleoecology

Part 3: Pollution and Climate Change
8. Toxicants in the Great Lakes: Living with Toxic Legacy while Managing for Chemicals of Emerging Concern
9. Water Quality in the Great Lakes: Interactions between Nutrient Pollution, Invasive Species, and Climate Change

Part 4: Public Policy
10. Legislating the Great Lakes: Socially Constructing water through Congressional Discourse
11. The Go-between Government and Landowners: Conservation Authorities in Ontario
12. Interpretation and Community Engagement with Great Lakes Natural Resources
13. Through the Crystal Ball

Customer Reviews

Biography

Eric Freedman is Knight Chair, Director of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, and Professor of Journalism at Michigan State University, USA. He also won a Pulitzer Prize in Journalism.

Mark Neuzil is Professor of Communication and Journalism at University of St Thomas, Minnesota, USA.