Changes in the Great Lakes

by Laura Van Vliet

The article, “Greatest of Lakes Hit by Climate Change” by Adrianne Appel, discusses the recent changes in the Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes. The article, which generally clearly describes the causes for the severe changes in the lake ecosystems, is sometimes ambiguous in its use of language, detracting from the value of the argument.

One ambiguous phrase used by Appel is “profound environmental stress” (Appel, 2009), when referring to the condition of the lakes. It is unclear what the true definition of “environmental stress” really is. The main definition of stress, in the biological sense, refers to external factor(s) which is causes the ecosystem (in this instance) to act in response, changing (Dictionary.com, 2009). However, stress can be viewed positively or negatively, as can change. After all, the theory of evolution depends mainly upon the positive effects of change and environmental stress. While there is the possibility that the author is referring to positive change and stress, it is fitting with the tone of article that stress and change are depicted as negative.

A second ambiguous expression used in Appel’s article is the description of the “ailing Great Lakes” (Appel, 2009). This is not ambiguous in what it implies – illness, death, and danger – but in the idea to which it is being applied. The “Great Lakes” encompasses as vast network of organisms, species, food webs, and ecosystems. While the static states of these ecosystems are not being preserved, one cannot necessarily decide this indicates a loss of good health and is a negative incident. Change is not necessarily bad. For example, many species – such as the algae focused on in the beginning of the article whose population is exploding – certainly benefit from the “ailing” health of the Great Lakes. While other species may decline in population, and this may be the overall trend, is this automatically harmful? Nothing remains in static equilibrium; even through our own knowledge of the history of living things this can be seen. With this in mind, we must decide if the “Great Lakes”, a term which begs clarification for the reasons outlined above, can be said to be “ailing” and be unambiguously understood.

However, it can be assumed, because of the general nature of this article, what is meant by the above phrase. What Appel attempts to discuss, I believe, is the overall health of ecosystems of the Great Lakes, analysing it by comparing the present state of the ecosystem to the previous state of the ecosystem. In this sense, if the drastic changes which have occurred are viewed negatively, it could be said that the ecosystem is “ailing”.

While the clarification of the above phrases would strengthen Appel’s argument, I recognize that this is not always feasible. An article aimed at the general public is meant to attract attention, not go through a detailed analysis of every ambiguous term. Overall, this article presents a convincing view of the changing water quality and ecosystems of the Great Lakes.

References

Appel, Adrianne. ENVIRONMENT-US: Greatest of Lakes Hit by Climate Change. 22 October 2009. Accessed on: 26 October 2009. Available at: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48956

Dictionary.com. 2009. Stress. Accessed on: 26 October 2009. Available at: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stress