DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 328 455 SE 051 939

TITLE Great Minds? Great Lakes!INSTITUTION Environmental Protection Agency, Chicago, IL. Great

Lakes National Program Office.REPORT NO EPA-905/M/90/004PUB DATE Jun 90NOTE 29p.PUB TYPE Guides - Classroom Use - Guides (For Teachers) (052)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Air Pollution; Conservation (Environment); Ecology;

Elementary Education; *Elementary School Science;*Environmental Education; Groundwater; History;*Interdisciplinary Approach; Natural Resources;Resource Materials; *Science Activities; ScienceCurriculum; Science Education; Social Studies;*Teaching Guides; Teaching Methods; Water Pollution;*Water Resources; Water Treatment

IDENTIFIERS *Great Lakes

ABSTRACTThis booklet introduces an environmental curriculum

for use in a variety of elementary subjects. The lesson plans providean integrated approach to incorporating Great Lakes environmentalissues into the subjects of history, social studies, andenvironmental sciences. Each of these sections contains backgroundinformation, discussion points, and a variety of hands-on activitiesdesigned to illustrate the major points of each lesson. A map of theGreat Lakes is provided for photocopying and can be used with thediscussion points and activities. Topics include the history of theGreat Lakes, shipwrecks, water use, acid rain, air pollution, lakeclean-up, groundwater, surface runoff, industrial runoff, andsediment pollution. General facts about each of the Great Lakes arelisted. (KR)

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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

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What's Inside:

HistoryWhere Did the Great Lakes Come From? 1

Great Lakes People 2

Shipwrecks 3

The Fate of the Christmas Tree Ship 4

Social StudiesWhere Would We Be Without the Great Lakes? 6

Who Governs the Great Lakes? 8

Acid Rain: A Shared Problem 9

Environmental SciencesThe Journey of Lake Guardian 12

II. Lake Guardian Explores Lake Superior 14

III. Investigating Lake Huron 16

IV. The Journey Continues on Lake Michigan 18

V. Lake Guardian Travels the Length of Lake Erie 20

VI. The End of Lake Guardian's Journey, Lake Ontario! 21

Great Lakes Facts 23

Classroom Activity Map Back CoverLearning More About the Great Lakes Back Cover

Great Minds? Great Lakes!has been developed by the UnitedStates Environmental ProtectionAgency's Great Lakes NationalProgram Office to introduce envi-ronmental curriculum for use ina variety of' elementary subjects.Inspired by U.S. EPA's environ-mental research vessel namedLake Guardian by elementaryschools in the Great Lakes Basin,this publication is dedicated tohelping students learn moreabout the environment and aboutthe Great Lakes.

The lesson plans in this bookprovide an integrated approachto incorporating Great Lakes en-vironmental issues into thesubjects of history, social studies,and science. These lessons are

Introduction

just a sampling of the educationalmaterial contained in 6.-eatLakes it, My Worlda morecomprehensive curriculumdeveloped by the Lake MichiganFederation and the Great LakesNational Program Office.

Use the material in this bookto introduce your students to theimportance of environmentalissues and to see how all of usare part of the Great Lakes Basinecosystem. Share the lore of theLakes with your students throughhistory lessons and stories aboutfamous shipwrecks. Teach yourstudents about Canada and theUnited States through socialstudies lessons, and help themlearn how both countries areresponsible for protecting the

3

Lakes. For example, explore thedifficulties of solving interna-tional problems such as acid rain.Finally, follow the journey of theLake Guardian as it travels fromlake to lake introducing your stu-dents to some of the more com-pelling environmental problemsaffecting the Great Lakes today.

Once you have used GreatMinds? Great Lakes!, move on tothe expanded and more detailedlessons offered in Great Lakes inMy World, available in the fall of1990. For more informationregarding Great Lakes in MyWorld, contact The Lake Michi-gan Federation, 59 E. Van Buren,Suite 2215, Chicago, Illinois60605, (312) 939-0838.

Great Minds? Great Lakes! isdivided into three subject areas:History, Social Studies, and Envi-ronmental Sciences. Eachsection contains backgroundinformation, discussion points,and a variety of hands-on activi-ties designed to illustrate themajor points of each lesson. Inthe back of the book, a map ofthe Great Lakes is provided forphotocopying, and use with dis-cussion points and activities. Abibliography and reference pagetells you where you can findmore information on all thetopics presented throughout thebook.

As the figure below indicates,the lesson plans in each sectionare designed to interrelate with

each other to demonstrate howenvironmental issues can not beisolated from other issues such aspopulation and industry. lnfor-

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mation in one lesson plan can beused easily with another. Forinstance, use the lessons in thehistory section to demonstratethe link between the settlementsof the early explorers and thegrowth of modern metropolitanareas. Use social studies lessonsto understand how these metro-politan areas use and economi-cally depend on the Great Lakes.Finally, demonstrate the linkbetween the use of the GreatLakes and environmental prob-lems discussed in "The Journeyof Lake Guardian."

About the Lake GuardianResearch Boat

The Lake Guardian was con-verted to a research vessel froman offshore supply vessel in 1990

by the Great Lakes NationalProgram Office and wasnamed by the children of10.000 elementary schools in

the Great Lakes Basin. Thestudents voted on names contrib-uted by environmental interestgroups in the Great Lakes area,and the winning name was LakeGuardian.

Lake Guardian is used toconduct in-depth studies of waterquality in the Great Lakes Basinby collecting samples of water,sediment, fish, and other biologi-cal matter. By monitoring toxicchemicals and other pollutants inthis fragile freshwater world, sci-entists study the effects of pollut-ants and assess various cleanup

-44h. 4

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programs underway in the GreatLakes Basin using samples andanalysis from the Lake Guardian.

About the Great Lakes NationalProgram Office

The Great Lakes NationalProgram Office (GLNPO) was es-tablished in 1977 as a specialarm of the U.S. EPA dedicated toGreat Lakes environmentalissues. GLNPO was started tomeet the obligations of the UnitedStates under the Great LakesWater Quality Agreement withCanada. GLNPO is the first U.S.EPA office that is solely devotedto a distinct ecosystem such asthe Great Lakes Basin. GLNPOhas an extensive surveillance andmonitoring program whichmeasures conditions in the Lakesand traces the sources of pollut-ants.

To keep track of pollutantsentering the Lakes, GLNPOoperates the Great Lakes Atmos-pheric Deposition Network tomeasure pollutants from theatmosphere, while states trackpollutants in tributaries enteringthe Lakes. GINPO works closelywith various federal agencies.eight Great Lakes states, andcomparable Canadian agencies toshare and interpret data. Inaddition, GLNPO coordinates U.S.EPA's implementation of regula-tory actions and activities toinfluence state programs in theGreat Lakes Basin.

How to Use this Book

Where did the Great LakesCome From?

The story begins about threebillion years ago. This lessoncondenses and describes millionsof years of geologic history tohelp students appreciate howlong it took to form the GreatLakes and the origin of its manytreasures, including rich mineraldeposits.

During the Precambrian Era,which started about 3 billionyears ago and ended 600 millionyears ago, a great deal of vol-canic activity occurred. Thisaction and sedimentary depositswere the source of the richmineral deposits found in thisregion. During the PrecambrianEra, the only types of life existingon the Earth were algae, fungi,and bacteria.

4 Precambrian3 billion.600 rnation years ago(30 teeg

Paleozoic600 280 million yrs ago(6 Nett

Mesozoic230 135 yrs ago(2 3 (eel)

4 Cenozoic70 ?nation yrs ago to present(2 5 inches)

Pleistocene Epch (Ice Age) ).2 millon 10,0W yrs ago( 25 inchl

Great Lakes formed10-15.000 yrs age ( 016 inchl

Recent History, the last10.003 years ( 001 inch)

History

After billions of years ofvolcanic activity, central NorthAmerica was flooded severaltimes during the Paleozoic Era,which lasted more than 350,000million ynars. The floodingbrought different soil materials,such as mud, clay, and sand, aswell as various forms of sea life,to the Great Lakes Basin area.During the Paleozoic Era, the

; first fish, insects, reptiles, coni-fers, and tree ferns appeared onEarth. The Mesozoic Era fol-

: lowed on the heels of the Paleo-zoic Era. It lasted over 167million years and brought dino-saurs, mastodons, birds, mam-mals, gymnosperms, and flower-ing plants to the Lakes area. Thedecomposition a r d accumulationof the remains of plants andanimals during tl; Era addedfurther to the mineral resourcesof the Great Lakes area.

The Era we are in now, theCenozoic Era, started 70 millionyears ago. Eras are divided into

6111110""

Discussion:

1) Discuss what a glacier is, howit moves, how it can change

the geography of the land.

2) On a map, point out where theglaciers covered the Great

Lakes area. Have the students

ever seen ice that big? Explainthat glaciers still exist today inmany parts of the world, e.g.,

Glacier National Park in Mon-tana, Sierra Nevada Mountain

Range in Nevada, and Colum-

bia Ice Fields in the Canadian

Rockies near Jasper, Canada.

epochs, and scientists now believethat the Great Lakes got theirstart prior to the PleistoceneEpoch, also known as the Ice Age,which occurred in North Americaabout 10,000 years to 15,000years ago. The region where theLakes are now originally wascarved out before the Ice Age byan ancient river system thatemptied into the Hudson Bay orSt. Lawrence River Valley.

During the Ice Age, glacierscovered central North America asfar south as Kansas and Ne-braska, as far east as New York

Activities

1) Time Una:

Materials: 30-foot piece of string or clothesline and at least six clothespins.

Procedure: Have two students hold up the string as a time line across the frontof the clbssroom. Depending on the grade level, either have the studeqs writedown the names and characteristics of each ere, or have the students draw apicture of the activities that occurred. Clip students' work to the appropriatetime period on the string. (Use the timeline diagram for reference) Optional:research animals that lived during the time periods and cut out animal tracks ofeach type of animal, including human beings (they can trace their own feet).Ley the timeline on the floor and lay the tracks down next to it so the footprintswalk through time at the appropriate eras. As the Ice Age and recent historytime periods converge, students will be able to visualize how plants, animals,and human beings are recent history relative to the evolution of the Earth.

2) Using boxes, create *scenes" from different periods of the Great Lakes'geologic history, showing formations and animals unique to each phase of theirdevelopment.

and as far west as the northernWest Coast. In some places, theglaciers were over 6,500 feetthick, almost a mile-and-a-quarter high. Through the sheerweight of the ice, coupled withthe varying hardness of the rocksbeneath it, the glaciers tore upthe river terrain, creating naturaldams and dikes that obstructedthe drainage of the ancient riversystem. As the glacier recededfrom North America, the GreatLakes began to form from themelting receding glacial waterwhich had enlarged the originalriver basin. During the Ice Age,modern humans, saber toothtigers, mammoths, and numerousother animals began to roam theEarth. In addition, the first

grasslands, herbaceousplants, and forests

developed.

Great Lakes People

For a variety of reasons, theGreat Lakes have attracted manydifferent kinds of people from allover the world. From NativeAmericans to European immi-grants, these people contribute toits diversity and cultural rich-ness. This lesson introducesstudents to the people of theGreat Lakes Basin.

About 10,000 years ago,around the time that the glacierreceded, the first inhabitants orthe Great Lakes area appeared.It is believed that these NativeAmericans came from SouthAmerica or across the landbridge once connecting thecontinents of North America and

Asia in Alaska. Tribes of NativeAmericans peopled the shores,among them the Iroquois, AI-lumettes, Chippewas, Hurons,Ottawas, Senecas, Mohawks,Eries, and Ojibways. Many citiestake their names from the tribesor great chiefs of these tribes,including Ottawa, Canada;Pontiac, Michigan; and Erie,Pennsylvania. Lake Huron wasnamed directly for the HuronIndians. Other present-day t:.:9swere once Indian villages, indud-ing Quebec, Canada, which wuaonce Stadacona; and Montreal,Canada, which was Hochelaga.

In Europe, two events in-creased curiosity about the so-called New World: voyages byNorsemen in the twelfth to four-teenth centuries and the voyageto America by ChristopherColumbus in the fifteenth cen-tury. Artifacts such as a Vikingsword, axe and shield found inOntario and southwestern Minne-sota suggest that the Vikings andNorsemen may have reached theNorth American continent as farinland as Minnesota via theHudson Bay.

In the 1500s and 1600s, theFrench were the primary explor-ers and settlers in and aroundthe Great Lakes. Less than 200years after Norsemen reachedthe Great Lakes, French explor-ers and missionaries began toarrive. Over a period of time,they constructed forts along theGreat Lakes all the way to King-ston, Ontario, where Fort Fron-tenac was located.

The British were active, too.constructing Fort Oswego OnLake Ontario's south shore in theearly 1700s The British hadalready colonized the NewEngland states and parts ofPennsylvania. Steady migrationby tne British into French-dominated territory around the

Discussion:

1) Ask the students to talk aboutwhere their families are from.Why did their families origi-nally move to the Great Lakes

Basin?

2) Locate interesting names oftowns and cities on a map of

the Great Lakes. Determinethe origin of the name or have

the class write to the city'sChamber of Commerce for

further historical information.

Great Lakes led to war betweenthe two nations over the furtrade. The first African Ameri-cans arrived in the Great Lakesarea in the late 1700s, when JeanBaptiste Pointe DuSable, a trap-per, built a cabin in the Chicagoarea. African Americans came ingreater numbers in the late1800s.

During the 1800s, there wasa mass influx of other ethnicgroups from Europe. They cameto the New World in search offreedom and prosperity. In all,more than 21 different nationali-ties settled in the Great Lakesarea. Scandinavians again wereamong the first to arrive. Norwe-gians founded the first perma-nent colony on the Fox River inIllinois, and Swedes settled atPine Lake, Wisconsin, west ofMilwaukee. Belgians also came,and the largest populadon ofBelgians in the United States arenow in Door County, Wisconsin.The Irish represented the largestimmigrant group in Canada. Thefirst group of Finns settled on theupper peninsula of Michigan andworked in the copper minesthere. They also peopled theareas around Duluth, Minnesota,working in the open-pit minesthe Vermilion and Mesabi ranges.Germans flocked te the Great

History

Lakes area, particularly in San-dusky, Ohio, on Lake Erie and inMilwaukee, Wisconsin.

Also among the immigrants tothe Great Lakes Basin were theCanadians, French-Canadians,Russians, Czechs, Greeks, Turks,Persians and Spaniards, Welsh-men, Scotsmen, and Dutch.Immigrants from Mexico, PuertoRico, and other Central Americancountries came at the turn of thecentury, with significant migra-tion occuring during World War I.

Activities

1) Have the students research theNative American and Europeanpeople who first settled in theGreat Lake Region. Locate early

3 settlements on the map.

2) As a class, research and dress upas early explorers of the GreatLakes region and describe theirexperiences. Have the studentswrite a make-believe journal entryof an explorer's adventures.

3) Have the class research thehistory of your town. Write to alocal historical group or invite along-time residei., to share his orhor memories of the town'shistory with the class,

ShipwrecksA sailor's life journeying the

five Great Lakes sounds romantic.but not All the journeys have beensmooth sailing. The Great Lakeshave seen their share of ship-wrecks over the years.

Explorer Robert de LaSallo'sship, The Griffin, one of the tilarge ships ever to sail the GreatLakes. was launched in 1679 andcarried a load of furs out of GreenBay on its maiden voyage. Slipwas never seen again and no

History

splinter ever washed ashore.The Griffin leads the long paradeof ghost ships that provide uswith the great mysteries of theGreat Lakes.

In 1871 alone, 1,167 disas-ters were recorded. In the twodecades between 1878 and 1898,

the United States Commissionerof Navigation reported 5,999vessels wrecked on the GreatLakes and 1,093 of these weretotal losses. 1905 was a particu-larly bad year on the Lakes with271 vessels damaged, 54 ofwhich were lost through thestress of weather.

Whereas luck and intuitionwere the tools available to earlyskippers, today's captains havethe finest and most sophisticatednavigational aids available.Ships are equipped with weatherwarning systems, radios, direc-tion finders, and depthometers.Careful study of previous ship-wrecks haF taught us how toimprove ship construction andmethods of navigation.

Despite all that moderntechnology can offer, surviving aGreat Lakes storm is still a chal-lenge. The storms of the GreatLakes have been compared witha "witches brew."and a "devil'sharvest."Storms canexplodeacrosshun-dredsofmiles ofopenwaterwithlittleor nowarn-ing.Stormson the

Great Lakes often can be moredifficult to navigate than oceanstorms. Waves on the GreatLakes jump and strike quicklycompared to the lethargic rollingand swelling of ocean waves.

Just as there are comparisonsto be made between oceanstorms and lake storms, thereare differences in the way each ofthe Great Lakes reacts in astorm. Most veteran captainsand crews find Lake Erie theleast agreeable in either fair orfoul weather because of itsshallow depth and muddy bot-tom.

Lake Superior is a favoriteamong mariners because itslarge size affords the greatestamount of room for maneuveringduring a storm. However, it tooposes a challenge to navigatewith its rocky coastline, eel(' tem-peratures (40 degrees in summeror winter), and huge waves thatdevelop because of the Lakes'depth. An ancient Chippewalegend warns that Superior"never gives up its dead."

Lake Michigan commands thegreatest respect among seafarersfor several reasons. Prevailing

winds sweep its length

411111110mws

1

and the currents caused by windshifts around the Straits ofMackinac cause it to be thetrickiest of the Lakes to keep oncourse. It also has a scarcity ofnatural harbors and human-made places of refuge.

:

kctivitios:Stidents research a -Great

Lakes shipwratk and tell the storyto the class (see back cover for re-Souices).

Contact a maritime museum in yourstate and ask whet underwaterarcheology is currently being donein the Great Lake, nearest you.

The Fate of theChristmas Tree Ship

CLIIt was late Novemberand the sights andsounds of the holiday

season were creeping into thebustling city of Chicago. Eachyear, the arrival of the creakingold three-masted schooner RouseSimmons served as a signal forthe beginning of the Christmasseason. The schooner alwaysended her shipping season bybringing to Chicago a large andprofitable cargo of Christmastrees.

Along with the annual treebuyers, peg-legged and beardedClaud Winters eagerly awaitedthe arrival of the Rouse Simmons.Claud and Captain Schunemann,owner and master of the ship,had an unusual bond. Althoughtheir lives were quite different,they seemed to understand andsympathize with each other.

Claud was soft hearted underhis rough outer appearance. Asa child he had lost a leg under a

Fr, vEd

Discussion:

1) Talk about the different naviga-tional challenges posed by each

Great Lake. The informationmentions that previous ship-

wrecks lead to the developmentof further safety precautions.Discuss with the students whatmight be learned from ship-

wrecks. How can shipwreckstell us about the way peoplelived long ago and about the

history of shipping?

2) Discuss what inventions andadvancements in weather pre-

diction have made navigationon the Great Lakes safer.

boxcar, so he couldn't handle thedemands of being a seafarer.Claud admired the Captain as afearless sailor and a smart shipoperator. In the great storm of1889 the Rouse Simmons was theonly sailing ship that was notseverely damaged or lost.

The Captain was legendaryfor his stinginess and stubborn-ness in working with anyone whomight cut into his profit. Claudwould have enjoyed the thrill andadventure of a sailor's life. TheCaptain must have understoodthis about Claud because he wasunusually generous to his stockypeg-legged friend. Once theCaptain gave Claud a silver dollarsaying, "Always keep this andyou'll never be broke." When-ever they met, Claud would showhim the coin and say, "[fere it isCap...still as good as new and stilla yearnin' to be spent."

On the morning of November27. 1912, Claud stomped onto theClark Street wharf to await theearly morning arrival of theRouse Simmons. Claud had hired

'erfo 8

a group of men to unload thefragrant pine and balsam trees.When the ship was nowhere to beseen, Claud was sure the Captainwas floating offshore waiting forthe fog to lift so he wouldn't haveto pay charges for a tug to bringhim in. But by 4:00 PM many ofClaud's hired companions hadtired of waiting and left. Claudhimself was feeling tired, dis-couraged and hungry. Many busytugs had eome upriver, butnowhere on the horizon could hesee the sails or masthead lampsof the Rouse Simmons.

The year 1912 had been adevastating one for Great Lakesshippers. The worst snow stormin a century had blasted the lakesfor four days in early November,destroying 10 large freightersand littering the shoreline withdebris. Four hundred seamenwere lost in those four disastrousdlys.

Meanwhile Captain Schune-mann was realizing he could turna disaster into a fortune. Snow

buried tree farms in Michi-gan and Wisconsin. Chicago treedealers were desperate for trees.Captain Schunemann was happyto deliver! At Thompson Harborjust southwest of Manistique,Michigan trees were beingcrammed into ,,very availablespace on the Rouse Simmons.Well into the eveni.ig, the Captainhad more bundles of trees tied onboard the deck, row upon row.The schooner sagged under theweight of her fragrant cargo. lieexpected this could be the mostprofitable run he had ever made.

Despite stormy weather, theRouse Simmons set sail at noonon November 25, 1912. Theschooner Dutch Boy was seekingshelter when its captain spied theRouse Simmons off his bow. Ileexclaimed above the howlingwind, "Mother of God, look! That

History

crazy Dutchman's going out inthis, and him with every inch ofcanvas up!"

As the Rouse Simmons swungwest southwest on course to-wards ChicagG, she was caught indeadly winds of 60 miles perhour. Every part of the shipcreaked, moaned, and shriekedin the howling gale. Some timeduring the night two sailors weresent to check the lashings. Atremendous wave swept them,along with many of the bundledtrees and a small boat, into theraging seas. With less weight onboard, Captain Schunemann andhis first mate were able to ma-neuver the vessel toward shelterat Bailey's Harbor.

As fate would have it, theviolent wind changed suddenly.producing a furious snowstormand an incredible drop in tem-perature. A thick blanket of icequickly thickened as the unre-lenting waves pounded the ship.The situation of the Rouse Sim-mons was becoming more des-perate each moment. Batteredhatch covers could no longerprevent water from entering thehold where it quickly turned intoice on the trees.

From the station tower atSturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, men ofthe old United States LifesavingService sighted the Rouse Sim-mons flying distress signals asshe continued to move low in thewater, driven along by the forceof the gale. A rescue team 25miles to the south launched asurfboat in an attempt to inter-cept the suffering schooner.Visibility was difficult and a twohour search was unsuccessful.But suddenly there was a breakin the snowstorm and the pitifulship was sighted. She was barelyafloat and resembled a mass ofice. Rescuers desperately moved

History

full steam ahead as blindingsnow again made it impossible tosee the schooner. The RouseSimmons vanished from sight andwas never seen again.

Meanwhile, Claud Winterscontinued to believe that theRouse Simmons would arriveeven after a note was found in abottle on the beach in SheboygarWisconsin. It said, "Friday...everybody goodbye. I guess weare all through. During the nightthe small boat was washedoverboard. Leaking bad. lngvaldand Steve lost too. God help us.Herman Schunemann." Chicagosuffered from a shortage ofChristmas trees that year.

That Christmas Eve, Claudmade his daily trip to the dock.He stood in the falling snowwaiting for the Rouse Simmons toarrive. The next morning apoliceman found him blanketedwith snow. Believing to the endthat the Captain would come

Discussion:

11 Discuss Claud Winters andCaptain Herman Schune-

mann's personalities, inter-ests, and appearance.

2) Talk about what kind ofperson would choose the lifeof a seaman in the early partof the century.

Virough, Claud's sad life wasended. As the policeman pickedup his lifeless body, a silverdollar fell from his frozen fingersand rolled into a crack in thedock, landing in the icy blackwP ter below.

It was another 10 yearsbefore evidence of the RouseSimmons was discovered. Cap-tain Herman Schunemann'swallet was found among the fishcaught in the nets of a Wisconsinfisherman.

Activfties:

11 Have the students trace the route of theRouse Simmons on the Great Lakesmap.

2) Have the students write a diary entry that Claud Winters might have writtenafter one of the evenings he spent at the dock waiting for the Rouse Simmonsto arrive, or have them write a message one of the crew of the Rouse Simmonsmight have written and put into a bottle in hopes that it would eventually reachhis family.

3) Assuming that the Rouse Simmons had made it safely to Chicago, use the infor-mation below to make up math problems appropriate to the level of your class:

Number of trees loaded onto the ship:

Number of trees washed overboard in the storm:

Price Captain Schunemann paid for the trees:

Price of trees when sold in Chicago:

1,000

300

$.25/each

S.75/each

For older students, discuss gross and net profits, taking into consideration thecost of shipping the trees and the cost of the lost trees.

Where Would We BeWithout the Great Lakes?

The Great Lakes are part ofour daily lives. They provide uswith fresh drinking water; indus-tries and jobs including agricul-ture, fisheries, manufacturing,shipping, and tourism; andbeautiful shorelines and parks.This section explores how wedepend on the Lakes and themany ways we use them.

The Great Lakes provide uswith fresh water for just aboutany kind of activity you canimagine. Today, there are ap-proximately 37 million peopleliving in the Great Lakes Basinand more than 26 million of thesepeople rely on the Great Lakes fortheir drinking water. Most of theoriginal settlements which grewinto cities were established neartributaries that provided a supplyof fresh water for domestic andindustrial use.

How much water do these 26million people use in a day, ayear, their lifetime? The GreatLakes contain about 5,500 cubicmiles of water. If a person took 3baths a day, it would take over110 billion years to use all thewater in the Great Lakes! If all26 million people took 3 baths aday, it still would take 4,254years to use all the water in th2Lakes.

Many people don't realize it,but resources in the Great LakesBasin are responsible for thequality of our lives. So much ofour lives depend on the GreatLakes' rich farmland, abundantfish, water power, transportation,

ORM.

How Much Water Is Used...?

to

In the average residence per year:

By an average person daily:

To flush a toilet:

To take a shower:

To take a bath:

To brush your teeth (with water running):

To wash dishes by hand:

To run a dishwasher:

To wash clothes in a washing machine:

To water your lawn:

Discussion:

1) Discuss how students andtheir families use water intheir daily lives and explorehow important water is as a

natural resource.

2) Discuss what would happen iffresh water was not readilyavailable. Talk about ways

drinking water is wasted andhow it can be conserved.

3) Using the information onwater use, calculate howmuch water the students andtheir families use each day.

Have students measure the

amount of water they use to

brush their teeth once, thencalculate how much waterthey use a week or a month.

107,000 gallons

168 gallons

5-7 gallons

25-50 gallons

50 gallons

2 gallons

20 gallons

15-25 gallons per cycle

35 gallons per cycle

35 gallons per half acre

and natural beauty.

Within the 201,000 squaremiles of the Great Lakes Basin,67,000 square miles are devotedto agriculturan area largerthan each of the bordering statesexcept Minnesota. The mainagricultural products produced inthe region today are wheat, corn,soybeans, barley, and oats.Grapes are grown in the LakeOntario region for wine-makingin New York. The Lake Michiganarea contains the most farmlandof all the Great Lakes and is aleading grower of fruits andvegetables. The State of Wiscon-sin is known for its cheeses andother milk-products. The LakeErie region leads the Great Lakesin the raising of pigs, sheep.soybeans, wheat, and chickencorn. The Lake Huron Basin isthe world's biggest producer ofnavy beans, and the Lake Supe-

Social Studies

rior region is an active forestproducts producer.

Great Lakes fish are animportant source of food forpeople and hundreds of speciesof animals and birds. The aver-age annual commercial fishingcatch is approximately 110million pounds. Major speciescaught in the Great Lakes includewhitefish, yellow perch, laketrout, salmon, walleye, lakeherring, rainbow smelt, chubs,white bass, brown bullhead, andcarp. One of the most prosper-ous fishing areas is Lake Erie,where the walleye pike fishery iswidely considered the best in theworld. In Canada, the Lake Eriefishery represents nearly two-thirds of the country's total GreatLakes harvest.

Shipping has been respon-sible for the development of the.entire Great Lakes Region. TheGreat Lakes and their intercon-necting channels have provided anatural transportation system forexploration and settlers, andtrade and transport of goodsparticularly mineral resourcesand agricultural products. Boomtowns have come aed gone asshipping enabled natural re-sources to be reached andtransported, and today shippingcontinues to be a major industryon the Lakes. Iron ore from theLake Superior area is shipped tomills in Chicago, Cleveland, andGary to be made into steel. Thisstep! is then shipped to DetroitatWimakers. Among the otherproducts transported on LheLakes are coal, limestone, grain,newsprint, and cement. In 1959,completion of the St. LawrenceSeaway drastically changed theGreat Lakes shipping industry byexpanding it to include interna-tional transport.

Social Studies

Many manufacturing indus-tries are attracted to the GreatLakes area because of the advan-tages of being near a watersource which provides cheapelectricity and convenient trans-portation routes. Major manu-

_A00011110144486.

facturing industries in the GreatLakes region include steel, paper,chemicals, and automobiles.Thirty-six percent of UnitedStates automobiles and 38% ofCanadian automobiles are pro-duced in the Basin. The steelindustry is concentrated at thesouthern end of I.ake Michigan.and in Detroit, Cleveland, andLorain, Ohio. Paper mills arelocated primarily in the upperLakes. with a large concentrationof mills along the Fox River thatfeeds Mto Green Bay on LakeMichigan. (:hemical manufactur-ers are on the Niagara River, theSaginaw Bay in Lake Huron, andin Sarnia, Ontario.

11

Tourism and recreation alsoare major industries in the GreatLakes Basin. For example, inOttawa County, Ohio, the regularpopulation of 40,000 increases toabout 250,000 on weekends astourists come to enjoy the sights.In many areas of the Basin, smallunprofitable marinas have beenturned into multimillion dollarcomplexes with stores, restau-rants, and swimming pools. Sportfishing also is a major componentof the recreation industry. Thesale of licenses, equipment, andboat rentals generates hundredsof millions of dollars every year.Charter fleets and a large fishstocking program have beendeveloped to fuel the industry.Over 60 million people each yearvisit the 98 state parks, 39 provin-cial parks, and 12 national parkson the United States and CanadianGreat Lakes shores,

When we consider the benefitswe gain from all of these indus-tries in the Great Lakes I3asin, itis important to remember thateach of these industries haveenvironmental consequences.

Activities:

On a map, fill in the.major citiesmentioned and trace the chan-nels between Lakes which allowships to travel between Lakes.Draw in symbols or figures rep-resenting different types ofindustries located around theLakes.

2)) Have each student draw apicture of his or her favoriteGreat Lakes recreationalactivity. Make a collage of allthe pictures.

Who Governs theGreat Lakes?

The Great Lakes are so bigthat their shores span theboundaries of eight states andtwo Canadian provinces. With somany government bodies in-volved, preservation of the GreatLakes requires cooperation and

Discussion:

1) Imagine what it would havebeen like living in the Great

Lakes area before trains, cars,and airplanes were invented.

Why were the Great Lakes

important to the settlers?

2) Discuss the types and func-tions of ships used on theGreat Lakes such as freighters,

commercial fishing ships, andpleasure crafts. Ask studentswhat types of ships they have

seen on the Lakes.

3) Discuss why the Great Lakesare important to farming. Howdoes the water get from theLakes to the farms? Whatwould happen if the water in

the Lakes were so polluted itcould not be used for farming?

4) Talk about what would happenif there were no fish in the

Great Lakes. With no fish to eat

insects, what would happen tothe number of insects?

5) Ask the students what kind offun activities they can doaround the Great Lakes. Have

they visited any state ornational parks in the Great

Lakes Basin? Why is itimportant to have parks along

the border of the Great Lakes?

(minimizes shoreline develop-ment)

team work. This sectionwill explore the necessityfor governments andpeople to work together tosolve the environmentalproblems facing the GreatLakes region.

Because the UnitedStates and Canada sharethe Great Lakes as aborder, many govern-ments are involved withenvironmental problemsin the Great Lakes Basin:on a federal level, the U.S.Environmental ProtectionAgency and EnvironmentCanada; eight state gov-ernments (Illinois, Indi-ana, Michigan, Minnesota,New York, Ohio, Pennsyl-vania, and Wisconsin);and two Canadian prov-inces (Ontario and Que-bec). Having both Canada andthe United States involved pres-ents the unique situation of twonations responsible for managingand protecting a natural re-seurce.

To officially agree on how toprotect the Great Lakes, theUnited States and Canada signeda treaty in 1909 called theBoundary Water Treaty. Thetreaty declared that neitherCanada nor the United States hasthe right to pollute the resourcesof its neighbor. It also said thatboth countries have equal rightsto the use of waterways thatcross the international border ofthe Lakes Despite the agree-ments made in the treaty, pollu-tion problems began to mount.and by the early 1970s, the twocountries had to reconsider theBoundary Water Treaty.

The two countries decided tomake a more specific commit-ment to restoring and maintain-ing the environmental health ofthe Great Lakes Basin. The

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agreement, calledthe Great Lakes Water QualityAgreement, was signed in 1972and created a. bi-national com-mission that would be respon-sible for reducing pollution in theGreat Lakes and developingspecific plans for cleaning upmany of the pollution problems inthe Basin. Tlw commission is re-ferred to as the InternationalJoint Commission.

Making progress on theproblems that affect the GreatLakes is not easy. This is becausethe problems are not simple onesand because every proposal hasramifications that are both goodand bad. For example, anenvironmental protection pro-posal that limits industrialgrowth may help prevent furtherpollution of the GrNtt Lakes. butit may have negative effects onthe economy and the availabilityof jobs.

Social Studies

9IftsstaFftesatirftess0

Discussion:

1) Talk about other naturalresources it% share withCanada and other countries

such as air, oceans, andwildlife.

2) Ask students if they know whois in charge of making

decisions about how to cleanup pollution on the Great

Lakes. Discuss how we caninfluence our governments to

work hard on ways to protectthe Lakes.

3) Talk about jobs students couldhave in the future that will

contribute to protecting theLakes (engineer, teacher, sci-entist zoologist biologistpolitician).

4) Brainstorm ways that workingcooperatively with a partneror group can be beneficial insolving problems.

Acid Rain: A SharedProblem

When talking about acid rain,the old adage applieswhat goesup must come down. Thissection explores acid rain, anexample of a difficult environ-mental issue facing the UnitedStates and Canada. By focusingon this complex environmentalconcern, the lesson reveals why itis so important for governmentsto work together and be aware ofhow their actions affect thequality of life of others.

Acid rain is rain, snow, hail,fog, dust, or soot containing highlevels of acid. Pollutants that aretransferred from the air into theLakes are responsible for harm-ing the quality of the water in theLakes, as well as the health of theplants and animals that call theGreat Lakes home. But acid rainisn't just a regional problem; it is

Activities:

1) On the Great Lakes map provided, have students identify and color in the UnitedStates, Canada, the Great Lakes, and states and provinces that border theGreat Lakes. Using a different color, trace the United States and Canadianborder. Have the students ever crossed any borders? Could they tell they wereentering another country?

2) Conflict Resolution

Divide the class into groups representing each state and provincs. Have eachgroup make a plan for protecting the Great Lakes. All state groups should meetto share their ideas end develop one overall plan for the United States. Do thesame with the Canadian provinces. Finally, one representative is chosen fromeach country to work out an international agreement for protecting the GreatLakes. The agreement has to be acceptable to both countries. If there aredisagreements, ask the students to explore creative ways of solving conflicts.This activity is easily adapted to different grade levels. For lower grades, stu-dents could explore plans for keeping the school yard clean. Higher gradelevels could expand the students roles to represent various internsts andindustries affected by such agreements.

Social Studies

1 3

a global problem and there islittle worldwide agreement onhow to tackle it. Neither theUnited States nor Canada cancombat acid rain alone. It iscarried across national frontiersand often affects distant placesmore strongly than where it isproduced. Solving the acid rainproblem requires an understand-ing of the consequences of ouractions in the United States andCanada, and the necessity ofcooperating in the search for asolution.

With the issue of acid rain,attention is drawn to the GreatLakes Basin. This is becausemany "smokestack" industriesare located in and near theBasin, and many people believethat the pollution from theseindustries contributes to the acidrain problem in Ontario, easternCanada and northeastern UnitedStates. Many Canadians getupset with the United Statesbecause so much of the pollutioncoming from industry in theUnited States blows with thewind, sometimes ending up inCanada.

There are no simple solutionsto this problem. Cost, economics,and available technologies are allissues at stake. Most leaders an-ticipate that stopping acid rainwill be costly. Many dollars willhave to be spent to change theway fuels are burned and howother industrial processes areused to make the goods andservices on which our societydepends. Because so much of theindustry is located on the UnitedStates side of the Lakes, someGreat Lakes states are nervousthat they will be responsible formuch of the cost.

Long term solutions to theacid rain problem include insti-tuting strict air quality legisla-tion, developing technologies to

Noe--

help fuels burn more cleanly, andfiltering gases before they enterthe atmosphere. Individuals cancontribute to solving the acid rainproblem by instituting recyclingprograms, using public transpor-tation, and turning off appliancesto cut down on energy consump-tion.

About Acid Rain

The majority of acid rain resultsfrom fossil fuels such as coal, oil,and natural gases burned inindustry, electrical power plants,and motor vehicles. Once in theatmosphere, these pollutantscombine with moisture and inter-act with sunlight to form sulfuricacid and nitric acid. Tall factorysmoke stacks discharge pollut-ants high into the atmosphere

MIK

where winds carry the acids forhundreds of miles. Eventually theacids fall back to the earth in theform of rain, snow, or dust. Fac-tors influencing how far acid raintravels include wind speed, winddirection, and cloud chemistry.

The effects of acid rain include:

Damage to buildings, monuments, and statues.

Destruction of lake and riverecosystems. Fish cannotreproduce and soon die outwhen acid levels become toohigh in rivers and lakes. If alake or river loses its fishpopulation, animals and birdsin the area may starve or beforced to move away from thearea to look elsewhere forfood.

4hoie 14

High acid levels dissolvemetals, such as aluminum, thatare present in river and lakebeds, and soil and rock aqui-fers. The metals enter thewater and possibly contaminatefish, making them harmful forwildlife and human consump-tion.

Damage to plant life. Acid raincan affect trees and crops bydirectly attacking their leavesand needles or by soaking intosoil, and changing its chemicalbalance.

Contamination of drinkingwater. By gradually eatingaway at metal pipes, acid raincauses metal to enter the drink-ing water supplies. Somestudies have linked acid rain toincreased infant mortality ratesand lung dysfunctions.

Social Studies

7Dismission:

1) Introduce air pollution byasking the students what theirsenses tell them about the air.

Explore how we can use oursense of sight taste, and smellto be "air astectives."

2) Brainstorm sources of airpollution such as cars, facto-ries, fires, and cigarettesmoking. Discuss whatcommon activities in their ownlives indirectly contribute toacid rain (e.g., electricitydemand causes power plantsto create more air pollution).

What can we do to reduce airpollution? Discuss ways tosave energy.

3) Explore how difficult it is forthe United States and Canada

to decide how to eliminateacid rain problems and

compromise. Discusssolutions to the acid rainproblem and how some of the

solutions may affect other im-portant areas such as theeconomy, jobs, and industry.

Ask if either the United Statesor Canada could solve the

acid rain problem alone and

discuss the advantages ofworking together. Askstudents to think of othersituations where they havefound it was best tocooperate.

41

Social Studies

Activities:

To illustrate how acid rain occurs, have tne students draw a picture ofindustry emissions entering the sky and coming back down as rain.The hydrological cycle graphic on page 15 may be useful.

2) Seeing Air Pollution

Materials: Cardboard, scissors, clear sticky tape or vaseline, string,magnifying glass.

Procedure: Cut out strips of cardboard about 10 inches long and twoinches wide, cut a number of holes in the strips, and tape across theholes with the sticky tape (vaseline on the cardboard strip will alsowork). Tie a piece of string to one end of each strip, and hong outdoorsand in the classroom for one week. Collect strips end examine tapeunder a magnifying glass. Where do they think the dirt on the tapecomes from? Which strips showed more dirt and why?

3) The Effects of Acid

Materials: Two copper pennies, two non-metal disposable cups,marker pen, lemon juice or lemons, tap water.

Procedures: Place one penny in each cup. Mark the cups A and B.Squeeze lemon juice over one of the pennies so that it is well covered.Add the same amount of water to the other cup (warning: liquid couldbe harmful if swallowed). Hypothesize what may occur if you set asidethe cups for a few days. After 4-5 days, check your hypotheses. Theliquid in cup A will be bluish green in color, the water in cup B remainsclear. Discuss results. What do the studer.s think made the lemonjuice change color? What happens when they get lemon juice on acut? What acids are safe to drink? What acids are not?

) The Incredible Terrific Cleanup Machine

Materialr Paper, pencils, markers, or crayons, construction paper ormagazines which can be cut up, scissors, glue.

Procedures: Brainstorm what a machine to clean air pollution wouldlook like and how it would operate. Allow the students to express theirideas freely. Divide the class into groups and have them use the mate-rials to create a machine of their own. When each group has com-pleted their machine, let members of each group explain their creationto the entire class. Ask students what they could create if they com-bined all their ideas to make one Incredible Terrific Cleanup Machine.Relate this to the idea of two countries combining their resources toclean up pollution in the Greet Lakes.

1 5

..1111.

Research is very important to theprogress of cleaning up the GreatLakes. It is essential if we are tofully understand the effect ofhuman activity on the environ-mental quality of the Lakes.Research vessels like LakeGuardian provide us with moreinformation about the Lakes sowe can make better decisionsabout how to clean them up.

This lesson, The Journey ofLake Guardian, is a read-aloudstory. The ideas and problemscan be adapted for all levels ofK-5 students. Each lake isexplored and the many environ-mental concerns facing the GreatLakes are revealed and dis-cussed. Discussion topics andhands-on activities follow eachstory segment.

0

111 TEnraiecrut

t3IM

Part 1: The Journey of Lake Guardian

Story Highlights

Hot Spots:

The 42 "Areas of Concern" fr the GreatLakes Basin identified by theInternational Joint Commission (seeSocial Studies lesson) where pollutionproblems are of concern andenvironmental quality standards are notbeing achieved.

See the inside cover introduction formore information regarding LakeGuardian.

Vocabulary:

adventuresomechemicalscontaminationdistilledguardianhotspotslaboratory

microscopepollutionreagentresea rchscientifictoxicwinches

EilLake Guardian, a verycurious and adven-turesome research

boat, is setting out to explore andlearn about the Great Lakes.Lake Guardian loves to travel,and the Great Lakes are herfavorite place to go because oftheir large size, beauty, andexciting history.

Lake Guardian will cruisefrom shore ti shore visiting allfive of the Great Lakes. She willstop to study the air, water, land,plants, and animals, along withother creatures that you can only

I G

see under microscopes. Learningabout all the kinds of pollution inthe Lakes is important because itwill help make them clean andkeep them beautiful. There aresome kinds of pollution you can'teven see and smell! Where doesit come from? How much isthere in each Lake? How does ithurt animals, plants, and peoplethat live in the Great Lakes?Lake Guardian wants to under-stand it all because she is aguardian of the Great Lakes, andshe wants to take care of andprotect them. Many peopledepend on Lake Guardian andthe things she learns about theGreat Lakes, because they tooare working hard to make theLakes cleaner and healthier foreveryone.

Lake Guardian carries 11crew members and 31 scientistsalong with all their specialscientific machines. Weighing182 tons in the water, she is 180feet long and 40 feet wide, so shehas plenty of room to carry allthe necessary equipment. LakeGuardian's laboratory containsscientific instruments to measurevery low levels of contamination;refrigerators and freezers tostore and preserve samples; puredistilled water to make up chemi-cal reagents; and computers tohelp with the analysis of samples.She even has several winchescapable of lifting 5,000 pounds,

Environmental Sciences

13

raftas,1111150rtit*Wi

and has cranes capable of liftingheavier loads up to 30,000pounds. Storms worry herthough, for she is afraid ofrocking too much and breakingall the special equipment.

Lake Guardian has a verybusy schedule because there are42 places she is worried aboutand must visit. These places arecalled "hot spots" because manyof them are so polluted or toxicthat some plants, animals, andfish that live there are sick. Youcan't swim or rtsh in these areasbecause you coul I get sick too. Itis sad to think about the hotspots, and Lake Guardian is very

Pollution Pathways Map

Environmental Sciences

proud to be such an importantpart of helping to clean them up.

Sometimes Lake Guardian'swork seems like play becauseeach Lake is go special. Natureprovided each Lake with manydifferent trees, flowers, birds,fish, animals, people and othercreatures in and around theshorelines, Lake Guardian hopesyou begin to love the Lakes asmuch as she does as you journeywith her. She hopes that afterhearing her story, you'll learnmany ways that you can befriends of the Great Lakes, andhelp to make them cleaner andhealthier.

Discussion:

1) Discuss how the students thinkthe research boat can help theGreat Lakes. Why might it behard for Lake Guardian to study

all the different kinds ofpolludon?

2) Have the students ever been in

a boat? Was it as big as lakeGuardian? How big is lakeGuardian compared to theclassroom?

3) Brainstorm types of pollutionwe expect to find in the Lakes.

List different kinds of pollution.

Do they know of types of pollu-tion that can't be seen? Whathappens to pollution? what canthey do to help stop ion?

,

'tt

17

.00 6 lletiO board, display alege MOP of the Great Lakes,.or make icePY Of-thsGiest

far etioh Student.CMS CHOI Oftlially;:have

thastudenti trati:theOeth-way of Lake Guardian as ittravels through the GreatLakes ai each part Of the storyis read. As Like Guardianarrives at each Lake, have thestUdents fill in the name of the'Lake, the names of thebordering states and prov-inces, the names of towns andcities mentioned in the story,and any places familiar to thestudents.

3) On a bulletin board or largepiece of paper taped on thewall, draw a picture ofcross-section of a lake endsurrounding shoreline similarto the Pollution Pathways Mapon page 13 but without thefigures and arrows. As thestory progresses, students willdiscover pathways in whichpollution enters the GreatLakes. Have the studentsdraw in figures and arrowsrepresenting pathways ofpollution learned from eachstory segment By the finalstory segment, students willhave learned about the manyactivities occurring around theGreat Lakes that causepollution problems, and will beable to Ame these pathwaysrepress 3d in theirillustration.

3) Using a string on the schoolplay yard, measure the size ofthe research vessel. Are theships they have seen bigger orsmaller than the new researchvessel?

Part 2: Lake Guardian Explores Lake Superior

Story Highlights

Hydrologic Cycle:

Evaporation, transpiration, condensa-tion, precipitation, infiltration, andrunoff.

Recreational Activity Is a Source ofPollution:

Environmental damage can be causedby many recreational activitias.Campers, hikers, and boaters createproblems by littering, dumping sewageand other wastes into the lakes, or let-ting gas from boats leek into the waters.Soil erosion problems resutt fromremoval of trees and grasses for devel-opment of marinas and summvr homes.

Hot Spots: 8

Peninsula Harbour, Jackfish Bay,Nipigon Bay, Thunder Bay, St. LouisRiver, Torch Lake, Deer Lake/CarpCreek/Carp River, St. Marys River.

Vocabulary:

anchorcoastlinecondensationcreekevaporationexpanseferocioushydrologic cycleinfiltration

oceanprecipitationrecreationrunoffserenestreamtranspirationtroutWayzhigwanaad

Lake Guardian wasexcited to start herjourney in Lake Supe-

rior, the largest of all the GreatLakes and the one with the leastamount of pollution. Lake Supe-rior is so large and deep that allthe other Great Lakes plus threemore lakes the size of Lake Eriecould fit in it. It is well,knownfor its lovely beaches and clearblue water. The water is so clearyou can see fish swimming waydown deep. Lake Guardian knewshe needed to be careful, for

8

Lake Superior's mood can be sopeaceful and serene one minute,and the next minute a ferociousand lashing storm will rise out ofits depths.

Lake Guardian started in thetown of Duluth, Minnesota, andheaded northeast towards Thun-der Bay, Canada. As she cruised.Lake Guardian learned that veryfew people live around this Lakearea compared to the rest of theGreat Lakes, and she knew thatthis was a large part of why LakeSuperior is so beautiful andclean. The more people thereare in an area, the more pollu-tion problems Lake Guardianknew she'd rind. flow did sheknow this?

The vast expanse of waterand many pretty hills aroundLake Superior would make ithard for Lake Guardian to leave.As Lake Guardian cruised to-wards Thunder Bay, she sawpeople hiking, swimming. fishing,skiing and boating. Then shelooked over and was so shockedshe almost dropped her anchor!As a motor boat passed her bowshe watched a family toss a six-ring plastic can holder overboardwith a plastic grocery bag. LakeGuardian was very upset becausebeautiful birds can get theirbeaks or heads caught in therings, and then they can't eat.She was concerned that the fuelfrom the motor boats was pollut-ing the water too. People oftenforget that when they have fun,they need to be careful that theydon't harm nature. Lake Guard-ian wished all people had respectfor the Great Lakes like the Chip-pewa culture does. In the Chip-pewa language the word"Wayzhigwanaad" means "waterspirit." and they emphasize thatthe health of our water is directly

Environment21 Sciences

related to the quality of life for allliving things on this planet. LakeGuardian looked forward tosharing the Chippewa spirit ofcaring for the Great Lakes witheveryone she met on her trip.

Lake Guardian collectedsome samples of water to studyhow much fuel spills from themotorboats and freighters intothe water. As she passed byThunder Bay she saw big papermills and large fishing boats.Crossing over to Marquette,Michigan, she followed thecoastline towards Sault Ste.Marie, where she would travel toget to Lake Huron. The Lake isso big that sometimes LakeGuardian thought she was in anocean. "Where did all this watercome from?" Lake Guardianasked the scientists on board.Dave the environmental scientisttold her about the pathways ofwater on Earth, called the hydro-logic cycle. Dave told her thatrain helps keep the Great Lakesfull. The rain that falls 'on the

Discussion:

1) Explain the hydrologic cycle to

students (see diagram). Havethey seen evidence of the cycle

in their daily lives? When theywash the dishes or take a bath

or shovVer, what happens to the

steam? Relate this to conden-sation, precipitation and runoffin the hydrologic cycle.

2) Explore why areas of higherpopulation result in more pollu-tion in the Great Lakes. Discusswhich of the Great Lakes they

would prefer to live beside andwhy. Discuss how recreationand tourism may result in harm

to the Lakes. What should theydo if they see someone litter at

a beach or picnic?

transpiration, OOOOO lo II

0 II

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condensation

II II...... evaporation. ... .precipitation

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land either runs off the surfaceback into the Lakes throughstreams and creeks, or soaks intothe ground. As she was talkingto Dave, a speckled trout swamby. Lake Guardian asked thetrout if he knew how water in theground finds its way back to theLakes. The trout explained thatthe water travels undergroundand enters creeks and streamswhich drain into the Lakes, andsometimes enters the Lakesdirectly below the surface. Davethen added that when it is hot,water evaporates up into the air.When the water gets high enoughin the air, it cools off and comesback down as rain and the cyclestarts all over again.

"Lake Guardiun, it will beimportant for you to understandhow water finds its way to theGreat Lakes. because pollutionsometimes follows the samepaths to enter the lakes and hurtsthem," Dave explained. LakeGuardian thought a lot aboutwhat Dave said, and quicklybegan collecting samples ofwater and fish to study. Shewanted to see what kinds ofpollution were already usingsome of those pathways into LakeSuperior.

Activities:

Have the students do theGreat Lakes map activities.On the Pollution PathwaysMap draw in figures repre-senting recreational activi-ties.

2) Fun Without Pollution

Have the students create a"Fun Without Pollution"booklet for their family orschool's next outing. As aclass or individually, havethe students decide onpollution prevention rulesfor their family or school tofollow during recreationalactivities. Include topicssuch as using garbage cansand preventing fires. Oneach page write out therules with drawings illus-trating the rules. Magazinescan be used for cut-outs,and younger children canillustrate their ideas ratherthan writing them out.Staple or tie the pagestogether to make a booklet

Part 3: Investigating Lake Huron

Story Highlights

Ammo Pollution:

Atmospheric toxic pollution is a majorsource of contaminants for the GreatLakes ecosystem. At least 40,000chemicals are used by U.S. industry. Asan example, Lake Superior currentlyreceives 840 kilograms per year ofPolychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBsl acarcinogenic chemical compoundfrom the atmosphere, and account for93% of the current total load of PCBs inthe Lake. Pesticides are thought tocome from as far away as CentralAmerica are found in the Great Lakes.

Biomagnification:

The process of increasing concentra-tions of contaminants through the foodchain. Persistent chemicals which donot break down readily in the environ-ment accumulate in organisms andbecome concertated at levels muchhigher than in the open water. The toppredators at the end of the food chainmay accumulate concentrations ofchemicals toxic enough to result in seri-ous deformities or death.

Wetlands:

Natural water-holding shallow areassuch as bogs, marshes, or swampsprovide food, shelter, and water for

plants and animals that need a wateryhome. Wetlands provide shelter foryoung fish, provide flood control andsources of recreation, and help cleanwater as it travels slowly through.Common animals and plants found inwetlands include the great blue heron,frogs, raccoons, cattails, dragonflies,crayfish, willow trees, red-wingedblackbirds, northern pike, turtles,muskrats, and water lilies.

Hot Spots: 5

Saginaw River/Saginaw Bay, Coiling-wood Harbour, Penetang Bay toSturgeon Bay, Spanish River Mouth, St.Clair River.

Vocabularr

airborne pollutionbiomegnificationcormorantcrittersendangered speciesherring gullphytoplankton

predatorrestorescavengersedimentSweetwater Seaspersistentwetlandszooplankton

Part of Lake Guard-ian's job is to collectsamples of air to make

sure it is clean enough for ani-mals and people to breath. Shehad to make sure she was persis-tent in her work, enduring, andnever giving up until she got allthe necessary information. LakeGuardian thought that birdsaround the Great Lakes also

could help her rtnd out how cleanthe air is. She ..ic.ided to cruiseup through the Georgian Bay tothe Parry Sound and ask aherring gull. Herring gulls arecommon around the Great Lakes."Herring Gull, does the smokeand dirt from big factories andmachines around the Great Lakesbother you? D6 you think itmakes the Great Lakes un-healthy?"

"Oh my yes. After it rains, doyou know why the air smells sofresh and clear? That's becausethe water is cleaning the airwhen it falls, and takes thepollution right out of the sky. Itis wonderful for flying after-wards, but you must understandthat the smoke and pollution fallswith the rain into lakes and onthe land. When the pollutionfalls to the bottom of a lake,small creatures eat it in the mudcalled sediment. Fish eat thesesmall creatures in great num-bers, and the fish may get verysick from the pollution inside thesmall creatures. I am a scaven-gut. and I love to eat the remainsof fish and food that fishermentoss overboard, and my friendsthe cormorants like to eat fishwhere they live by the shores.We end up eating the pollutedfish, but there is nothing else for

20Environmental Sciences

me to eat, and I can't tell thedifference between a good fishand a poisoned fish. Some of myeggs don't hatch and my babieshave been very sick because theyhave been affected by the pollu-tion I eat in the fish. It makes mevery sad."

Herring Gull's story helpedLake Guardian undersiand howanimals depend on each other forfood. She also learned howpollution eaten by one animalcan eventually affect many otheranimals. Lake Guardian col-lected many samples of smallcreatures, fish), and microscopicplants and animals such asphytoplankton and zooplanktonfrom the bottom of Lake Huron tostudy how much pollution thesecritters ate.

Lake Guardian's conversationwith Herring Gull made her wantto know more about how air pol-lution affects other animals, soshe decided to head west to Che-boygan, Michigan. Just south ofCheboygan was a marshy andswampy area called a wetland,where Lake Guardian would findmany of Herring Gull's friends,the Cormorants, Cormorants arevery good divers and swimmers,and eat a lot of fish. The cormo-

Discussion:

1) Relate the story's discussion ofpollution eaten by smallcreatures to the food chain,

reaching through the food chainto the fish that humans eat.

Follow the pollution from a

paper mill smokestack all the

way to their own dinner plate.

2) Talk about wetlands. Have thestudents ever seen one? Whyare wetlands important?Discuss what an endangeredspecies is.

Aqtivities;

Neve the Student to OW Great Lakes map activities. On the PollutionPathways Mip draw in figures representing sources of air pollution.

Biemapifloatioa esul the feedchali, . ,

4 '

, Materials; Depending.on the slze of the 4414 make MO squivatent of six,chiles Per student out of blue paPer, marking 1/3 of them on one sidewith an "X"

Proaatium This activ4y can be acted out or if desired, conducted as adiscussion through diagrams on the board. Identify one student as theherring gull who likes to sot fish and have him or her stand at one end ofthe classroom. Divide the remaining sWderits into increasingly largergroups representing the links of the food chain: large lake trout, smellerrainbow smelt, zooplankton, end microscopic phytoplankton. Themajority of students shnuld be phytoplankton. Place the blue disks on thefloor with those markeo .sith an IX", face down. The blue disks representwater which phytoplankton take in to obtain nutrients to live. Those disksmarked with in 1%* contain pollution which has entered the waterthrough the sir. Rave the phytoplankton "feed* by having them pick upthe disks. Once all the diSks are gone, have the phytoplankton revealwho has nonsumed pollution. Have the zooplankton "feed" on phyto-plankton by dividing the phytoplenkton up evenly among the zooplankton.Repeat these *toot with rainbow smelt and lake trout. Whin it comes tothe herring gull eating his or her dinner, how much pollution has accumu-toted through the foodchain?

rants confirmed what HerringGull had told her, and explainedthat their babies often don't livebecause of the pollution. Thecormorants said that many otheranimals get sick from the pollu-tion too. Lake Guardian learnedthat wetlands are too soggy forpeople to live in, but they are justright for many animals. Wet-lands provide homes for manyendangered species, but pollutionwas affecting these animals too.Although the stories made LakeGuardian very sad, she was gladto take samples of water, plants.and sediment to learn about howpollution from the air affectsthem. The information shecollected would help people findways to protect and restore thewetlands, and all the othercreatures living in the GreatLakes Basin.

?D.21

As she cruised along, shecouldn't help thinking about howbeautiful Lake Huron was, andshe could understand why thefirst English name the GreatLakes were given was "Sweetwa-ter Seas." Before leaving LakeHuron for Lake Michigan. LakeGuardian made sure she pickedup a good supply of navy beansfor making delicious soupthroughout the voyage. Did youknow that the Lake Huron areaproduces more dry beans thananywhere else in the UnitedStates?

Antos

Part 4: The Journey Continues onLake MichiganStory Highlights

Surface Runoff:Surface runoff is a significant source ofpollution in the Great Lakes. It is apathway for a wide variety of pollutantsto enter lakes. Agricultural runoffincludes pesticides and nutrients; urbansurface runoff includes oils, greases,salt (from winter road clearing), andlitter.

Ground waterGround water is water below the sur-face of the earth. Ground water is ourstorage of drinking water. It replen-ishes the Great Lakes, which is why it isso important to the Great Lakes ecosys-tem. As water passes through subsur-face b:eas, some substances are fil-tered out, but others dissolve in the wa-ter or are carried by the water. Thiscan include human-made materials thathave infiltrated into the ground or havebeen buried in dumps or landfill sites.The movement of ground water is a ma-jor pathway for pollution to reach theGreat Lakes.

riot Spots: 10Manistique River, Menominee River,Fox River/Southern Green Bay, She-boygan, Milwaukee Estuary, WaukeganHarbor, Grand Calumet River/IndianaHarbor Canal, Kalamazoo River,Muskegon Lake, White Lake.

Vocabulary:

agriculturecargochemicalsground waternoise pollutionpesticides

runoffsewerssmelttreatment planturbanwastewater

LEJLake Guardian was sohappy to reach LakeMichigan, the third

largest lake in the Great Lakes,This area had the most farmlandof all the other Lakes, and Lake

Guardian had heard many storiesabout the tasty cherries of Michi-gan and dairy products of Wis-consin. Lake Guardian lovescherries, and since three-quar-ters of our nation's tart cherriesare grown in Michigan, sheheaded straight down the Michi-gan coastline, passing Ludington,Muskegon and Benton Harbor.Dave the environmental scientisthad made Lake Guardian prom-ise that she'd stop so he couldhave a piece of cherry pie, andthen head over to Wisconsin'sdairy farms to g a slice ofcheddar cheese and a glass ofmilk to go with it.

All the news that Lake Guard-ian learned about the LakeMichigan area was not good,though. She learned how hardfarmers work to grow goodfood for all of us to eat.Their job was

chemicals off the land andcarried them into the Lake. Shewas worried that these chemicalsmay hurt her friends in thewetlands, so she stopped tocollect many samples of waterand sediment to rind out howmuch pollution was coming fromthe farms and if it was harmingplants and animals. Lake Guard-ian also watched how the windcarried off some of the chemicalsthat a farmer was spraying On hisfruit trees.

Cruising to the south end ofLake Michigan, Lake Guardiancame to the big city areas. It wasexciting to ride by Gary, Indianawhere the mills were busymaking steel, but she worriedabout where the wind would takeaA the smoke rising out of thesmokestacks. Whop. !ake Guard-ian arrived at Chicago, shecouldn't believe how many boatsthere were everywhere! Big

boats carrying cargo, small/111_AN,.. boats carrying fisher-

men, and

harder than hers!Many farmers use chemicalsto fight off insects and weeds andto help their crops grow better,but sonic chemicals can laterbecome pollution problems forthe Great Lakes. Lake Guardiancruised along the shore andwatched how the rain washed the

22

peoplehaving fun in fast boats

that were so loud thatthey hurt her ears. It made

her think about noise pollutiontoo, and how the noise mustscare the birds and animals thatlive around the Lakes. LakeGuardian thought about all thefuel that must be going into thewatcr from these boats, and shedecided that her favorite boats

Environmental Sciences

were the clean and beautifulsailboats that relied only on thewind to make them move.

So far, Lake Guardian hadnot been to an area with citiesas big as Chicago. One of thefirst things that she noticed wasthe big difference in the color ofthe water. She rememberedhow clear and blue Lake Supe-rior was, and when she lookedat the water at the edge of Chi-cago, she couldn't see throughit at all. She talked to somelocal fish and asked them whatthey knew about pollution nearthe big city. Rainbow Smelt toldher stories similar to HerringGull. "Most people love how therain clears the air and washesthe streets, but we fish suredon't. Living next to a large citymeans that a lot of litter anddirt washes or blows off thestreets and into the Lake. Mostpeople don't realize where thatgum wrapper or cigarette isgoing to go if they just throw iton the ground. It makes mevery sad. Rainwater alsowashes down the city sewers,and that is good because it goesto a special machine, called awastewater treatment plant,that cleans it up first. Butsometimes if it rains reallyhard, the sewers overflow.causing the dirty water tooverflow straight into the Lake."After listening to RainbowSmelt, Lake Guardian carefullygathered samples of water, fish.plants, and mud from theshorelines of Chicago, Wau-kegan. Sheboygan, and othercities on Lake Michigan. Shehad to travel quickly, for it wasa long way to Lake Erie. Shehad to travel back through LakeHuron to get there.

Environmental Sciences

Activities:

Have the students do the Great Lakes map activities. On the PollutionPethWays Map draw In figures representing sources of agricultural endurban pollution runoff end infiltration to groundwater.

2) Mingle Mingle

Matofrjels: A clear bottle with a top, water, oil, food coloring.

Pyocedure: Put quantities of water and oil in the bottle and close it. Usemotor oil or vegetable all with a drop of food coloring added if you prefer.The separation of oil and water should be easily observed. Sheke thebottle to try to get the oil and water to mix and then let it sit and see whathappens. Relate the oil in the experiment to urban surface runoff dis-cussed in the story. Talk about what this oil would do to animals, andwhat effects it may have on plants or creatures living below the surface ofthe oiL which blocks sunlight

3) Pollution Underground

Materials: Large flat plastic planting tray; gravel; sand; waterpitcher; cooking oil; food coloring; pancake syrup; onion slices; and liquidsoap.

Procedure: Ahead of time, cover a corner of the tray with a layer ofgravel. Place drops of food coloring, onion slices, and a few tablespoonsof pancake syrup, cooking oil, and liquid soap on top of the gravel. Coverthese materials with a thick layer of sand. In front of the students, pourwater into the mound of sand, gravel, and other materials, end let waterrun into empty portion of the tray. Collect water and have studentsdetermine what materials are present in the water; how they entered thewater; and what substance moved these materials from the soil to thewater. Relate this activity tO how agricultural and urban litter andpollution on end in the ground can contaminate ground water andultimately affect the quality of the Great Lakes.

Discussion:

1) Talk about the new pollutionpathways discussed in thestory. Explore experiences thestudents have had related to thepathways. Rural: Have theyever seen a farmer fertilize orspray pesticides on crops?

,Could they smell it? How dothey respond to the farmer'sdilemma of using fertilizers and

pesticides? Urban: Ask thestudents for examples of trash

or abandoned things they see

every day on the street. What

23

activities at home result inpouring or dumping things on theground outside, and how might

these materials reach the GreatLakes? (see Activity 03) Does

the story make them think twice

about what they throw on the

ground?

2) Ask if any of the students haveever had fruits or vegetables

they think may have come from

the Lake Michigan area. Havethem ask the grocer where theyget fruits and vegetables to seeif any come from these areas.

Part 5: Lake Guardian Travels the Lengthof Lake Erie

Story Highlights

WpmMayflies are excellent indicators

of water quality because they are nottolerant of pollution. Monitoringprograms in some Great Lakes statesuse mayflies as one of several indica-tors of pollution-free water.

Mayflies are aquatic insects withsix legs and three body parts typical ofinsects, as well as two short antennae.Females deposit their eggs into clearrunning streams and lakes singly or instrings, depending upon the species.

Nymphs hatch from the eggs andremain in shallow water or burrowbeneath the mud and gravel, feedingupon aquatic plants. When ready toleave.the water, they swim to thesurface and molt, emerging in adultform. At this point, they are called"duns" and are not yet sexually mature.They crawl onto nearby vegetation andwaft from several hours to a few daysfor a final shedding of the exoexeletonand emerge as full-fledged adults. On astill sunny day, males wing upward andfloat down over ,:nd over again.Females join the sv /arm and find a mateand lay eggs in the water, beginning thecycle anew.

Hot Spots: 11

Clinton River, Rouge River, River Raisin,Maumee River, Black River, CuyahogaRiver, Ashtabula River, Wheatley River,Buffalo River, Detroit River, NiagaraRiver.

Vocabulary:

exoskeletonfactoryhot water emissionsindustrymayfly

monitornymph

oxygensteelwalleye pike

Lake Guardian madeher way back pstMackinac City and

turned south. She travelled onLake Huron past Alpena and onthrough the St. Clair River to-wards Lake Erie. Her studieshad shown that the dirtiest areasof the Great Lakes were the riv-erways that lead into the GreatLakes. 'fheSt. Clair andDetroitRivers weretwo of them, soLake Guardianstopped to takesamples of water,sediment, and fish. Therewere other people workingon cleaning up these two riverstoo, and Lake Guardian stoppedto watch them. Nearby shesaw the big smokestacks ofcar makers in 1)Mroit.

As Lake Guardiancruised along, she startedtalking with a walleyepike named Wally.Wally thought it wasgreat that Lake Guard-ian was working so hardto gather information to helpkeep the Great Lakes clean. Ileasked Lake Guardian if she wasgoing to talk with the mayflies.Lake Guardian didn't know whata mayfly was. "You have to meetthe mayflies," exclainwd Wally,"They're famous! Mayflies areinsects that live in the water, andthey do not like water pollution atall. If you find mayflies, you knowthe water Intist be clean andhealthy because mayflies justcan't live there unless it is. Theirhomes must be cool with lots ofoxygen." Wally told her howscientists keep track of how many

mayflies there are because ithelps them know whether thewater is clean or not. Manyschools and their students volun-teer to count mayflies in streams,crocks, and lakes near theirhomes to help. When the num-ber of mayflies gets too low, ittells the scientists that there maybe a problem with too much pol-lution in the water. Wally ex-plained, "Mayflies are famous inLake Erie because they let every-one know that Lake Erie was

very sick inthe 1970s.Boy, was

that a badtime for all of

us. I lost a lot ofmy family back

then, Someone noticedthat there weren't very

many mayflies left, andthat was when all the humanbeings realized that they hadto start taking care of LakeErie if they wanted it toprovide them with goodwater, fish, and everythingelse." Lake Guardian wasglad to hear that peoplewere working to keepLake Erie clean, but sheknew her job was toinvestigate more.

Lake Guardian decided tocontinue her journey aroundLake Erie on the southern shore,starting with Toledo, Ohio.Toledo was famous for thebeautiful glass that was madvthere. Even though the glass wasbeautiful, it still was a concern of'Lake Guardian's. She stopped tocount the mayflies and study howmuch pollution was being givenoff by the big glass factories. Shecontinued on to Cleveland, wherethere are lots of factories makingsteel and cars. Lake Guardianwanted to look for mayflies heretoo. Wally explained that indus-tries like the ones making steel,

1

Environmental Sciences

cars, andglass getvery hotwhen theymelt theglass andsteel tomakecars andwindows. Theyuse the water to cooloff the steel and glass,whkh means that theylet off lots of warm wa-ter into the lake. This isbad for the mayfliesbecause they needcool water to live, asdo many other plantsand animals.

Lake Guardian crossed theLake to look at the beautifulnorthern shore of Lake Erie andits farmlands. Lots of sheep andlambs are raised in Canada nearLake Erie, and Lake Guardianwanted to visit them before shemade her way to Lake Ontario.

Discussion:

1) Have the students do the Great

Lakes map activities. On thePollution Pathways Map drawin figures representing sourcesof industrial hot water emis-sions.

2) Review with students why themayfly is important. Can theythink of other indicators of

pollution? (Water discoloration,smelly air, lack of fish and birds)

3) Discuss how industrial ormunicipal warm water dis-charge can be bad for lakes.

Emphasize how human activity

can harm the Great Lakes and

not necessarily involve pollut-ants. Can the class think ofother examples? (erosion from

shoreline development)

Activities:

1) Draw and discuss the life cycle of the mayfly on the board. Havethe students conduct research of other aquatic insects and report.:,'to the class why they think they are Important.

2) Plan a field trip to nearby streams or creeks to conduct waterquality monitoring activities including mayfly counting and trashcollection. Discuss topics such as the difference between groundwater and surface water.

3) To highlight the importance of monitoring our environment, havethe students monitor and chart your school or their family'sgeneration of waste. Have a custodian of the school give theclass a tour of how all the different kinds of waste are handled atthe school, such as waste paper and cafeteria garbage. Does the ,school recycle? Choose *monitors* from the class and for twoweeks, have a monitor visit the custodial office each day andreport back to the class on how much waste was generated eachday. Keep track of the reports and have the students discussways the school or their families can minimize waste.

..,

Part 6: The End of the Journey, Lake Ontario!Story Highlights

Industrial Runoft:

Many chemical substances enteringthe Great Lakes from industrial use donot dissolve easily in water. These in-clude heavy metals and organiccompounds like PCBs. Since they donot dissolve well in the water, theysettle on the bottom of the lakes insediments.

Sediment Pollution:

When polluted sediments are stirred up,the pollutants are eaten by bottom feed-ing organisms and become part of thefood chain, concentrating through thefood chain through biomagnification,discussed in Part Ill of the story. Sedi-ment is stirred up three ways: when thelake bottom is removed to make a lakedeeper for large boats (called dredg-ing); by waves from storms or humanactivities like boating; or when animalsliving on or near the bottom stir it uplooking for food or to use the sedimentfor shelter. Contaminated sedimentscause the most problems when they arestirred up because the pollutionspreads.

Hot Spots: 8

Eighteen Mile Creek, RochesterEmbayment, Oswego River, Bay ofQuinte, Port Hope, Toronto Waterfront,Hamilton Harbour, St. Lawrence River.

Vocabulary:

algaealgae bloombacteriacarpdissolvedredgingecosystemindustrial runoff

nitrogenpotassiumsediment pollutionsludge wormssolutionspeciestolerate

Guardian wasnervous as she leftLake Erie, for she

thought that she might take awrong turn and go over NiagaraFalls! She was big and strong,but no boat could survive a ridelike that. She was relieved to findthe Welland Canal and make herway to beautiful Lake Ontario.She had heard so much about thefalls, and the breath-takingThousand Islands on the

east end.

Lake Guardian got out 1 ermap to trace her journey. Shewas very interested in looking athow all the water in the Lakeseventually comes through LakeOntario because it is the lastLake before the water heads outthe St. Lawrence River and intothe ocean. This means that a lotof the dissolved substances andpollution she studied in the otherGreat Lakes also has journeyedto Lake Ontario, which is one ofthe reasons why Lake Ontario isthe most polluted of all the GreatLakes. Lake Guardian knew thatanother reason was its small size.It doesn't have as much water tospread out the pollution.

Lake Guardian traveled firstby Hamilton and Toronto, Can-ada, passing lots of big industrialfactories and buildings. Sheremembered all the factories andbig machines she had seen alongthe shores of all the other GreatLakes. Lake Guardian wasconcerned about more than thesmokestacks and air pollutionshe had learned about. She wasworried about chemicals dumpedby the factories and businessesinto the water. Lake Guardianthought abou'. Herring Gull'sfriends the cormorants, and whatshe learned in Lake Michiganabout the chemicals from farmsrunning off into the water andsettling to the bottom tor smallcreatures to eat. She knew thatthis was happening with thechemicals from factories andbusinesses too.

She asked Dave the environ-mental scientist if there wereother effects from these chemi-cals on the Great Lakes besidespolluting sediments and enteringthe food chain. Dave describedhow some chemicals, such asnitrogen and potassium, fromindustry, farms, and city areas

are like food to green plants in; the water, including algae. "The

algae grow very big very fast,: and we call it an algae bloom. It

eventually dies," Dave ex-plained," but when it does, thebacteria that feeds on the deadalgae takes a lot of the water'sw ygen. The more algae thatblooms and dies, the morebacteria there is taking oxygenfrom the water." Lake Guardianknew that without oxygen, manyspecies of fish could not live.Dave explained that when alake's oxygen levels are lowered,some species die outmayfliesincludedand others like sludgeworms and carp, that can toler-ate low levels cr oxygen, move in.That's why scientists look foraanges in the kinds of animalsliviog in the Great Lakes. It tellsthem if too many chemicals arechanging oxygen levels andupsetting the balance of animalsand nature, called the ecosystem.

Lake Guardian got to workand collected samples and lookedfor algae blooms all along theshoreline of Lake Ontario. Sheexamined the different species tosee if she could tell if chemicalswere changing the water'soxygen levels too much.

By the end of the journey,Lake Guardian had learned a lotabout the beautiful Great Lakes.She wanted to tell everyoneabout all that she had learned.What could people do to help theGreat Lakes? She was conc(rnedabout the many pollution prob-lems that she saw, but stw knewthat things could get better. LakeGuardian knew that by helping tocollect samples and learningmore about the Lakes. sh( waspart of the solution. That madeher feel proud as she journeyedup the St. Lawrence diver to peekat the ocean before headingback home.

2 6

Discussion:

1) Research the kinds of animalsthat live in the sediment at the

bottom of a lake. Have thestudents ever seen a crawfishor a fresh water mussel? Have

they ever eaten one?

2) Ask the students what theythink happens to sediment thatis polluted? Where does the

pollution go from there?

3) Discuss how the students canbe a good friend of the GreatLakes. How can they or theirfamilies be part of the solution?

Activities:

1) Haus the students do the GreatLakes mip activities. On thePollution Pathways Map draw infigures representing sources ofindustrial waste discharge.

2) Sediment Experiment

Materiele: Deep plastic con-tainer (rectangularat least 12" x12` x 4 deep), fine sand, coarsesand, tiny colored plastic beads,plastic spoon,

Procedure: Ahead of time, put aone-inch layer of fine sand intothe plastic container. Provideevery group of students with acontainer. Mix the beads with thesand, representing pollutants.Cover with water until the waterlevel rises one inch above thesand layer. Allow this to sit untilthe water is clear. Carefully dragthe end of a pencil once acrossthe top of the fine sand. Thisrepresents how the sedimentmight be stirred up by organismsliving on or neer the bottom, or bywave action from storms orboats. Use the plastic spoon,scoop up some of the sand off thebottom of the container. This issimilar to the dredging of sedi-ment. What happened to thesediment and the colored plasticbead "pollutants?"

Environmental Sciences

irk TZEur

General Information:

How to remember the Great Lakes'names: Remember the word "HOMES"

= Huron0 = Ontario

= Michigan= Erie= Superior

Size: Largest supply of freshwater onearth; 20% of earth's total freshwater9,402 miles of shoreline94,710 total square miles of surfacearea (about the size of Texas)

Basin: The 295,200 square mile areawithin which all surface water drainsinto the Great Lakes. Includes parts ofIllinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota,New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wiscon-sin, Ontario, and Quebec

Lake Superior

Largest of the Great Lakes by surfacearea and volume, rich in naturalresources, supplying the United Stateswith 97% of its iron ore.

Surface Area: 31,700 square miles

Volume: 2,934 cubic miles

Shoreline Length: 2,726 miles (includingislands)

Population: 474,150 (United States)155,675 (Canada)

Land Use:91% Forest3 % Agricultural1% Residential/Industrial5% Other

Great Lakes Facts

c2zLake Huron

Second largest Great Lake with thelongest shoreline, counting 30,000islands.

Surface Area: 22,973 square miles

Volume: 850 cubic miles

Shoreline Length: 3,827 miles, includingislands

Population: 1,606,518 (United States)941,300 (Canada)

Land Use:68% Forest27% Agriculture2% Residential/Industrial3% Other

Lake MichiganThird largest Great Lake. Sparselypopulated and covered with forests inthe northern part, and heavily populatedwith intensive industrial and agricul-tural activity in the southern part.

Surface Area: 22,278 square miles

Volume: 1,180 cubic miles

Shoreline Length: 1,659 miles, includingislands

Population: 8,709,907**Does not include approximately 5 mil-lion residents of Chicago area who de-pend on Lake Michigan for water but donot live in the Lake Michigan drainagebasin.

Land Use:41% Forest44% Agriculture9% Residential/Industrial6% Other

27

Lake Erie

Fourth largest Great Lake, shallowestand warmest, with extensive industrialdevelopment along its shores. Ninety-five percent of Lake Erie's total inflow ofwater comes from all the "UpperLakes" through the Detroit River.

Surface Area: 9,906 square miles

Volume: 116 cubic miles

Shoreline Length: 871 miles, includingislands

Population: 9,183,347 (United States)1,742,805 (Canada)

Land Use:21% Forest67% Agriculture10% Res:clential/IndustriP(2% Othei

Lake Ontario

The smallest of the Great Lakes insurface area, largely rural with scenicresort areas, yet contains Canada'sleading commercial, industrial, andpopulation center.

Surface Area: 7,340 square miles

Volume: 393 cubic milesShoreline Length: 726 miles, includingislands

Population: 2,657,432 (United States)4,616,070 (Canada)

Land Use:49% Forest39% Agriculture7% Residential/Industrial5% Other

28

.

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"_

."11M(nitekSti;04 ".,01.4); in Gri?A ilititdk: /tat.. .

jiLMi. Lake Michigan P.aderation;

K-8,:012)1139-088. . .

AqiitikklAkillIfthfatir....Y.M.t:114.L'ILQAP, Christina G.Millerandleuise A. Berry, ,hdion Mossber _ .

e6r 8ti--ilieVLioi the. 13ea-zinktiikilittliiii0017::.7":7--mktY-IAPAtS-Pillwi-OPM;att...W_Y-W54-01,4614014tioorif-

. .

jtiglOtblitsi.b94-4TL4*..Protection Agency, Groat Lakes National Progrow Office, Michigan Sea GraniCoilogo Program brochures,

.199. r.ixtenSion Bulletins.E-180 through E-1870A 990, (5121353:

WA. Ships..9111.01.1.1144, Dwight Boyer, Dodd,Mead and Company, 1968.

IligargAle lugs, Harlan Hatcher, Oxford University Press,1944:

MRAMI.Loka,ALLECIA:Q1311191110.1.AtistiAnsl ResgAr0.Rfas, Environment Canada and United States Environ.mental Protection Agency, 1988.

A Eit;torjal History of.he fimailghes, '-iarlan Hatcherand Erich A. Walter, Crown POlishers, I nd., 1963.

Shpwreolc& the lalco, Dana Thomas Bowen, freshwa-ter Prost:, Inc., 1974.

Viaw of,the Eitilll.A.n_litUfthilt-LICLQeology, JohnFagan, Holt, Rinehart and Winston; 1965.

Ore-

Books, Instructional Makviatis aod Directories:

U-gperative CiaingsiorhopieSitto Love tkPkyi , PublicFocus, guide book, all ages, (416) 967-5211_

Qur Grea.LIOkes.C.Pnna.M41:quijes &lidera gun Thrpu,gli Eight, University ofWisconsin Extension, Envirtmmental Research Center,lessons and activities, (608) 262-2106

Dire.cterY..(*).1.Acid. Bairund .00ality.MotriAls, NationalPark Service, Midwest Regional Office, all ages, (402) 221

3431.

Oirectraynt Gre4 L kes _EdirglIlinnaLN.l.illgli.0.1s.. GreatLakes Science Advismy Board, International JointCommission, (313) 226-2170

The Esiddring.Gre.atifficW A .N atv(al 1-bs.ery 809k, JohnRousmaniure. ed., W. W Norton & Company, 1979

Thp areat_Lakcs, Harbor House Puldishing, coloring hook,

pr e school grade 4, 16161 582-2814

Gre.Eit 1c3.!(Qs AUMffinent Inlormation Ka InternationalJoint Commission. Great Lakes Regional Oricu. PamPlile1sand activities. all agifs,!31;0 226 2110

1'1n ce,,

Center for Environmental Information19 Cot;(1. Snoot, N't fi;). ;11: Hi

Center for the Great Lakes4,35 hnt.11

.i1211?r, 0'401

I:_nvironment Canada

1%1.. 1!?

Gleat Lakes Histomal Society-

International Joint Commission(.at

Dp32

A-.

to

(3reallakes..Eshm4orLUe.akers_f3ere.aiLDitectory, GreatLakes Commission, experts available to visa classrooms,(313) 665-9135.

Th,LQ&E8LQnIn n Children's Elnd.E...A $111Puts?i1Annotated_CRIjography, Green Oaks Press Publishers,

1980.

Greattakes Ships aryl Sffriming. Current Sources ofInfprmatign, John Greenwood, 1958.

GT.P41.LitIAS JAW. Hotspots, Pollution Probe Foundownposters, all ages, (416) 926- 1901

Q.e.mtv..fAcaNn, 41c*ivmes for, Great Lakes Ohio SeaGrant Education Program, activities and teachers guide.kindergarten grade 4,16141 292 10M

PaddiP-10-the.,Sed. Hotting Clan.

Mania Company. 1969 (Pee ef VHS Aimfrom IJ S Fish and Wildlife )iiyit.e nil 2i 11b 3582

Wotiands Are Oloniii!ttii: fl;,t.o

Progralc.leaLber a;: 11.18

Lake Michigan Federation'AIL V.1"Ci1")) '139 Od 38

National Wildlife Vederation! !*

(hilted States Environmental ProtPcnin,i ilitonsr:vi

';1'111 t1;1 '

r:'

Plarisy, N