The luxury of having the Great Lakes nearby is one of the best things about living in Michigan. When the summer temperatures nearly rise to 100 degrees or when winter temperatures drop enough for the lakes to freeze, the beaches along the Great Lakes are fantastic get-away destinations. However, I am currently reading a book for my American Environmental History class called The Great Lakes Water Wars, by Peter Annin, which goes into lengthy detail about how important the issue of possibly diverting the Great Lakes is for people living around them. The urban sprawl moving out west is causing several problems, a major one being the need for sufficient water supplies. New cities are springing up day by day and as the population increases, the water supply is quickly running dry.
Even since the 1800’s, settlers and explorers in the western part of the United States have noted that the west just isn’t suitable for the extreme living conditions that people enjoy in the east. To make a statement as bold as this in the 1800’s is phenomenal, especially when you compare it to the water consumption we currently take part in during the 21st century. As daily consumers of Great Lakes water, we need to protect them from pollution and destructive diversion that could occur in the near future. However, we must also keep in mind that water should never be owned by corporations and must remain a public entity. Water is definitely an essential life source that could never be labeled with a price tag…or could it?
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