Possible Great Lakes Future

Global warming is a constant looming threat over not just the United States but the entirety of our world. While temperatures continue to rise, catastrophe after catastrophe is predicted to happen. Coastal cities will be swallowed as sea levels rise. Deserts will expand while gargantuan forest fires will wreak havoc. Earth will be under siege and millions upon millions of people will be displaced.

For class, I recently read a book that fell under the genre of ‘cli-fi.’ It was set in a future United States where global warming had already begin to really take a toll. The book is called ‘the Water Knife’ and it’s by Paolo Bacigalupi. In it, horrid droughts have hit the American southwest, and the cities/states are all fighting over water rights that involve the Colorado River. These rights are important because the value of water is so high due to the drought. We, as humans, need this precious liquid to survive. It’s not a surprise that this big water source would be fought over; however, is that what’s in our future? If global warming continues to worsen, will we mimic this book and kill just for a drink? It’s definitely possible.

We don’t know exactly what the future holds, but we have a pretty good guess. Fighting over the water supplies of the Colorado River could very well happen; however, I want to focus on a water source that’s closer to home for me. That water source is the Great Lakes. It was brought to my attention, that modernly, people are trying to protect the Great Lakes from getting siphoned off of. There’s already talks of trying to move its water all the way to our western states via pipes. It wasn’t a surprising thing to learn, although, I had never really thought of it as a possibility. When, I think about it, my mind goes to extremes. Imagine living in the world where those big and beautiful bodies of water are all dried up. It’s recreational uses could soon be traded in for those needed to survive.

There were quite a few articles that popped up when I started searching for research materials. The first one I clicked on was fairly recent, but told me I had to pay if I wanted to read it so I moved on. The next one was from the Detroit Free Press. I found it interesting that this proposition of taking water from the Great Lakes has been pitched for years; however, the states around it and Canada made a pact to stop it from happening. Though, trouble might be coming soon because now someone from NASA thinks moving the water is also a good idea. I also find it ironic that they keep mentioning how these pipes would go to Phoenix. That city was talked about so much in the Water Knife. It’s a familiar setting for the characters. 

The Detroit Free Press had another article on the topic that I read as well. It started off by talking about some of the problems that would come with trying to take water out of the Great Lakes. Like for instance, it would be very expensive. Billions upon billions of dollars would be needed to do such a thing. It wouldn’t be cost efficient at all to build the structure needed to pump all the water.

I also found out that it isn’t just the Great Lakes that are being attacked, but the aquifers under our state as well. Companies like Nestlé use wells in Michigan to fill 4.8 million water bottles a day and ship them everywhere. Other companies are starting to try and do the same. Some of them try to give back some of the water they took, but others don’t. It’s another big thing that I never even knew about.

So what is the future for the Great Lakes and other water found in Michigan? In all honesty, I still don’t know; however, one thing is for sure. Global warming is still upon us, and drought ridden lands are going to need to get water from somewhere.