Summary Of William Ashworth's Late Great Lakes

William Ashworth wrote the Late, Great Lakes – An Environmental history with the sole purpose of informing all and any who would read it. He wrote it with pure hope in changing how we might see or treat this world. Ashworth gives cold hard facts of the dwindling of the Great Lakes. He gives blame to where it deserved- to us. “Despite the fact they have long been called lakes, they have also long been treated as they were infinite.” (Page 4) Ashworth begins talking about Jen Nicolet, 17th century French explorer. One morning, Nicolet set out to find land beyond the strait of Mackinac (which is in the lower peninsula of Michigan and connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron). He spent several days only to be on the far side of Lake Michigan, and decided to go on shore to meet, who he had hoped to be, the Chinese. Imagine the incredible disappointment to find out he is still in the same country. Ashworth includes this to show how incredibly vast the Great Lakes are.
Not too long after purchasing the land, litter was forsaken on their land. Not just regular trash, but entire barrels of toxic smelling unknown substances. Some were released into a ditch, creating the characteristics of a lagoon. Bill Shliemer, WSGO’s chief engineer winced as he reported “the stench was overpowering.” Since then, the barrels have been discarded and the lagoon filled- But the faint scents of chemicals still linger in the air. The soil has soggy patches, ladled with chemicals. Instances like these cause improper growing of vegetation as well as huge impacts on human health. It is entirely dangerous to improperly dispose of waste- especially that of chemical composition. Not only that, but the chemical saturated soil can create run off into Lake Ontario; not only affecting the acidity of the water, but the species that inhabit