The Death and Life of the Great Lakes
(OverDrive MP3 Audiobook, OverDrive Listen)
Winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Award
A landmark work of science, history and reporting on the past, present and imperiled future of the Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes—Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior—hold 20 percent of the world’s supply of surface fresh water and provide sustenance, work and recreation for tens of millions of Americans. But they are under threat as never before, and their problems are spreading across the continent. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is prize-winning reporter Dan Egan’s compulsively readable portrait of an ecological catastrophe happening right before our eyes, blending the epic story of the lakes with an examination of the perils they face and the ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come.
For thousands of years the pristine Great Lakes were separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the roaring Niagara Falls and from the Mississippi River basin by a “sub-continental divide.” Beginning in the late 1800s, these barriers were circumvented to attract oceangoing freighters from the Atlantic and to allow Chicago’s sewage to float out to the Mississippi. These were engineering marvels in their time—and the changes in Chicago arrested a deadly cycle of waterborne illnesses—but they have had horrendous unforeseen consequences. Egan provides a chilling account of how sea lamprey, zebra and quagga mussels and other invaders have made their way into the lakes, decimating native species and largely destroying the age-old ecosystem. And because the lakes are no longer isolated, the invaders now threaten water intake pipes, hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure across the country.
Egan also explores why outbreaks of toxic algae stemming from the overapplication of farm fertilizer have left massive biological “dead zones” that threaten the supply of fresh water. He examines fluctuations in the levels of the lakes caused by manmade climate change and overzealous dredging of shipping channels. And he reports on the chronic threats to siphon off Great Lakes water to slake drier regions of America or to be sold abroad.
In an age when dire problems like the Flint water crisis or the California drought bring ever more attention to the indispensability of safe, clean, easily available water, The Death and the Life of the Great Lakes is a powerful paean to what is arguably our most precious resource, an urgent examination of what threatens it and a convincing call to arms about the relatively simple things we need to do to protect it.
If you are having problem transferring a title to your device, please fill out this support form or visit the library so we can help you to use our eBooks and eAudio Books.
Dan Egan. (2017). The Death and Life of the Great Lakes. Unabridged Books on Tape.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Dan Egan. 2017. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes. Books on Tape.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Dan Egan, The Death and Life of the Great Lakes. Books on Tape, 2017.
MLA Citation (style guide)Dan Egan. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes. Unabridged Books on Tape, 2017.
| Library | Owned | Available |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Digital Collection | 2 | 2 |
OverDrive Product Record
- sortTitle
- Death and Life of the Great Lakes
- crossRefId
- 2968532
- images
- cover:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/1191-1/{F33DED3E-980B-42B0-A2C1-C11CB569F31C}IMG100.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- thumbnail:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/1191-1/{F33DED3E-980B-42B0-A2C1-C11CB569F31C}IMG200.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover150Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/1191-1/{F33DED3E-980B-42B0-A2C1-C11CB569F31C}IMG150.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover300Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/1191-1/{F33DED3E-980B-42B0-A2C1-C11CB569F31C}IMG400.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover:
- formats
- identifiers:
- type: KoboAudioID
- value: penguinrandomhouse_audio#9781524779900
- type: ISBN
- value: 9781524779917
- name: OverDrive MP3 Audiobook
- id: audiobook-mp3
- identifiers:
- identifiers:
- type: KoboAudioID
- value: penguinrandomhouse_audio#9781524779900
- type: ISBN
- value: 9781524779917
- name: OverDrive Listen
- id: audiobook-overdrive
- identifiers:
- mediaType
- Audiobook
- primaryCreator
- role: Author
- name: Dan Egan
- id
- F33DED3E-980B-42B0-A2C1-C11CB569F31C
- title
- The Death and Life of the Great Lakes
- starRating
- 4
- dateAdded
- 2017-02-23T22:34:00Z
- contentDetails
- href: https://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=141&titleID=2968532
- type: text/html
- account:
- name: Sacramento Public Library (CA)
- id: 1151
OverDrive MetaData
- isPublicDomain
- False
- formats
- duration: 12:21:00
- fileName: TheDeathandLifeofthe_9781524779900_2968532
- partCount: 10
- fileSize: 353802328
- identifiers:
- audience: retailer
- type: 8
- value: penguinrandomhouse_audio#9781524779900
- audience: library
- type: ISBN
- value: 9781524779917
- rights:
- type: PlayOnPC
- value: 1
- type: PlayOnPCCount
- value: -1
- type: BurnToCD
- value: 1
- type: BurnToCDCount
- value: -1
- type: PlayOnPM
- value: 1
- type: TransferToSDMI
- value: 1
- type: TransferToNonSDMI
- value: 1
- type: TransferCount
- value: -1
- type: CollaborativePlay
- value: 0
- type: PublicPerformance
- value: 0
- type: TranscodeToAAC
- value: 1
- name: OverDrive MP3 Audiobook
- isReadAlong: False
- id: audiobook-mp3
- onSaleDate: 3/7/2017
- samples:
- source: Part 1
- formatType: audiobook-mp3
- url: https://excerpts.cdn.overdrive.com/FormatType-425/1191-1/2968532-TheDeathAndLifeOfTheGreatLakes.mp3
- source: From the book
- formatType: audiobook-overdrive
- url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=f33ded3e-980b-42b0-a2c1-c11cb569f31c&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
- duration: 12:16:59
- fileName: DeathandLifeoftheGreatLakes-63219
- partCount: 0
- fileSize: 353755214
- identifiers:
- audience: retailer
- type: 8
- value: penguinrandomhouse_audio#9781524779900
- audience: library
- type: ISBN
- value: 9781524779917
- name: OverDrive Listen
- isReadAlong: False
- id: audiobook-overdrive
- onSaleDate: 3/7/2017
- samples:
- source: Part 1
- formatType: audiobook-mp3
- url: https://excerpts.cdn.overdrive.com/FormatType-425/1191-1/2968532-TheDeathAndLifeOfTheGreatLakes.mp3
- source: From the book
- formatType: audiobook-overdrive
- url: https://samples.overdrive.com/?crid=f33ded3e-980b-42b0-a2c1-c11cb569f31c&.epub-sample.overdrive.com
- creators
- role: Author
- fileAs: Egan, Dan
- bioText: Dan Egan is a reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and a senior water policy fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's School of Freshwater Sciences. He has twice been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and he has won the Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award, John B. Oakes Award, AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award, and J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award. A graduate of the Columbia Journalism School, he lives in Milwaukee with his wife and children.
- name: Dan Egan
- role: Narrator
- fileAs: Culp, Jason
- name: Jason Culp
- imprint
- Random House Audio
- publishDate
- 2017-03-07T00:00:00-05:00
- edition
- Unabridged
- isOwnedByCollections
- True
- title
- The Death and Life of the Great Lakes
- fullDescription
- A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
Winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Award
A landmark work of science, history and reporting on the past, present and imperiled future of the Great Lakes.The Great Lakes—Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior—hold 20 percent of the world’s supply of surface fresh water and provide sustenance, work and recreation for tens of millions of Americans. But they are under threat as never before, and their problems are spreading across the continent. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is prize-winning reporter Dan Egan’s compulsively readable portrait of an ecological catastrophe happening right before our eyes, blending the epic story of the lakes with an examination of the perils they face and the ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come.
For thousands of years the pristine Great Lakes were separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the roaring Niagara Falls and from the Mississippi River basin by a “sub-continental divide.” Beginning in the late 1800s, these barriers were circumvented to attract oceangoing freighters from the Atlantic and to allow Chicago’s sewage to float out to the Mississippi. These were engineering marvels in their time—and the changes in Chicago arrested a deadly cycle of waterborne illnesses—but they have had horrendous unforeseen consequences. Egan provides a chilling account of how sea lamprey, zebra and quagga mussels and other invaders have made their way into the lakes, decimating native species and largely destroying the age-old ecosystem. And because the lakes are no longer isolated, the invaders now threaten water intake pipes, hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure across the country.
Egan also explores why outbreaks of toxic algae stemming from the overapplication of farm fertilizer have left massive biological “dead zones” that threaten the supply of fresh water. He examines fluctuations in the levels of the lakes caused by manmade climate change and overzealous dredging of shipping channels. And he reports on the chronic threats to siphon off Great Lakes water to slake drier regions of America or to be sold abroad.
In an age when dire problems like the Flint water crisis or the California drought bring ever more attention to the indispensability of safe, clean, easily available water, The Death and the Life of the Great Lakes is a powerful paean to what is arguably our most precious resource, an urgent examination of what threatens it and a convincing call to arms about the relatively simple things we need to do to protect it.
- reviews
- premium: True
- source:
- content:
January 2, 2017
Egan, a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, effectively calls attention to the inherent fragility of the Great Lakes in this thought-provoking investigation, providing a modern history of the lakes—Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Superior—and the problems that have plagued them. He takes readers “beneath the lakes’ shimmering surface and illuminates an ongoing and unparalleled ecological unraveling.” Egan starts the discussion by examining the 1950s construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway, a system of locks, canals, and channels connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. Supporters had hoped landlocked cities such as Chicago and Cleveland would in time become global commercial ports rivaling New York City and Tokyo. Subsequent chapters deal with some of the project’s unintended consequences. Non-native species began showing up in the Great Lakes. Zebra mussels, once found primarily in the Caspian and Black Sea basins, hitchhiked their way across the Atlantic in the ballast tanks of freighters. Able to fuse themselves to hard surfaces and grow “in wickedly sharp clusters,” zebra mussels can clog pipes, cause significant damage to boats, and “suck the plankton—the life—out of the waters they invade.” Egan highlights a range of issues that have affected these crucial waterways for decades.
- premium: True
- source:
- content: A prize-winning reporter for the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL has written a readable, fair-minded account of the collapse and transformation of the Great Lakes ecosystem from the opening of the Erie Canal through the present. Jason Culp narrates this epic tale of human arrogance, unintended consequences, and environmental degradation, told through personal interviews, memorable stories, and solid descriptions of science. Culp's pace his consistent, and his narration exceptionally clear. His slightly nasal tenor complements Egan's avuncular style, and he evidences no difficulty with scientific vocabulary. While the author offers as much optimism as anyone can, the story of the Great Lakes is a cautionary tale of importance far from their shores. A great audiobook for anyone interested in environmental issues anywhere. F.C. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
- popularity
- 1498
- links
- self:
- href: https://api.overdrive.com/v1/collections/v1L1BWwAAAA2I/products/f33ded3e-980b-42b0-a2c1-c11cb569f31c/metadata
- type: application/vnd.overdrive.api+json
- self:
- id
- f33ded3e-980b-42b0-a2c1-c11cb569f31c
- starRating
- 4
- images
- cover:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/1191-1/{F33DED3E-980B-42B0-A2C1-C11CB569F31C}IMG100.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- thumbnail:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-200/1191-1/{F33DED3E-980B-42B0-A2C1-C11CB569F31C}IMG200.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover150Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-150/1191-1/{F33DED3E-980B-42B0-A2C1-C11CB569F31C}IMG150.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover300Wide:
- href: https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/1191-1/{F33DED3E-980B-42B0-A2C1-C11CB569F31C}IMG400.JPG
- type: image/jpeg
- cover:
- isPublicPerformanceAllowed
- False
- languages
- code: en
- name: English
- subjects
- value: Science
- value: Nonfiction
- publishDateText
- 03/07/2017
- mediaType
- Audiobook
- shortDescription
- A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
Winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Award
A landmark work of science, history and reporting on the past, present and imperiled future of the Great Lakes.The Great Lakes—Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior—hold 20 percent of the world’s supply of surface fresh water and provide sustenance, work and recreation for tens of millions of Americans. But they are under threat as never before, and their problems are spreading across the continent. The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is prize-winning reporter Dan Egan’s compulsively readable portrait of an ecological catastrophe happening right before our eyes, blending the epic story of the lakes with an examination of the perils they face and the ways we can restore and preserve them for generations to come.
For thousands of years the pristine Great Lakes were separated from the Atlantic Ocean by...
- sortTitle
- Death and Life of the Great Lakes
- crossRefId
- 2968532
- publisher
- Books on Tape
- bisacCodes
- code: SCI019000
- description: Science / Earth Sciences / General
- code: SCI020000
- description: Science / Life Sciences / Ecology
- code: SCI026000
- description: Science / Environmental Science
