Restoration of the Great Lakes: Promises, Practices, Performances

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is the
author of several books, including The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese
Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret Laurence: T

The introduction to this book boldly declares that Restoration of the
Great Lakes is about “experiments that lie somewhere between large and
small events. They are occurring on the North American Great Lakes and
consist of designing institutions to restore degraded environmental
sites throughout the lakes.”

The size of the Great Lakes and the cubic kilometres of actual water
they contain boggle the imagination. Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron,
Erie, and Ontario constitute approximately one-fifth of the world’s
fresh surface-water supply. There are 43 Areas of Concern (AOCs) whose
commissioners continue to promise much and do little. Cross-boundary
multiple uses between Canada and the United States create multiple
problems. This small hardcover book should prove useful to those
involved in attempts to solve the problems. It includes two appendixes
of highly detailed scientific guidelines for listing and delisting
usages, and seven pages of bibliographic references.