每日一读：Valuing the Lakes

（THEGREATLAKES）

IgrewupintheGreatLakesState,andformanyyearsnow,duringmyannualsummer(yes,ithastobesummer)visitbacktoMichigan,I’malwayshappyaboutwhatIdon’’tseethrongs（拥挤的人群）ofCalifornians(sorry)’tseehordes（人群）ofNewYorkers(sorry)splashingaboutLakeMichiganorthunderingdownthesteepwhitesandsofSleepingBearDunes.

Nooffensetothemultitudesonbothcoasts,butI’vealwaysbeengladthestill-unspoiled（未遭破坏的）charmsofnorthwestMichiganfeltlikemysecret—oratleastasecretheldbyasmallergroupofpeople,largelyfromtheMidwest.

Lately,however,I’vebeenthinkingaboutthedownsideofbeingoutofsightandoutofmind.

MostpeopleseldomthinkaboutLakesMichigan,Huron,Superior,Erie,’,asTimFolgerwritesinthismonth’scoverstory,theGreatLakesare“arguablythecontinent’smostpreciousresource,incalculablymorevaluablethanoil,gas,orcoal.”

Togetherthelakesholdmorethan20percentofthesurfacefr

“drinkfromthelakes,fishonthem,transportgoodsoverthem,farmtheirshores,andworkincitiesthatwouldn’texist”withoutthem,Folgerwrites.

Andyetweabuse（滥用）themterribly:pollutingthem,introducinginvasivespecies（入侵物种）,allowingfertilizer（化肥）runofftocreatealgal（藻）bloomslargeenoughthattheycanbeseenfromspace（太空）.Climatechangemeansthelakesdon’tfreezeasmuchastheyusedto,andseverestormshavebecomemorefrequent.

EverywhereyoulookonEarth,,shockingly,（南极洲）andmeltingglaciersintheHimalaya（喜马拉雅山脉）.’shappeningtotheGreatLakes:theirreplaceable,fragile（脆弱的）ecosystemofsixquadrilliongallonsoffreshwaterthatourplanetneedstosurvive.

SoreadFolger’（倡导者）toprotectourGreatLakes.(Butplease,don’tvisit.)