17. Great Lakes Pollution: Saving Freshwater Resources
The Great Lakes contain 20% of Earth’s surface freshwater. They faced catastrophic pollution for decades. Lake Erie was declared “dead” in the 1960s. American coal plants sent acid rain into Canadian forests while Canadian sewage flowed into boundary waters. The 1972 Great Lakes Agreement committed both nations to cleanup. The Cuyahoga River actually caught fire multiple times. Joint research eventually led to comprehensive regulations.
