Climate Change and the Great Lakes: Identity and Home

Objectives:

Students will be able to...

• Describe how climate change is affecting Lake Superior and Lake Huron
• Summarize and evaluate the role that the lake has in supporting the livelihood and identity of surrounding communities

Warm-up:

1. Think about your home: your bedroom, the apartment or house you live in, your yard or the surrounding landscape, and your neighbors. How would you describe it to a stranger? What elements of your city or neighborhood are unique? What elements of your home reflect you?

2. Take three to five minutes to write a response. You can do this in list form or write your response as a composition.

3. After you write your response, share in a small group of your peers. What do you have in common? Can your group agree on common characteristics that describe your community?

Introducing the Lesson:

Climate change is affecting North America’s Great Lakes. The lakes are home to 20 percent of the planet’s surface freshwater. They support a $7 billion fishing industry and $25 billion in shipping commerce, but climate change is taking a toll on each lake in a different way.

Today, we’ll focus on the effects of climate change on Lake Superior and Lake Huron. We’ll review two articles published by The Chicago Tribune that explore these environmental effects as well as the impact that climate change continues to have on the surrounding communities who have deep connections to the lake. For more articles, explore the full reporting project on climate change in the Great Lakes.

Note to the educator: You can choose to split the class into two groups and share their findings or have the class read both articles. The comprehension questions listed in the sections that introduce the resources are intended to support students in doing a close reading.

Introducing Resource 1:

The news article “On the Largest Freshwater Island in the World, Lake Huron’s Native Americans Warn of the Fragility of Water” from The Chicago Tribune explores the impact that climate change has on Native American and First Nation tribes as well as coastal areas surrounding Lake Superior.

For each section in the article, answer the following questions:

Introductory text:

• How would you characterize Native peoples’ attitude towards Lake Huron?
• List the ways climate change is affecting First Nation communities.

Our Territory:

• Describe the First Nation communities’ history in the Great Lakes region.
• How are First Nation tribes attempting to reestablish sovereignty of the region? How might that affect climate change?

Decimated Fishing Grounds:

• What accounts for the conflict between the tribes in the Great Lakes region and the Canadian authorities?
• How has commercial fishing affected the wildlife in Lake Superior?

Pipeline Fears:

• Describe how Enbridge’s Line 5 could be a threat to drinking water.
• List the ways the pipeline could be compromised.
• Outline both sides of the argument about whether to keep the pipeline open or closed.
• What other man-made threats is the lake facing?

Water Walkers:

• What has motivated Wiikwemkoong women to participate in water walks? What are they hoping to accomplish?
• How do water walks exemplify the First Nation communities' attitude toward water?

Introducing Resources 2:

The news article “Homeowners Near the Great Lakes Face a ‘Very Scary” Challenge: How Do You Handle a Generation’s Worth of Water Level Changes in Just a Few Years?” explores climate change’s effect on Lake Huron and its surrounding community.

For each section in the article, answer the following questions:

Introductory text:

• How is Lake Huron changing? What is particularly concerning about this change?

Historically Low to Historically High:

• Compared to the other Great Lakes, what is unique about Lakes Michigan and Huron?
• Describe how the chain of events triggered by the increase in greenhouse gases is contributing to the rise and fall of water levels in the area surrounding Lake Huron. How is it affecting the surrounding communities and wildlife?

An Economic Rise and Fall:

• How are rising water levels affecting people who own property on Lake Huron? What steps are they taking to maintain their homes?
• How might ice and increasing water levels affect dock posts and cribs?

Rhythm of the Water:

• How are fluctuating water levels affecting the economy in Cedarville?
• How does the community characterize their connection to Lake Huron?
• Describe Kenneth Kloster’s attitude about his home, the lake, and the upcoming challenges of fluctuating water levels.

Hard to Pin Down:

• Describe the seasonal process of lake levels. How is climate change affecting that pattern?
• How will Lake Huron be uniquely affected by precipitation changes due to climate change?

How Lake Huron Compares:

• What accounts for the increase in storms around the Lake Michigan-Huron basin?
• How is water availability affected by evaporation?
• Why are experts having a hard time predicting evaporation patterns? How has the polar vortex affected evaporation patterns?

Polar Opposites:

• How has a lack of state and federal funding affected communities around Lake Huron like Cedarville?
• What work are the citizens of Clymer doing to combat the effects of climate change on the lake and their community? Why is determining “who is to blame” integral to their discussion?
• How does a community dependent on the lake persevere when it has to deal with extreme highs and lows?

Activity:

After reading each article, fill out the attached chart individually or in small groups. Use the chart to describe how climate change is affecting the identity, sense of home, income, and livelihood of each of the following communities discussed in the articles: First Nation tribes, commercial and sports fisherman, homeowners near Lake Huron, and communities surrounding Lake Huron.

• Worksheet for this activity [PDF]

Discussion:

As a class or in pairs, discuss:

• How are the effects of climate change especially impactful to communities that live in proximity to great lakes?
• In communities like the First Nation tribes and Cedarville, how are notions of identity and home being disrupted by the effect that climate change has on the lakes?
• Are communities that live in proximity of great lakes responsible for safeguarding the lake? Do they bear more responsibility than other communities?

Extension Activities:

Option 1. Creative writing

Consider the following quote from this article: “A band of Toledoans petitioned to put a referendum on the February ballot that would create a Lake Erie Bill of Rights, a designation to grant the lake the same rights as a person. It would also allow environmentalists to sue on behalf of the lake.”

Imagine the lakes could speak for themselves. What would the lake say? Write a poem or letter in the perspective of any of the Great Lakes describing the effect that human-induced climate change is having on your mind, body, and spirit.

Option 2. Persuasive writing

Consider the following quote from this article: “A band of Toledoans petitioned to put a referendum on the February ballot that would create a Lake Erie Bill of Rights, a designation to grant the lake the same rights as a person. It would also allow environmentalists to sue on behalf of the lake.”

Imagine that you were asked to either defend or refute this bill. What side would you take? Compose a three-paragraph, persuasive essay defending your stance.

Option 3. Take action

1. Learn more about how climate change is affecting places around the world by exploring one or more of these stories. Alternatively, delve more deeply into how climate change is affecting the Great Lakes with one or more of the stories in this reporting project.

2. Write a letter to your representative that summarizes the story you explored, how it connects to your community, and what action you would like them to take to improve circumstances. You can use this template to write your letter.