Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region: Impacts on Our Communities and Ecosystems

Published by: David Suzuki Foundation and partners
Authored by: George W. Kling, Katharine Hayhoe, Lucinda B. Johnson, John J. Magnuson, Stephen Polasky, Scott K. Robinson, Brian J. Shuter, Michelle M. Wander, Donald J. Wuebbles, Donald R. Zak
Partners: Union of Concerned Scientists, The Ecological Society of America

Biodiversity, Climate solutions Ontario, climate change, eco-assets, land use, natural capital, water systems, conservation, economics, species at risk, forests

This report was released by the David Suzuki Foundation and the Union of Concerned Scientists in April 2003. It shows climate change will alter the Great Lakes region with more floods and droughts, lower lake levels, less ice cover and more extreme weather events. The consequences of these climatic changes will magnify the impacts of ongoing human disturbances that fragment or transform landscapes, pollute air and water, and disrupt natural ecosystems and the vital goods and services they provide.

Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region explores the potential consequences of climate change, good and bad, for the character, economy, and environment of the Great Lakes region during the coming century. It also examines actions that can be taken now to help forestall many of the most severe consequences of climate change for North America’s heartland.