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| Subject: Hmm, Oropan the Oracle, who lives on a Wisc lake, doesn't support it. Can't be true. | |
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Author: Mo' Green |
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Date Posted: 10:22:07 04/16/07 Mon In reply to: jw 's message, "Lake Superior aproaches record low levels - global warming?" on 06:42:48 04/16/07 Mon Just recently he posted how cold it was there in mockery of global warming. And you know, if it hasn't happened to Oro, it hasn't happened. > "lake huron rolls, superior sings, in the rooms of >her ice water mansion" (gordon lighfoot, wreck of >the edmond fitzgerald) > > Lake superior's status as an "ice water mansion" >is in danger, as ice coverage has been well below >normal for years, and increased evaporation are taking >a toll. Even with winter's dramatic comback in much >of the eastern and central part of the united states >in february and now in april, the greatest of american >lakes is approaching all time record low levels. All >the other great lakes are fed by superior, and >superior is about a third of the total area of the >great lakes, this may be a disaster for the entire >great lakes region in coming decades. > > >Lower water means lighter loads, headaches on Great >Lakes >Sunday April 15, 2007 >By EMILY FREDRIX >AP Business Writer >MILWAUKEE (AP) When Fred Shusterich looks around the >harbor on Lake Superior, he sees things he hasn't seen >in years little islands poking out of the water. > >Shusterich is concerned, like many others connected to >the shipping industry, about what those islands >signify off the city of Superior in far northern >Wisconsin. > >``I think it may be another very poor year if this >drought continues as far as water levels,'' he said. > >Now's the time when harbors along the Great Lakes >Superior, Michigan, Huron, Ontario and Erie thaw and >shipping begins, carrying 10 percent of the country's >waterborne cargo. > >But excitement over the shipping season is being >replaced with frustration over low water levels, which >is forcing shippers to lighten their loads so they can >move safely into harbors. > >The lighter loads sometimes hundreds of tons per ship >turn into headaches for suppliers that send their >goods on vessels, shippers and companies whose orders >come up short. > >Midwest Energy Resources, the coal supplier where >Shusterich is president, just sent out its first >vessel of the season with a load just under 60,000 >tons, shy of a typical 62,000-ton shipment, he said. > >Shippers don't expect the situation to improve soon. A >warmer-than-normal winter this year means more >evaporation because the lakes aren't protected by ice >cover. They also worry about dredging the process by >which sand, silt and other debris are removed from >harbors. Dredging doesn't solve the problem of low >water levels. But it does give ships wiggle room to >carry more weight. > >Unfortunately, the federal government, which pays for >most of the harbor dredging, can't keep up with >demand, said Glen Nekvasil, vice president of >corporate communications for the Lake Carriers' >Association, a trade group for shippers on the Great >Lakes. > >For every inch the lakes recede, ships must reduce >their loads between 50 and 270 tons, he said. At the >end of last season, with waters particularly low on >Lake Superior, ships lost about 8,000 tons per trip >about 11 percent of their carrying capacity, he said. > >``Every ton has an impact. These companies, they earn >their living carrying cargo, so every lost ton of >cargo is lost revenue,'' Nekvasil said. > >Shipping is big business. Last year, a little more >than 1 billion tons of goods such as iron ore, coal >and limestone, were waterborne in the U.S., he said. >Shippers on the Great Lakes hauled 110 million tons of >cargo, with more than half of that iron ore. > >Back in the late 1990s, shippers hauled as much as 125 >million tons of cargo a year on the Great Lakes. Last >year's numbers are at least partially due to the low >water levels, but the steel industry which uses iron >ore has been slow, too, Nekvasil said. The coal trade >has been steady and the roughly 70 ships in the U.S. >fleet regularly sail, he said. > >Water levels have slipped for years and the forecast >isn't getting any better. Lakes Erie and Ontario are >faring better than the others this year, said Scott >Thieme, chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' >hydraulics and hydrology office in Detroit. But >numbers show they're still lower than last year. > >Lake Superior is within a few inches of its record low >599.5 feet deep, set in 1926. It's now about a foot >lower than last year and projections for this summer >are that it'll get even lower. > >It's unclear how long the other areas will maintain >levels above record lows, because all the lakes are >connected, Thieme said. > >``The lakes are so large that there's such a huge >volume of water. It takes a long time for some of >these impacts to move through the system with them all >being linked,'' he said. > >One way to combat it is to dredge so vessels can get >in. This year the Corps of Engineers will spend $20 >million on dredging projects in the Great Lakes >region, up from $19 million last year. But that >increase is due to projects on Chicago commercial >ports, which are not dredged as often, said Angie >Mundell, project manager for operations for the corps >in Detroit. > >Nekvasil's group argues the government should spending >more. > >``This is a major issue for the industry. It's our >primary focus right now,'' he said. > >Grain exporter Chicago and Illinois River Marketing >isn't waiting for the government to dredge its harbor >in Milwaukee. Richard Blaylock, manager at the >company's site, said the company spent $200,000 in two >years to dredge its own spot off the Milwaukee Harbor. > >With shipping season just under way, he's not sure if >the company will have to dredge for a third year in a >row. > >``Dredging is expensive and I'd like not to have to do >it,'' Blaylock said. > >Iron ore mining company Cleveland Cliffs will simply >hire more ships to carry its ore to customers like >steel plants throughout the region, said Dana Byrne, >vice president of public affairs for the >Cleveland-based company. > >The dwindling water levels mean a typical vessel >carrying between 25,000 and 30,000 tons will have to >reduce its load by 1,000 tons per trip, he said. > >``We're going to move the tons we need to move and >we'll just have to do it,'' Byrne said. ``It's just >going to take more trips and added cost.'' > >Shusterich's company, Midwest Energy Resources, plans >to contract to have 450 ships again this year. He said >it'll continue to serve customers, like electric >utilities and industrial companies, by rail and truck >when it can. > >``When we're running at the levels we're running, it >means you need more vessels to carry the same amount >of cargo,'' he said. ``But at some point you run out >of vessels.'' > > > > >On the Net: > >U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Great Lakes: >href="http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/greatlakes">http:// >www.lre.usace.army.mil/greatlakes > >Lake Carriers' Association: >target=_blank >href="http://www.lcaships.com">http://www.lcaships.com< >/a> > >(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights >Reserved.) [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |