Great Lakes May Be Reaching Critical Tipping Point - Dec 9, 2005: The immune system of the Great Lakes is breaking down and the ecosystem is in danger of collapse, according to a new report released by the region’s leading scientists. The report underscores the urgent need for comprehensive restoration to repair the “immune system” of the Great Lakes, and to reverse a pattern of decline that threatens to affect drinking water, swimming, fishing, tourism and other benefits derived from the largest body of fresh water in the world. The paper reports that the Great Lakes buffering capacity, or immune system, is breaking down, rendering ineffective the self-regulating system of the lakes to protect themselves and recover from new stresses like pollution and invasive species. The report states, “If not addressed with great urgency, the Great Lakes system may experience further -- and potentially irreversible -- damage.” To date approximately 60 scientists, including the region's Sea Grant directors, have endorsed the paper, Prescription for Great Lakes Ecosystem Protection and Restoration: Avoiding the Tipping Point of Irreversible Changes, and its recommendations.
    Alfred Beeton, Ph.D., one of the lead authors and former director of the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory said, “This report serves as a warning. The Great Lakes are deteriorating at a rate unprecedented in their recorded history and are nearing the tipping point of ecosystem-wide breakdown. If we want to restore this resource, it is time to act now.” Don Scavia, Ph.D., another lead author and Professor of Natural Resources at the University of Michigan said, “As alarming as this diagnosis may be, the solution is relatively straightforward and achievable if we act now. To restore the Great Lakes, we need to start treating the lakes holistically, and not just as a series of isolated problems to be solved one at a time.”