Why is it the Chinese can build the largest inland Lake in the world, & we can't stop draining Lake Superior?

Question

Why is it the Chinese can build the largest inland Lake in the world, & we can't stop draining Lake Superior?

Answer 1

We're Americans.

Answer 2

Isn't Lake Superior down three feet now?!

Answer 3

China needs to.  They are losing crop lands to desert encroachment every year due to global warming.

Answer 4

the recent draining is caused by the recent drought in that area.  When the drought is over, that shouldnt be a problem.

Answer 5

Sorry, but that is just wrong. The Chinese will soon have the largest man-made lake system created by the impounding of the Three Gorges Dam. But that is and will be an ecological disaster. The water is already softening the foothills which are sliding into the flood zone.  Tens of millions of people have been displaced. That is not something we should aspire for.

One of China's largest lakes, Lake Taihu, is so polluted, it suffers from noxious algae bloom. It used to be a productive body. Now it is just a foul puddle of psychedelic green slime.

That is not to say we should not hold ourselves to a better example. The fact of the matter is that for every inch Lake Superior drops, that is 529 billion gallons of water gone! Where is it going? The Great Lake Basin serves as a passage for large cargo ships. Canals, rivers, and channels are regularly dredged to allow large cargo barges to pass through. The deepening of the channels allow more water to drain out. The level drops so they dredge more, which makes the level drop even faster.

It is true that since 1998, the jet stream changed with La Nina, which brought the area in drought condition, after two decades of wet conditions. Assuming the rains will return in a decade or two, we should be fine. But in the meantime recreational boaters and cargo barges should learn to go else where, instead of increasing dredging.

Answer 6

Enviornmental policy. No one would allow that to happen in the USA. Just think of the lawsuits.......