A Great Lake plunge may not be such a great feat

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Polar bear plungers rush into the water. Image: Wikimedia Commons

By David Poulson

It’s sort of traditional to brag about plunging into the cold waters of Lake Superior head on, even in the depths of summer.

Nowadays? Perhaps not so much. Scientists report the lake is an astonishing 3 degrees warmer than last year. Variations are typically less than half a degree.

What does it mean? Aaron Fisk, a professor with the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Windsor,  recently explained to the CBC what warming temps do to the Great Lakes.

Listen here:

Or read here.

But for those who lack the time do either, at least check out these two quotes: “It’s a really significant change in temperature. Much beyond anything you would normally expect over the last 60, 70, 80 years.”

And: “Even the people who have been working on the Great Lakes for a long time, people who have seen it all, are all saying ‘Wow, things are really changing.’ Yeah, I am worried. And I am an optimist. We have ignored climate change for much too long. It might be too late.”

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