Chris Berkey makes his living plying the often treacherous
waters of the Great Lakes, delivering staples like cement to
industries nestled in the myriad harbors that dot a coastline
that's equal to nearly half of the circumference of the globe.
It's not glamorous work, but it is critical to the U.S. economy.
And it's getting harder. Water levels in Lake Michigan and Lake
Huron fell to record low levels for December, and are expected
to break the all-time low sometime in the next few months. Cargo
ships like Berkey's are being forced to lighten their loads,
some harbors have already been forced to close and the tourist
trade is bracing for an impact as well. "In years past, there
was always a buffer," he said. "That buffer's gone." It's not a
new problem. Lake levels have been below average for at least 13
years, said Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology for
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit. But it is an
increasingly serious one: The coal trade on the Great Lakes
declined 8.2% in 2012 fr