More evidence for climate change disbelivers to ignore, from the Chicago Tribune:

Scientists at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory say there has been more than a 30 percent ice decline on the lakes since the 1970s.

The drop attributed to global climate change leaves the largest system of freshwater lakes on Earth open to evaporation that can lead to lower lake levels.

Ice also protects the shoreline from erosion and protects underwater fish eggs.

More from the Associated Press:

Assel’s records indicate that ice formation at nearshore areas has decreased less than on the deepest parts.

Evaporation from open water can cause heavy lake-effect snow inland.

Researcher Jia Wang said ice loss can cause other problems, including the destruction of the eggs of fall-spawning fish by winter waves from an open lake, erosion of coastal areas unprotected by shore ice and less winter recreation on the lakes such as snowmobiling or ice fishing.

The Coast Guard has estimated it cost more than $245,000 to rescue 134 fishermen from a huge ice floe off Ohio last month. The fishermen became stranded Feb. 7 when a miles-wide chunk of ice broke away in Lake Erie.

Images found here and here.

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