As the Great Lakes are the world's largest body of freshwater, they represent a microcosm in which the physical environment, ecosystems, climate, and human activities are deeply involved. This article describes the natural environment of the Great Lakes, the human activities carried out there, and the resultant changes in the environment; it also introduces an initiative for building sustainable systems.

At the United Nations' Summit on Climate Change held in September 2009 in New York, then Prime Minister Hatoyama announced as a mid-range target for greenhouse gases a 25% reduction from1990 levels of emissions by 2020. Although this high target encountered much resistance from the corporate world, the government stood its ground, boldly changing its slogan from Team Minus 6% to Challenge 25. 2012 was set by the Kyoto Protocol as a mandatory threshold for achieving determined reductions. Japan is now facing a turning point for establishing new environmental measures.

The ocean was in ancient times imagined to be a diabolical realm inhabited by evil spirits; as such, it was also the privileged setting for adventure stories. The essence of ocean literature was to be found in the unexpected perils faced by seafarers, their use of whatever resources were at hand and all their wits in a tense struggle against the forces of nature, and their growth as humans as a result of these trials. In pre-modern times, there was a sense that a supernatural will played a part in the fates of seafarers. These days, after so many leaps in scientific knowledge, ocean literature faces difficult times, but still holds the promise of new developments.