Recorded Sunday, May 27, 2012 at Queen's University MiniU. A characteristic feature of the Canadian landscape is the abundance of freshwater lakes. Many of these ecosystems are under severe threat from human activities. This lecture will share the most recent results of ongoing research that uses long-term perspective to show the nature and magnitude of pollution on our water resources, and how these data can be used to inform lake managers and decision makers. A professor in the Department of Biology at Queen’s University, John also holds the Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change. He co-directs the Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab (PEARL), a group of over 30 students and other scientists dedicated to the study of global environmental change, especially as it relates to lake ecosystems.