“I recall in 1974 when I heard that Lake Erie in Ohio had actually caught on fire, so thick it had become with sludge and discarded fuel residues.”
No, not Lake Erie. That was the Cuyahoga River running through The Flats before it dumps into Lake Erie. Lots of industrial polution was being dumped into the river in those days.
I’m sure the Obama Administration has a plan for a crisis like this. The Illegal Immigrants are to receive water FIRST.