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No it doesn't... The outline of the coast has more to do with tides than the water quantity. The largest tides are areas where there is a long inlet that is oriented east-west. For example, it is disputed but the Great Lakes have very small tides, but the largest of them are superior and erie (longest east-west dimensions) whereas the largest quantities of water are in superior and michigan.

http://www.great-lakes.net/teach/chat/answers/100100_tides.html
http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/factsheet.html

Here's a variation: find a spot where far-reaching, comprehensive environmental regulation and changes in people's general attitudes have resulted in changing a toxic, ugly body of water into a clean, thriving, healthy body of water.

Okay, so go to Lake Erie, then what?

Excellent. Now, hold your head under that water for several minutes... wait...

Wait, how does that fit into the analogy?

A Prius idleing in your garage is going to kill you too, right? Better lump all the Prius owners in with the environment haters, right?

Suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning from a *Prius*? Wow, that would take bloody forever. Better bring some sudoku puzzles, a long book, etc.

Hydrologically, Lakes Michigan and Huron are one body of water. They're at the same level, water flows back and forth between them with the tides. cite

Volume of Michiga/Huron: 4,920 km^3 (Michigan) + 3,540 km^3 (Huron) = 8,460 km^3

Volume of Superior: 12,100 km^3.

Volume of Lake Baikal: 23,600 km^3.

I know nothing about that lake so I looked it up and it's an awful lot more than 20k acres, here it says that it's 82,100 square kilometers - http://www.great-lakes.net/lakes/ref/supfact.html which is 20 million acres, you were you off by 3 orders of magnitude, so we need 10% of the lake to provide all the fuel used in the US by your calculation.

All the average depths came from here , and do you know how to read??? The wiki article you posted says the same numbers mine does , just scroll down to where it says ... Relative elevations, average depths, maximum depths, and volumes of the Great Lakes. There is a pretty picture showing the average depths.

The average depth of Lake Erie is only about 62 feet (210 feet, maximum). Lake Erie is by far the wimpiest of the great lakes!

Maybe it's just that most slashdotters don't read articles, but I did read the article and it seems an environmental problem of some concern.

Invasive species are a big problem. Those who deal with kudzu in the Southeastern US or zebra mussels in the Great Lakes know this.

"For all the talk of freakish foreign creatures invading the Great Lakes in recent decades, none has come close to the devastation caused by an unwelcome pest that's been present more than 80 years, the sea lamprey."

For geographic marvels, I highly recommend Yosemite National Park, and of course, the Grand Canyon. If you do the canyon, try to hike below the rim, instead of just gazing down into it like 99.9% of visitors do. Just be prepared, the rangers have to rescue ill prepared tourists on a daily basis. One of the best hiking destinations in the Grand Canyon is Havasupai Falls, which is on the Havasupai Reservation.

And if you're in the Southwest, you'd probably like to see some other Native American sites. One of the best cliff dwellings is Bandolier National Monument, in New Mexico. Or in Arizona, Montezuma Castle National Monument. Other Native American sites worth seeing in Arizona are Canyon De Chelly National Monument, Wupatki National Monument, Tuzigoot National Monument, and the Hopi Villages, the longest continuously inhabited village in North America. In New Mexico, there's Chaco Canyon, Aztec Ruins National Monument and Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. While in New Mexico, it'd be a shame to miss Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Another geeky destination in Arizona near the Grand Canyon would be Lowell Observatory, where Percival Lowell discovered the planet Pluto.

Next, I would like to recommend the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, if you like to paddle and portage. This is located in northern Minnesota. And if you're in Minnesota, check out the city of Duluth. It's the world's most inland seaport, and a very cool place, literally. It's located at the very tip of Lake Superior, the world's largest freshwater lake. And if you really want a good Lake Superior experience, check out Isle Royale National Park or at least the Apostle Islands. Both offer great hiking and see kayaking. Those are my recommendations. Hope you can make it to at least some of them! Tim Savage Phoenix, AZ

Actually, zebra mussels were introduced by accident, as described here. Maybe you could substitute the mongoose in Hawaii, or the cane toad in Australia.