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| The algae bloom in Lake Erie in 2011 that according to the NOAA was the worst in decades. |
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are many ways in which politics is involved with dead zones. Dead zones are
considered an environmental issue and issues like this are brought up to certain
politicians whom are expected to take action to try and solve them. Lake Erie
is one of the many areas with this problem. In January of 2015, there was an
article published on the reducing phosphorus levels in the lake. Fertilizer
runoff was labeled as one of the contributors but there were others that were even
more dramatic such as drought and low flows from tributaries and streams.
Because
of the reducing phosphorus levels and other findings, it was suggested that
policymakers have been working on plans in order to combat the dead zones in
Lake Erie. Anna Michalak was the one who led this study and also mentioned that
they should look at the meteorological changes as well as an agricultural
management practice. What she is saying is that there is only so much people
can control with this problem. There are many potential causes to dead zones,
but we cannot control every single one of them. The types of causes that we can
control are ones that include the runoff and what is coming from the runoff
into bodies of water such as Lake Erie. Ones that are not in our control are
natural causes such as increasing water temperature from climate change.
Raj Bejankiwar of the International Joint
Commission, a U.S. - Canadian Agency, said, “Only a few things are in our
control, and how much phosphorus comes into the lake is one of them.” This
Agency made a move in 2014 that called for cutting phosphorus runoff by nearly
half over three to six years. This was an important move since Lake Erie
produces the fish that people eat most. If these dead zones overtake the fish,
then there will be no more fish or other types of seafood for people to eat. That
is a big step in the right direction and more calls like this need to be made
for larger dead zones such as the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Flesher, John. (2015). Lake Erie 'Dead Zones' Influenced by Weather, Scientists Report. HuffPost. Retrieved on May 1, 2015 at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/06/lake-erie-dead-zones_n_6424598.html
That is really good news to hear that policy makers are trying to do something about these dead zones. At the end of the day, we cannot just allow marine life to die out all together, whether it be be due to these dead zones or over fishing. I feel that it is a very important topic to be discussed in the context of law because wiping out ecosystems effects the food chain which in turn effects the biosphere.
ReplyDeleteLake Erie looks incredibly unpleasant for the aquatic life (in your picture). Excess nitrogen and phosphorous is extremely hazardous, not only to aquatic life but to human life as well. How strictly is the government regulating the usage of water in Lake Erie?
ReplyDeleteEnvironmental science definitely has a bigger place in the now than it did previously. It is nice to see that politicians are taking action on something that is more important than many other things. The preservation of our planet, and more importantly, our country is one of the most important things. We need the government to get involved and to show that it is a problem that we are killing our ecosystems, especially our marine life, and that even if we don't really see the impact today, we will see the impact in the future. We not only have to think about our generation but the many generations in the future also.
ReplyDeleteCan dead zones by reversed? If the problem is fixed or phosphorous runoff decreases, can the fish be saved? These dead zone are horrible for the environment, but it also seems like it is bad for the economy. Especially in Lake Erie where people make their living on fish from the lake. Does the phosphorous come from the fertilizer? Politicians not only have to think about the environment, they also have to think about the effects on the economy. Is there any kind of government regulation for the quality or ingredients of fertilizers? They seem to be the main cause of pollution and contribute greatly to dead zones.
ReplyDeleteNature VS Human is the life that we live in. Hopefully as technology progresses further we would develop devices that can fix Mother Nature itself. There are devices in development that can terraform Mars which is really cool and impressive. This could also be scary because devices that can change weather gives terrorist a new way to terrorize with. Also could lead to the new version of the “nuke”. Cold war all over again!! But anyways, it is great that these issues actually have some politician’s attention. The potential that it has harming marine life is very important for us to be cautious about this issue.
ReplyDeleteDead zones are definitely an issue that has an easier time trying to resolve in terms of agreement among the public. However I feel the issue is a lot more difficult to actually resolve by practical methods because of the actual damage that has been done. Somehow we would need to chemically change the bottom of the floor bed within the water from all the Hydrogen Sulfide that is responsible for these Dead Zones. Since Hydrogen Sulfide absorbs all the Oxygen and depletes it, scientists should come up with a way that can reduce these excess H2S amounts that would be efficient enough to not create further pollution on the bottom layers of aquatic environments.
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