My name is Betty N. Schnowman. I am an environmentalist from Madeline Island. I specialize in informing people about ways they can help change the environment for the better. My goal in life is stopping from polluting and ruining the Great Lakes. I enjoy camping and boating around the lake in the summer with my family. My favorite thing to do is help out the environment and I HATE when litter.
Unfourthanectly, pollute the Great Lakes every day and that is not good. We need to do what we can to prevent it. Lake Superior is the biggest lake in the U.S. we would hate for that to be ruined by people who pollute. Pollution can cause many long-term effects. For example, In 1969 oil got into the waterways and started the lake on fire. We do not
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There are so many ways we can stop the spread of invasive species. One way to stop the spread of invasive species is by introducing new species that can kill off the invasive species. For example, Asian carp have big appetites, and introducing Alligator Gar, can reduce the spread of Asian carp. Another invasive species is the zebra muscles. They get into water pipes and clog them. They also are really sharp and they make swimming in the Great Lakes dangerous. Those are only two invasive species out of 180. Last but not least I'm going to be talking about the sea lamprey, the sea lamprey is a fish that attaches itself to other fish and sucks the blood out of them. Sea lampreys kill more fish than commercial fishing. This will end up having a huge incline on the food chain and the fish …show more content…
The Great Lakes having the largest freshwater system makes it a great home for species of wildlife and fish. But eventually, if we keep polluting the great lakes and areas around the Great Lakes the species of wildlife and fish will lose their homes. but on the bright side, ¨NOAA has supported over 85 projects on Great Lake restoration. These projects have restored over $460,000 Acres of habitat and have made over 500 more miles of streams for fish to cross their habitat¨. There are so many good things going towards habitat Rehabilitation but there are also downsides too. There are laws saying that when you destroy a habitat you have to create another habitat, when making a new habitat it will never be back to 100% how it was before. You will never be able to get all the organisms back into the new place there will always be organisms left behind. Eventually, this could lead to extinction or danger in the food chain. We need to do what we can now to help habitat loss, pollution, and invasive
Dr. Harvey Bootsma discussed the changes the Great Lake faces from invasive species and prevention because in 2050 the Great Lakes will be U.S.’s most valuable natural resource with 20 percent of world’s freshwater. “It’s hard to manage a system when it’s always changing,” said Dr. Harvey Bootsma, Associate Professor for School of Freshwater Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Can man fix the damage or will they create a new problem? Some conservationists think bringing back the water ways to its original state all the natural vegetation, aquatic macrophytes, submersed plants that grow mostly under the water surface and root to the bottom sediment will come back quickly. Some of these plants are tape grass, hydrilla, Coontail, bladderwort, sago pondweed, Fanwort, Water milfoils, immersed plants they are rooted to the soils on the bottom. Some of these plants are Cattail, bulrush, water spinach, lake hygrophila, marigold, giant foxtail. Can the reconstruction bring back the natural vegetation in the wetlands that the C38 project destroyed of the water ways? The restoration methodology used is backfilling the C-38 canal to restore the flow and function to the historic river that became stagnant and lifeless due to low oxygen conditions.
The Asian Carp Response in the Midwest states: “The presence of Asian carp in the Great Lakes could cause declines in abundances of native fish species. Asian carp will compete with native fish for food—native fish like cisco's, bloaters, and yellow perch, which in turn are fed upon by predator species including lake trout and walleye” (np). Another consequence is the poor quality of water that carp cause when they enter into new waters. They are known to be responsible for the unpredictable and disastrous results in habitats. As stated by Hansen, M. “Asian carp are like zebra mussels, which also prey on the base of aquatic food webs, and can thereby reorganize nutrient and energy flow with unpredictable consequences on native species” (np).
This change in weather has already had negative impacts on tourism and jobs that surround Southeastern Michigan’s wonderful recreational activities, but heavy rainfall can cause sewers to “overflow into Lake Michigan more often, which could pollute beaches in Michigan” (EPA, 2016). Also, the warmer weather year round has caused a decrease in ice cover on The Great Lakes dramatically in the last few years. Since the early 1970s, “winter ice coverage in the Great Lakes has decreased by 63 percent” (EPA, 2016). This causes a change in the time people can do winter activities such as ice skating and ice fishing, creating a change in culture and the reputation Southeastern
Lake Erie has been a huge topic for Ohioans due to how polluted the water is. Lake Erie is Ohio's biggest water source, and that being polluted is not good for Ohio and other states that use Lake Erie’s water. Though this is not the first time this has happened before, in 1960 the lake was VERY polluted due to heavy industries lined up on the shore lines. Lake Erie called the “Dead Lake” for how much pollution was in it, and how many dead fish there were.
Firstly, they will kill fish which is quite in opposition of attraction for tourists. Also, as they get food, they force beloved species to decline into near extinction such as the trout. A third example is that when a sea lamprey kills its prey, they take away that fish from commercial use. Sea Lamprey has no sustenance for marine
States can be heavily impacted by all of this wetland destruction. For example, Louisiana, approximately 40 percent of the country’s total wetlands area are located in Louisiana. It sates in the passage “Wetlands and Habitat Loss” that Louisiana is located at the drainage gateway where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico. This is why Louisiana holds such a great percentage of the United States Everglades. If you take away wetlands in states like Louisiana, then there would no longer be anywhere for natural habitats to inhabit creatures that need that type of environment to survive.
A costal ecosystem restoration program was invented by Congress in the Water Resources Development Act of 2007. The state is expected to spend nearly $1.2 billion over the next three years on protection and restoration projects. They have yet to come up with the money, but they have been thinking of solutions. One solution they have been thinking of is the sediment required to replenish the wetlands will come from land scattered throughout the basin. Even though sediments are crucial to rebuilding the wetlands of the Mississippi River Delta, additional nutrients flowing through river diversion could potentially impair inland waters of the state.
The Great Lakes had many benefits for Canada, which include: the transportation of goods, home for many aquatic species, and the provision of drinking water. Although, the lakes provided a great abundance to Canada they became over polluted after World War two, leading to a challenge Canada had to face. As a result “The Canadian Government became aware of the pollution in the great great lakes, to reduce the problem the Great Lakes Water Quality and Clean Water Act were created.” (www.Great-lakes.net)
As international movements increase, risks spread. Some non-native species are not obviously detrimental on introduction, but become so in the future and intensive monitoring is required. Negative invasive species can compete and overcome native species in 6 ways. 1. Competition: Food sources and habitat reduced for native species.
Invasive species interact with the global health of ecosystems; cause great damage to natural systems and are a huge cost to society as a whole (1). Biologists and environmentalists are alarmed that the invasions of these species could lead to large-scale declines and extinction of native species (3). There are approximately 50,000 foreign species Living in the United States, causing major environmental damages which costs add up to about $120 billion a year. It is believed that about 42% of the threatened or endangered species are at risk because of invasive species (4).
“Scientists and advocates alike are urging individuals to help diminish the demand by doing simple things like drinking local tap water instead of buying bottled water, using reusable containers instead of disposables, and buying microbead-free products.” (Erin Huber). People did this and it helped the lake a lot, but now the lake is polluted again. The lake is very polluted again now, and there is a great variety of pollutants. First of all, a current problem with Lake Erie is that people are using extensive amounts of fertilizer.
Intro: Water pollution has caused so many problems to our waterways that no one really knows how to help. Water pollution caused; dead zones, oil spills, garbage floating around, and unsafe drinking water. People disagree about water pollution because, people have found ways to improve and help out the problem that water pollution has caused around the world. Others believe that that water pollution has created situations and are in the process of figuring out solutions. Marine life habitats are getting destroyed, marine life is declining everyday, how and where the garbage is getting into the oceans, and the drinking water is becoming seriously unsafe to drink.
Pollution is the introduction or release of substances or energy that decrease the quality of the marine environment. Many pollutants are toxic of harmful to marine life (Castro and Huber, 2010). South Africa is known around the world for being one of the most diverse marine environment in the world, with 83% of the known fish families residing in South Africa (Van der Elst, 2007). There are also many marine species that are endemic to South Africa, which means they are only found in South Africa. Almost 30% of the South African population lives on the coastline (Taljaard et al. 2006), which has led to the urbanization of the coastlines and which then led to the industrialization of these areas.
The ocean is nowadays undergoing numerous environmental issues that further lead to marine pollution. Marine pollution is a very serious environmental issue that most of the countries of the world encounter. Aquatic littering is considered as one of the major causes of marine environment. The misleading use of the marine environment is extremely impacting the marine life and ecosystems. Moreover, the total amount of toxins and debris discharged by human beings is incredibly increasing in today 's world.