Lake Erie's Plastic Problem

Introduction: The purpose of this research is to determine whether there has been a change in the overall water quality of the Lake Tarpon Basin, and if so, whether the quality has improved or worsened. The variables that will determine whether the quality has changed are: nutrients (phosphates and nitrates) and dissolved oxygen (DO). The expected changes are lower dissolved oxygen levels (from the already low levels), higher nitrogen levels (from the already high nitrogen levels), and the state qualifications still are not met for nutrients and dissolved oxygen (Levy, Flock, Burnes, Myers, Weed, River 2010). This topic relates to environmental management because the changes in water quality would be due to pollution, which relates to the question “How does human activity lead to the pollution of water stores?” The hypothesis that will be tested is that Lake Tarpon’s water quality will have worsened since the last measurements by Levy, Flock, Burnes, Myers, Weed, and Rivera in 2010.

Lake Huron is one of the most polluted fresh water lakes in America. It covers about 189 000 kilometers squared, and it is a component of the Lauretian Great Lakes. It drains to the Atlantic Ocean through St. Lawrence River. It receives an inflow from Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, while it drains to Lake Erie. The population surrounding the lake is about 3 million, which also contribute to its pollution (Ylvisaker 28).

Exercise Lab 1. How much does temperature vary in large and small aquatic environments? Lab 2. What determines the water clarity of lakes, rivers and oceans? Lab 3. Where does the phosphorus go? Lab 4. How does human activity in watersheds affect the quality of lakes and rivers? Lab 5. Are the Great Lakes being influenced by the global greenhouse effect? Lab 6. How is the flow of the Red Cedar River influenced by the weather? Lab 7. What is the relationship between flow and turbidity in the Red Cedar River? Page 2 4 6 8 12 15 18

Every summer for the past few years, I have been constantly on the gorgeous glittering waters of Lake Allatoona. I have experienced everything from boating to tubing and even jumping off of double decker docks. It’s hard to say goodbye to the waters for another year until Memorial Day. Even though I only see a small but beautiful portion of Lake Allatoona, the “Tri-State Water Wars” are still a large problem for this blossoming community surrounding Lake Allatoona.

Ulster County faces two major problems with this invasive species. First, this algae covers the stream bottom with an almost impenetrable layer of matting. It chokes out plant life, and separates the fish from the invertebrates on the stream bed. This separation reduces fish populations, and cripples trout fishing tourism in our area. Upstate New York has some of the best trout fishing streams on the east side of the country. These streams showcase local conservation work, and draw heavy tourism. The algae also has the ability to gum-up piping and aqueducts. Ulster County accounts for nearly 75% of

The Great Lakes have been under threat for the last two centuries, but the situation is the far worse today. It use to be believed that dumping sewage or chemicals into rivers and lakes was a great way to dilute and disperse it. As it turns out, it's not a good idea since those are the very rivers and lakes that we get our drinking water from. In recent decades, a lot has been done to stop that practice, but the sources and amount of pollution keeps skyrocketing each year. This pollution in the lakes must be stop at once or else bad consequences will be appond us because of it

The state of Michigan is a fascinating area. From its mitten-like shape, to its historical background, to the presence of the Great Lakes, Michigan has a story unlike any others. One very important part of Michigan’s story is how water has shaped the land making up the state. Seeing as the Great Lakes surround Michigan, it is obvious that the hydrologic system plays a great role in the water supply and the ecosystem of the Great Lakes. The hydrologic cycle includes evaporation, condensation, precipitation, groundwater, transpiration and runoff, all of which keep the Great Lakes functioning year after year. The University Corporation of Atmospheric Research developed an image to simply explain the hydrologic cycle as well as graphs explaining how each of the elements of the hydrologic cycle affects The Great Lakes on a monthly basis (located below).

I lived in Michigan for thirteen years and the lakes were so beautiful and clear. People really tried to keep the lakes clean and help the environment. Even though some people try to keep the lakes clean, however with their efforts there still is trash washed up on the shore polluting the beaches. They strive to keep the lakes

This situation may arise if humanity does not take steps to mend its polluting tendencies. To begin with, each individual should focus on decontaminating his or her nearest water body. For those living in Delaware, the nearest major water body is the Delaware River, which is in dire need of reform. “The Delaware River, . . . is the fifth most-polluted river in the country, according to a report released . . . by Environment New Jersey” (Augenstein). However, this issue did not arise spontaneously. A recognized problem by the early eighteenth century, Delaware River pollution remained a serious issue for the next 300 years. This mostly originated from rapid population growth and booming industrial activities (“Delaware River Water Quality”). As the years progressed, Delawareans continuously disregarded the Delaware River, and now it is immensely polluted due to an accumulation of neglect for the river. Residents polluted the river without repercussions until the river’s deterioration began to adversely affect them. Because of this, Delaware waters continued to befoul past the line of safety. “Severe pollution was most evident by the prevalence of waterborne illnesses and in the sharp decline of migratory fish populations” (“Delaware River Water Quality”). Delaware waterways are currently unsafe for commercial use due to the presence of pollutants and parasites like Giardia and Cryptosporidium in the water. These can cause significant health problems, especially in

Lake Erie had become extremely polluted and it needs your help! Because in the 1960 people dumped all their trash and pollutants into the lake. So the effect of that is it get blue green algae. People called lake erie the burning lake or the dead lake Lake Erie contained increased levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and the city took steps to improve its sewer system and better monitor water quality and fisheries sports anglers pulled five million walleye from the rejuvenated lake every year.Lake Erie had become polluted due to the due to heavy industry.

In 1952 a fire caused a million dollars’ worth of damage to river boats and riverfront businesses. On June 22, 1969 another river fire engulfed the river, this time the media coverage captured the attention of the nation. Time Magazine described the Cuyahoga as the river that “oozes rather that flows” and in which a person “doesn’t drown but decays”. Many of the residents of Cleveland accepted the pollution as a necessary evil because they had jobs at these factories. This article helped the people of Cleveland pass a 100 million dollar bond to clean up the Cuyahoga River. Much of the industry that both made Cleveland rich and caused its river to burn may never be coming back. The costs of these fires were tremendous, but it did help lead to laws being passed to prevent this from happening in other rivers. One such law was the Clean Water Act of 1972.

Could you imagine what happened to translucent and glistened Florida’s springs? Florida was floating on the water, it has more than 900 freshwater springs (Guest, 2014). Unfortunately, many studies show there are several threats such as drawing out tremendous amount of water, and the absent of regulation laws, lead to Contamination of Florida’s springs, loose business.

As the Great lakes play such an important role in providing safe drinking water to North America water quality and treatment are both important topics for the Great Lakes and the people that depend on them. We have spent billions of dollars to provide safe drinking water to citizen of North America and

When I was a little girl, I spent my summers rafting down and swimming in the rivers of Northern California, minutes from my house. My family would spend hours at the river weekly, having fun and relaxing by the water, but we never truly thought about what was actually in the water. Over the course of a few years, the water started becoming greener, making it so that we could not see the bottom. This cause was from the algae growth in the water. Our county started having health issues from humans and dogs alike, and every case of these issues came from swimming in the rivers. That summer, Humboldt County put a health warning out to the community, asking to stay away from the water. Of course, people would not listen, creating the epidemic of blue-green algae. Algae are the most noncomplex members of the plant kingdom, and the blue-green algae are the most plain of the algae. Blue-green algae have a substantial and increasing economic importance, they have both helpful and life threatening effects on living beings. Although they are named after algae, they are not true algae. Blue-green algae do not have a nucleus, or chloroplasts. Actually, blue-green algae are more related to bacteria, which have closer characteristics. The activity of nitrogen fixation and the occurrence of gas vesicles are extremely important to the triumph of blue-green algae. Blue-green algae are located in various locations on land and in water, generally in environments where vegetation does not

Who would have known Alexander Parker’s incredible invention of plastic would turn into a worldwide catastrophe for our oceans and marine life? For many years now, all of Earth’s oceans have been harmed by plastic pollution. According to Miranda Wang, “right now, the ocean is actually a soup of plastic debris, and there’s nowhere you can go in the ocean where you wouldn’t be able to find plastic particles” (Wang and Yao 1:50). Careless people assume that since the ocean is so large, dumping plastic into it will never affect us. Each day a piece of plastic waste enters our oceans: “In 2015, engineer Jenna Jambeck at the University of Georgia and other researchers calculated that at least 3 million tons of tons of plastic trash are swept into the ocean from coasts ever year” (Barone). Plastic causes devastating effects on the oceans ecosystem and is hazardous on human life, but if everybody lends a hand there will no longer be polluted oceans and the sea life would be saved.