...Chesapeake Bay Water Pollution and Restoration Mitigation Plan Emmett J. Nixon Axia College 2009 Chesapeake Bay Water Pollution and Restoration Mitigation Plan Detailed description of the problem: For over 300 years, the Chesapeake Bay water system has sustained the area’s economy and defined its traditions and culture (Chesapeake Bay Program Preamble, 2000). As the most biologically diverse estuary in the U.S., over 3600 species of fish, plants and animals make the Bay their home. Land uses in 1990 in the 166,000 square kilometer watershed are estimated to be 57% forest, 16% cropland, 8% pasture, 18% urban or developed land, and 1% of land in rivers and lakes (Chesapeake Bay Program, Linker, L.C., Shenk, G.W., Dennis, R.L., and Sweeney, J.S. (1999). Water pollution makes most people think of factories and industries dumping toxic chemicals and other contaminants into the Chesapeake Bay. In reality, the main pollutants are excess amounts of nitrogen, and phosphorous. These nutrients enter the Bay from a variety of sources and cause an explosion of algae growth and sediment. Airborne nitrogen reaches the land through air deposition and chemical contaminants. An overabundance of suspended sediment from erosion is the main factor for water stress and poor aquatic life in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Protection of its natural and man-made infrastructures is essential over the long-term as indicated in the illustration below...
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...Imagine Chesapeake Bay so healthy and so full of life, with its clear waters and thriving ecosystem that supports both humans and wildlife. The Bay is made up of various ecosystems, but due to human activities, its health and population have slowly started to decline. Some human activities that have negatively influenced the Bay are Urban/Suburban development and agriculture. If these factors continue to be taken lightly, not only will it negatively affect the water quality and species population but also the overall health of the Bay. In order to restore the Bays health, necessary action must be taken, such as reducing the amount of pollutant runoff, managing excess nutrients and limiting residential development. To begin with, urban and suburban development greatly increases sedimentation and...
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...205 Lab 3 Dr. Erik Davenport THE CHESAPEAKE BAY ECOSYSTEM 1. The Chesapeake Bay is approximately 200 miles in length and it has a width which ranges from 3.4miles to 35miles. The Chesapeake Bay watershed has so much research done on it in order to figure out strategies to revive it. 2. The Chesapeake Bay Program is a regional partnership that leads and directs protection and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay. Although the Chesapeake program partners have mutual restorative objective, they tend to implement restorative actions based on their resources. Their restorative objective include but not limited to * Reducing Pollution * Restoring Habitats * Managing Fishery * Protecting Watershed * Fostering Stewardship 3. Point source nutrient loading is a form of pollution which can be easily regulated because the nutrients are known to originate from a specific location. However in a non-point source nutrient loading the nutrient’s origin is not easily identified, which makes this kind of nutrient loading difficult to contain. 4. The greatest contributor of nutrient loading in the bay is agricultural run-offs. 5. Eutrophication is the enrichment of the ecosystem with chemical substances such as nitrogen and/or phosphorous. It can also be said to be the ecosystem’s reaction to the introduction of natural and artificial substances into aquatic habitats. An excess amount of nutrient loading fuels the growth of certain...
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...185EW The Exemplification of the Tragedy of the Commons in the Chesapeake Encompassing six states and the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay is among the largest estuaries in the world. The bay serves as a source of food, water, and entertainment to the millions of people that inhabit its watershed. Over the past century, anthropogenic pollutants, such as nitrogen and phosphorous-rich industrial fertilizers, enter the bay and spark the creation of hypoxic zones that threaten water quality and inhibit marine life. As the human population surrounding the bay continues to grow, efforts to have the states’ government improve the condition of the bay have been fruitless. The implementation and enforcement...
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...Felice Schwartz Ms. North IB Environmental Science I September 23, 2013 Field Survey Project A. Defining the Problem 1. Run off is the indicator 2. The runoff affects the Chesapeake Bay because it brings pollution into it. It carries contaminants from land such as nitrogen and bacteria. This then creates algae, which deprives the bay of oxygen. It also clouds the water and in turn restricts the amount of sunlight in the water, which limits the growth of grasses. Ultimately creating an unstable environment in the bay and kills the life that lives there. 3. Healthy system: RainDrainage Systems Heavily forested area with high grasseslimited runoffHealthy Bay Unhealthy system: RainDrainage systemsImpervious surfaceRunoff from the surface into the storm drainsstorm drains give off into the bayBay is unhealthy from excessive runoff. B. Data Collection Qualitative | Bare soil | Landscape | Drainage systems | | Quantitative | Measure in cm^2 | Percentages taking of different land use | Count how many | | C. Data Processing 1. The mathematical formula used was Q= (C)(i)(A). The calculated results of the formula were Q= .89x3x3.2, Q=8.54. 2. The uncertainties that exist in our formula are that some of the components are our own estimations and therefore the validity of them is uncertain. 3. The estimated effect is that our calculation could be about .2 off. We got this effect because we calculated a different Q using slightly...
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...a change in the rivers color. They noticed that a green film was covering areas of the river and some residents blamed pollution from the factory. This seemed like a reasonable claim since phosphates and nitrates are nutrients that increase algae growth and help cause blooms. So we decided to test if these claims could be true. We set up our experiment by setting up 7 cups, then we labeled them 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, and control. Next we filled each cup with 50ml of algae infused water. Now to act as runoff from the factory we put...
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... I have chosen The Great Lakes as my topic to discuss the changes these wonderful bodies of water are currently experiencing. I have narrowed my view to Lake Michigan, as it is the largest of the lakes. From the EPA: On November 15, 1990, in response to mounting evidence that air pollution contributes to water pollution, Congress amended the Clean Air Act and included provisions that established research and reporting requirements related to the deposition of hazardous air pollutants to the "Great Waters." The water bodies designated by these provisions are the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, Chesapeake Bay, and certain other coastal waters (identified by their designation as sites in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System or the National Estuary Program). (EPA, 2015) Lake Michigan currently functions with the dynamic, being it has exceptional fishing, irrigation and provides clean drinking water to the communities surrouding the lake. Its structural dynamic as an ecosystem currently offers for research and developmet all human threats. An example is the introduction of invasive species, such as zebra mussels and those HABs (Harmful Algal Blooms), that expand because of the nutrients in certain fertalizers. The scientific community is also doing research yearly, to investigate the weather factors that may increase the HABs growth and spreading issues. Being human and always in need has affected the ecosystem that is Lake Michigan drastically. Because we need...
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...The Effects of Water Pollution on the Economy Terri Cunningham ECO 405 Dr. Page July 25, 2014 Every human has five basic needs in order to survive: food, water, air, shelter, and warmth. Of these five needs, three are in grave danger from the effects of pollution. The water and air supply are being contaminated on a daily basis, and as a direct result, spreading to the food supply. A variety of pollutants from a number of sources are constantly being introduced into the environment, with most people none the wiser. Most of the population is aware of, or can extrapolate the negative effects environmental pollution can have on a person, plant, or animal’s physical health, but many don’t realize the major impact that pollution can have on a country’s economic health. With the global population increasing every moment, the demand for food resources rises right along with it, putting a strain on the planet’s water resources. As farmers scramble to produce more crops to meet the growing demand, they inadvertently add more harmful contaminates to the water supply. According to a Bloomberg article, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said that this surge in agricultural production and water pollution costs billions of dollars in developed countries like the United States, France, and Spain, and is ready to surpass that mark in China and India (Patel, 2012). The chemical pesticides and fertilizers widely used in agricultural farming leech into...
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...with other swine that many of their curly tails have been chopped off so they won’t bite one another.” Conditions like these are prime locations for diseases to thrive and spread throughout the livestock. Although antibacterial immunizations are provided to the pigs, the bacteria and other viruses are constantly altering, leading to untreatable infections that can be easily passed onto workers and consumers. Contributing to the threat of new diseases, CAFOs contain massive pileups of feces and other excrements which do not provide safe living or breeding grounds for animals. With over 100 million tons of feces and urine produced annually by swine CAFOs alone, the total amount of unmanageable waste leads to increasing air and water pollution while diminishing the quality of life in surrounding communities (Burkholder). The United States and the Environmental Protection Agency need to strengthen rules and regulations of...
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...Deborah Jacobellis Ms. Chotiwat-Floyd English 1101 18 March 2014 Hydroponic Gardening Hydroponic gardening is a timeless entity that has been with us since man first started to plant crops. It is feasible that one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was one of the earth first hydroponic gardens. The Hutchinson Pocket Dictionary of Difficult Words defines hydroponics, “hydroponics n. cultivation of plants without soil, by supporting them in chemical solution containing all ingredients necessary for growth” (425). In other words, hydroponics is the process of growing plants in sand, gravel, vermiculite, perlite, or liquid with added nutrients to water. A concept of growing plants without playing in the soil scares some people. The thought that a setup this simple may be answer to the world’s food shortages, is astonishing. Teaching Hydroponics in our schools and encouraging it in our community is good for everyone. Murali Mugundhan is a huge endorser of Hydroponics because he sees first-hand how it is changing his world. Mugundhan states that “improper agricultural practice which altered the soil pH, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides which drastically reduced the soil flora and fertility which made a quench for the new alternative technique for obtaining the food and medicinal plants of better quality, yield and for growing fresh produce in non-arable areas of the world”(286). I agree with Mugundha, the current agriculture system in the United...
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...Local and Surrounding Ecologies and Environments of Virginia Introduction to Physical Science, SCI110 December 13, 2012 The Virginia Ecologies and Environments Ecology, as defined by Enger, Ross, & Tillery (2009), is “the branch of biology that studies the relationships between organisms and their environments”. Accordingly, the term environment is very broadly defined as “anything that affects an organism during its lifetime” (Enger, Ross, & Tillery, 2009). With these definitions in mind, it is easy to understand that organisms rely on their environments for sustainment and life. On the flip side, environments rely on organisms as well for survival. The factors that affect a living organism in any given environment can, in turn, be classified as either biotic or abiotic. Biotic factors are other living things that may affect a particular organism, for example predators. In contrast, abiotic factors are nonliving things that affect a particular organism, such as a drought or excessive rain. In reviewing the local ecology and environment of the Commonwealth of Virginia, we must first determine the region’s biome. A biome is the classification of a terrestrial community, primarily determined by climatic factors, such as precipitation patterns and temperature ranges (Enger, Ross, & Tillery, 2009). A biome also provides an indication of the type of plant life and animals that may be present within a particular region. The relationship is interdependent...
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...Soil Conservation Working Group Report This report provided content for the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts first report, Wisconsin’s Changing Climate: Impacts and Adaptation, released in February 2011. THE WISCONSIN INITIATIVE ON CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS 1st Adaptive Assessment Report Contribution of the Soil Conservation Working Group July 2010 Contour stripcropping in central Wisconsin Photo by Ron Nichols, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Participants of Working Group William L. Bland, Professor, Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Working Group Chair and lead author) Kelly R. Maynard, M.S. Agroecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Project Assistant) Jeremy Balousek, P.E., Urban Conservation Engineer, Dane County Land and Water Resources Department Denny Caneff, Executive Director, River Alliance of Wisconsin, Inc. Laura W. Good, Associate Scientist, Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconson-Madison Kevin Kirsch, Water Resource Engineer, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Patrick Murphy, State Resource Conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service John M. Norman, Emeritus Professor of Soil science, Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison James VandenBrook, Water Quality Section Chief, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection Sara Walling, Water Quality Specialist, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and ...
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...Ecotoxicology (2009) 18:522–536 DOI 10.1007/s10646-009-0310-9 Assessment of environmental contamination using feathers of Bubulcus ibis L., as a biomonitor of heavy metal pollution, Pakistan Riffat Naseem Malik Æ Naila Zeb Accepted: 6 April 2009 / Published online: 6 May 2009 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009 Abstract Concentrations of metals such as Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn were analyzed in the feathers of cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) from three breeding colonies in the Punjab province, Pakistan. The mean concentrations of Ca, Cd, Fe, Pb and Mn were significantly different between the three study sites (River Chenab, River Ravi and Rawal Lake Reservoir). The mean concentrations of Ca, Cd, Fe and Mn were significantly greater at the River Chenab heronry and Cr, Co, Zn, and Pb concentrations at the River Ravi heronry. The feathers of cattle egrets collected from the Rawal Lake Reservoir heronry were least contaminated. Multivariate statistical methods viz., Factor Analysis based on Principal Component Analysis (FA/PCA); Hierarchical Cluster analyses (HACA), and Correlation Analyses identified relatively similar associations of metals and their sources of input. Metals such as Ca, Mg, and K were related with natural input from parent rock material whereas trace metals viz., Cu, Cd, Co, Pb, Ni, and Zn were associated mainly with anthropogenic processes. Metals such as Fe, Mn, and Li were either correlated with natural input or with anthropogenic...
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...A Review of Literature Related to Oil Spill Dispersants 1997-2008 for Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council (PWSRCAC) Anchorage, Alaska by Merv Fingas Spill Science Edmonton, Alberta PWSRCAC Contract Number - 955.08.03 Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this PWSRCAC-commissioned report are not necessarily those of PWSRCAC September, 2008 ii Abstract This report is a review of the literature on oil spill dispersants published from 1997 to August, 2008. The report identifies and focusses on recent advances in dispersant effectiveness, toxicity, and biodegradation. Other topics such as application, use, behaviour and fate are also covered. The prime motivation for using dispersants is to reduce the impact of oil on shorelines, thus the application must be successful and effectiveness high. As some oil would come ashore, discussion remains on what effectiveness is required to significantly reduce the shoreline impact. A major issue is the actual effectiveness during spills so that these values can be used in estimates for the future. The second motivation for using dispersants is to reduce the impact on birds and mammals on the water surface. The benefits of using dispersants to reduce impacts on wildlife still remain unknown. The third motivation for using dispersants is to promote the biodegradation of oil in the water column. The effect of dispersants on biodegradation is still a matter of dispute. Some papers state that dispersants inhibit...
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...The Shrimp Commodity System A Sustainability Institute Report by Denise Johnston, Chris Soderquist and Donella H. Meadows There’s a basic fear between your world and mine. I don’t know why. What I came to say was, teach the children about the cycles. The life cycles. All the other cycles. That’s what it’s all about, and it’s all forgot.” —Gary Snyder. “To/From Lew” July 2000 © Sustainability Institute PO Box 174 Hartland Four Corners VT 05049 Inquiries to d.meadows@dartmouth.edu Table of Contents Commodity Project Background ...................................................................................... page 2 The Shrimp System .......................................................................................................... page 3 Wild Shrimp Fisheries Shrimp Aquaculture Model Purpose and Development..................................................................................... page 4 Model Structure ................................................................................................................ page 5 Scenarios from the Model................................................................................................. page 9 Scenario 1: Unbounded Aquaculture Scenario 2: The Environment Strikes Back Scenario 3: Help for the Fishery Scenario 4: Best Practice for the Shrimp Farmers Summary of Dynamic Lessons ....................................................................................... page 12 Notes on Process to Date...
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