Determining Causes and Effects of Lake Huron Pollution free essay sample

Causes and Effects of Lake Huron Brian Jones Weber English Composition 5/19/2013 In today’s Ecosystem there are so many factors of cause and effect of pollution in any areas of the world. Pollutants affect the air that keeps us breathing, the animals that we hunt or fish, and even the water that we drink. Food, water, and oxygen are the most important things we need in order to survive a world full of life. With this being said Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes are being extremely polluted and causing wildlife die, water ruined, all the way down to certain points of the Lake being closed because of the harmful effects it may bring to us for those who enter those waters. All in all these great beautiful lakes we should cherish are being contaminated and ruined and this is an urgent matter that needs to be addressed before it gets too far out of our hands. The Great Lakes is our biggest fresh water system for the United States therefore for our children, and for our ecosystem we need to act fast! The main pollutants in the Lake Huron area would be classified as a Non-Point source pollutant. In other words, these pollutants are caused by natural effects but buy places from an unspecific location. These pollutants are usually from the air, or from pesticides and fertilizers. Both of these pollutants are incredibly horrible contaminants for animals, people, or water that can be consumed. Such Non-Source typed pollutants have been found: DDT, Chlordane, Dieldrin, Lindane, Hexachlorobenzene, Hexachlorocyclohexane, Lead and Lead Compounds, Mercury and Mercury Compounds, PCB’s, TCDD, Toxaphene, Polycyclic Organic Matter, Nitrogen Compounds, and Cadmium Compounds (Michigan Department of Environmental Quality 1998). All of these toxic materials are actually found in America’s biggest source of fresh water that we drink and al are very deadly in consumed or contacted with and can contribute to neurological disorders, cancers, and even reproductive problems. October 31st, 2011 The Watchers) 25,000 bird’s dead from Botulism. (Bacterial Disease from soil. ) Another leading cause of these enormous lakes being affected would be Point Source pollutants such as sewage, pipes and vessels, pulp and paper or sources where we can track where it’s from. Many companies thought these would dissolve in water and be a non-affect to the waters and wildlife. Wrong ly so, fecal matter as well would be dumped into these lakes causing bacterial disease that could cause death and destruction. The bacteria that could and would grow from sewage would be E. coli and Enterococci (Liu et al 2006. Organic and inorganic wastes would also cause an effect and the water would still be affected with even more bacteria growing (Shear 2006). My last reason for the causes of this tragic issue would be Atmospheric Pollution. It is a Non-Point source of pollution, not from runoff, but from the sky. When water is passing through the Hydrologic Cycle, it comes down as rain or snow and then is evaporated into the air from water and the land. Acid Rain and smoke from smokestacks are some of the most common pollutants emitted into the air and passed onto waterways like lakes, rivers, and oceans from miles away. The combustion of Fossil Fuels, coal burning, incinerators, produce mercury into the air which is also very fatal to life and Phosphorus into waterways. There are so many pollutants in the environment that we are not noticing and taking into effect. We all must make the best decisions to keep these Lakes clean for us that love them, for the wild life that live in them, and more importantly for the future. Some of the effects of this pollution to the economy have been big especially for fisherman. In Lake Huron the Salmon Fishery has collapsed. According to the Journal Sentinel of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the ten busiest ports of Lake Huron received about 1. 2 million fishing hours a year recreational. Five years ago that number took a big hit and now is fished recreationally about 300,000 yearly (June 2008, Dan Egan). Salmon and other fish dying is killing the fishing industry in one of the world’s most popular destinations to fish. Another big time economic issue with this situation is tourism. Could you imagine flying to these Great Lakes from another part of the world and seeing the Lakes closed for security purposes for the public? Imagine spending hundreds of dollars to visit Lake Huron and the Great Lakes which make up over 20% of the world’s freshwater supply and you get there and it’s polluted and looks down right disgusting. I don’t know about you, but usually I get one vacation a year and I’d be very sick to my stomach if I wanted to see these beautiful lakes and I wasted the one moment all year that I had away from work. In 2010 1. 4 million tourists visited the area and spent over 116 million dollars (Tracy Rymph and Christine Vogt, 2012). That pocket change the area received is a huge boost to the economy and is vital to keep their area economically stable. The last big economic issue is the money it takes to clean Lake Huron and these other beaches up. Michigan has let go of 11 million dollars for dredging through the state funds and there’s still 6 billion in the national Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund. The 6 billion has been used by the government because it has been being used for other purposes of the budget (February 2013, Buchsbaum Andy National Wildlife Federation). There is millions of dollars being used in cleaning these beaches every year. If we can be more responsible, economically we can save money and use it to advertise for more tourists and make more money for the state of Michigan or even build better schools for the children that live here. Economically speaking, I have faith that we could save a lot more money if we all come together and stand up and do what we can to stop pollution to this amazing place. The affects it has on the people that live there would be boating, fishing, swimming, tourism, eating, and business. All of these tie into the same thing once again. How much money can we use to clean this up to how much will we economically benefit from doing so? The people that inhabit this area work hard, and pay taxes because of one thing. They work here and love it here. If we can’t clean these waters up for the public good and the public safety than what are we doing? Public Health is what we should strive for so children, men, and women don’t have to worry about being poisoned by contaminants, or being worried about getting sick. It affects business to companies who need the waters to make money if beaches are closed, as well as people spending money on boating, fishing, tourism, and the restaurant chain. Public Safety needs to be maintained no matter how much it costs. Right now, we have wildlife dying like fish and animals, we have people getting sick, and water being heavily contaminated that of which we drink. We live in this area where we are blessed to have it and taking it for granted will result in us losing it if we don’t protect it and act sufficiently. We need to limit littering and impose higher fines for doing so, fine companies big money for their emissions of polluted air, and most of all make sure the Non-Source pollutants do not enter these waters. Companies who use pesticides and fertilizers need to be tracked accordingly and hard and kept track of, especially where they are getting rid of their wastes and not disposing of it in the water of which hydrates our lives. Public Safety should be our number one priority, and it is up to us to make the difference. (July, 2012 Kiertzner Jim) Two employees cleaning off the beach of a huge Oil Spill www. denvergov. org www. great-lakes. net www. jsonline. com