Companies have deposited their waste in the lake, which has caused the lake to be shut down because humans are getting sick and even dying from the polluted waters. Viruses, pathogens, chemicals and toxins are all part of this pollution, which affects recreation, jobs, and habitats of animals. Fishermen have not spent money fishing for sport due to the drastic reduction of the salmon population at Lake Huron. Recreational hours at the lake have also seen a drastic decrease. This devastation affects a majority of the U.S. being one of our largest sources of fresh water, and will only continue to deplete, as companies carelessly dump their waste into the lake.
The droughts and increased heat has had negative impacts on local aquatic invertebrates. Aquatic invertebrates are adapted to survive in a particular range of temperature and habitat. But global warming makes it harder to survive. This could lead to the extinction of several species of aquatic invertebrates which in turn would lead to serious consequences of the ecosystem. Many of the aquatic invertebrates are responsible for keeping the ecosystem clean by feeding on litters.
1b)Coal is a fossil fuel, which means when it is burnt it releases unwanted pollutants which have a negative and harmful impact on our environment. These pollutants are: Carbon Dioxide- This gas is considered to be the most harmful pollutant as it contributes to global warming. Coal is attributed to approximately 20% of the total pollution globally per year of all the fossil fuels. Sulfur emissions- when sulfur mixes with oxygen a harmful substance is formed. SO2, sulfur dioxide effects our trees and water systems and is the prominent cause of acid rain.
The poisons will kill fish and the reef in which the fish live because there is no precise way to deliver it. The fishermen will dump the poison on the water in a likely spot and catch what floats up. The problem with poison is that it does not choose what it kills, so it kills reefs and poisons the area for new generations, then the fishermen go on to another area to repeat the destruction. [ (Coral Reef Destruction and Coversation) ] 2. Red is the endangered areas In image 2, the most endangered reefs are in areas that are considered “Third World”, where populations have limited access to education.
In this environmental disaster, 10 cubic meters of water and 4.5 million cubic meters of potentially toxic slurry were spilled into virtually untouched forest, lakes and rivers. If something like this happens at the Pebble Mine, then most of the fish and wildlife in Bristol Bay would be in danger of being killed. A species that would be greatly affected by this is the sockeye salmon. More than half of the world’s population of these fish lives in Bristol Bay. This means that the survival of this species would be threatened.
According to Everglades.org, they’ve “contributed to nearly 70 percent of extinctions in the United States” and are the “primary cause of species endangerment.” The water itself is a major cause of decline to the area, firstly because of poor water management leading to water levels being too low or too high at the wrong times has caused a decline in many species. Secondly, poor water quality has had devastating consequences. The pollution and an abundance of toxins and nutrients has helped to kill off many living things in the
The effects of human development have polluted the waterways of the state as well, making it difficult for native fish to survive long enough to breed. Pictured at the end of the document is a model of the food chain in the rivers and lakes of
When we refine or even dig up oil sands we produce harmful chemicals. Since Alberta oil sands are located near major rivers some of those chemicals end up in the rivers. The most famous case is with the Athabasca River, where the water is contaminated by many harmful chemicals. The Athabasca water ecosystem is slowly being poisoned and so are the people that use the water for their water supply. The oil sands maybe a large part of our social and economic structure, but they are slowly ruining our environment.
We hear from aquatic ecologists and fisherman as they describe the water’s in the “dead zone” and the lifeless animal life surrounding this area. Nancy Rabalais, an aquatic ecologist, explains exactly why these waters are so dead. All of the fertilizers used in agriculture from Minnesota on down to Louisiana, are concentrated and dumped into this area where the algae multiply due to the high nitrogen and phosphates. This creates an algae bloom that inadvertently lowers the oxygen in the water through its die-off. With low levels of oxygen, marine life can’t survive, and this impacts people that depend on the gulf for their
The air quality on the shoreline of Lake Huron is the worst in the south Ontario area. (Sivers, A, n.d) Sediment loading is known to high levels of deferred solids being washed into creeks and rivers and carried down into the lake. (Sivers, A, n.d) Sediment loading can also be caused by dredging which can cause a decrease in food source for the aquatic life. With having foreign vessels follow in and out of the lake from the Atlantic is also causing problems. With the vessels having foreign aquatic life attached to the bottom of the ship and also leaking fluids into the lake while passing through.