In Florida, USA a recent algae bloom has erupted in waters of the St. Lucie River and Lake Okeechobee. Even though algae blooms are a natural biological process, human activity has increased the severity of these blooms and their impact on the environment. The dumping of manure, water from farms, and other substances in public waters like these lead to the imbalance of nitrogen and phosphorus, two substances that contribute to toxic algae blooms. Another thing that contributes to these algae blooms is climate change, which increases overall water temperatures, creating a more sustainable environment for the algae.
However, this recent bloom in Florida is not the only recent algae bloom. Algae blooms have been a major problem throughout the world, having dangerous occurrences in Quingdao, China and the West Coast of Central California. Personally, I believe that government action should be taken in order to clean up our waters, not only for the safety of the people, but the safety of the environment. Without attention being brought to these blooms, people will simply continue to dump harmful substances into waterways without even thinking. I believe society should be aware of this critical environmental issue in order for the conditions of our water to be sustainable for drinking and aquatic life. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/19/science/algae-blooms-beaches.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fearth&action=click&contentCollection=earth®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0
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AuthorNatalie Archives
November 2016
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