After working in the French Creek Watershed I began to hike around the lakes and streams. This means by having cleaner streams I would personally benefit from aesthetically pleasing clean streams. Even on a short weekend walk behind the cemetery I would pick up any bottles or small objects I saw I felt an obligation to give back to the area I was able to enjoy. I also understood it was vital to keep the area clean so it would stay enjoyably and inhabited by the animals I always hope to see. It is shown that people will spend more time hiking in clean areas and bring an economic benefit to the area (Loomis et al., 2000).…
The Conodoguinet creek is located very close to the area with some of the highest pollution in the U.S. Pittsburgh is one of the highest fossil fuel burners in the U.S. Most of this pollution come from the excessive amount of coal that Pittsburg burns. My hypothesis for the health of the creek was as follows; If we test the Conodoguinet Creek for pollutants then we will find a moderate amount of pollution in the creek.…
I found out that a watershed is an area that drains water into a river or a lake, and is composed of uplands and wetlands. Uplands are on higher ground, and wetlands are on lower ground. Watersheds are important because they collect rainwater so that it can be purified and drain into aquifers which are used as a water source by humans. The watershed here is 60,000 acres large. If the watershed did not exist, water would become polluted by the land we live on and drain into canals, which would then empty into the Gulf of…
The Everglades is a natural park where visitors can see alligators, and take a ride on a hovercraft, located southeast of Florida. It features a variety of fauna and flora in over 6,000 kms long and is approximately one hour from the city of Miami. In recent years it has been affected by the amount of pollutants in the water. A recent study by the University of Florida showed significantly higher levels of pollution in the sediment of the Everglades, an extension of surface water and reed 160 by 80 kilometers, known as the river rushes.…
In Iona Creek Reserve, weeds were located around the grassy area. This is a major issue, not just because weeds are an invasive and fast growing species, but also because there are endangered plants located on the site. The Blue Gum High Forest is the main endangered species on the site. This forest sheltered the Sydney region before European settlement, and is now limited to small bushland along a small range of suburbs in Sydney. The Blue Gum Forest is one of six main indigenous communities of Sydney and listed as critically endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), and an endangered ecological community in NSW under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 .…
The pollution of water is dangerous to both humans and the fishes. It may lead to outbreak of diseases, for instance cholera or typhoid. Heavy metal is carcinogenic hence threatening the human life. The slow flow of rivers trap the gravel, logs and other debris on the upper side of the stream hence lowering its use as food and habitat at the…
The Atchafalaya River The Atchafalaya River is a distributary of the Red River and Mississippi River section in part of the southern portion in central Louisiana. The Atchafalaya is a one hundred and thirty seven mile long distributary of the Mississippi and Red Rivers. The name "Atchafalaya" comes from the Choctaw language and translates to long river from hachcha, “river" and falaya, "long.” During the fifteenth century the Mississippi River and the Red River were separated.…
Question 1 To explore the Missouri River and find a stream it as by its course and connection to the Pacific Ocean. This was very important, if we find a stream connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Missouri River we could trade often with the West. At the start of the Missouri River, I needed to take careful observations of the Longitude and Latitude at all remarkable points so they can be recognised in the future.…
The Chattahoochee River, Georgia’s most heavily-used water source, is home to a variety of fish and a supplier of over 70% of the drinking water in metro Atlanta; it was also ranked number three on America’s ‘most endangered’ list. Each day, more than 250 million gallons of sewage waste water is dumped in to river, so news that the river is constantly contaminated with E. coli is no surprise. Even with the vast amount of contamination, Georgia allows the dumping of waste to continue; they give out permits to dump in the waters. Without proper laws and regulations, the continued dumping of waste on the Chattahoochee River will eventually cause it to become too contaminated for human use and wildlife survival. The Chattahoochee River begins in the northeast of Georgia and continues down 524 miles to Apalachicola Bay, Florida.…
Water sustains humans and animals with life. The quality of water is important. If it is poor, it can cause changes in the ecosystem. Rivers and other water sources are being polluted with nitrates, especially the Raccoon River in Iowa. Nitrates are dangerous and can come from rural farms to urban cities.…
Undoubtedly one of the most impactful and heavily manipulated systems in the United States is the Columbia River Watershed, whose mainstem flows through British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon before completing its journey at the Pacific Ocean near Astoria, Oregon. Its cultural significance, ecological value, and the economic importance that it has throughout the Pacific Northwestern United States and in British Columbia is difficult to quantify. In an effort to strike a balance between these cultural, ecological, and economic needs, it has generated significant conflict between governments at every level, interest groups, and concerned citizens. However, many opportunities still exist to determine the most appropriate path forward, and much…
According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation “polluted runoff is a major source of pollution in Howard County. About one-quarter of the nitrogen pollution in county rivers comes from polluted runoff, and much of its sediment pollution” (14). Pollution runoff can be anything from hazardous chemicals to trash or dog waste. When a storm flood occurs, water runs through watersheds and picks up any types of pollution and contaminants. This is why “Storm-water runoff is one of the most significant threats to ecosystems”(14).…
Through going up in Green Bay and De Pere, Wisconsin, there has always been a topic that has continuously appeared and disappeared. That is the condition of the Fox River, throughout my childhood I was never able to fully use the river to swim or fish within. That is because of the dangerously high levels of pollution that are within the water. The river has been found to have 209 chemicals found in a study by Sharon A. Fitzgerald and Jeffrey J. Steuer. Throughout my studies, I have found great effort to restore the river to the conditions it had been before the comings of the paper mills.…
Hi, I’m Alexis Vo and I’m writing to you about an issue I am currently concerned about: damaging and polluting our surface waters. Recently in Texas, our state’s natural waters have been polluted which damaged our wildlife with toxins and trash. Due to the pollution, 9,400 miles of our streams and a total of 1,412,000 acres of lakes and bays in Texas alone has been considered “impaired”. Surprisingly, Caddo Lake is the only natural body of water left in East Texas that has not been yet polluted nor damaged.…
Millions of gallons of water are used daily for domestic uses, irrigating crops, and industrial processes, not to mention miscellaneous activities such as swimming pools and water-sports centers. Despite the dependence on water, society uses pristine waterways as a dumping ground for all sorts of waste, and do very little to protect such a vital resource. Several factors contribute to why water pollution is becoming such a large issue in the world. The biggest contributors to water pollution come from the…