1. Do you think that this algae bloom has come about from natural causes, or has this problem come about from man made means?
2. Could this large algae bloom instead of being looked at as something bad be used to benefit the Great Lakes Region?
3. What can be done to help to lower the amount of runoff that is getting into the Great Lakes and assisting in the growth of the algae?
I believe that there would be algae in the lakes but man made causes intensified the boom. Obviously, algae already exists as the lakes and organisms in them rely on it to survive. However, too much of anything is not good. As a result the organisms are suffocating due to the unnatural amount of phosphorus. To counteract this process, we could try to stop the boom and return algae levels to normal. If it is possible to collect some of the algae and take the energy from it to use as an alternative to fossil fuels, this problem could turn into a positive. If not, regulations should be passed to prevent factories and farms is dump the waste into these water basins.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the excess amount of algae in our lakes is human caused. I believe that algae has been naturally regulated in our lakes for a long time, but now with human processes such as farming and work at waste treatment plants, there is a lot of phosphorus created, which creates excess algae in the water. I would have to agree with Tommy and say that algae in our water is necessary, but right now we are at a place where there is too much, and for this reason, I think the amount of algae in our lakes now can only be looked at as a problem. I believe that the way to reduce the amount of algae in our lakes now would be to change of ways of farming or processes at waste treatment plants to emit less phosphorus. Specifically for farming, we can change the type of fertilizer used to a type with less phosphorus. Although this is a pressing issue and change is necessary soon, I agree with what Koonce said in the article: that research is necessary before change happens. Although we do not want to wait for change, research is still necessary so that we know that the changes that we will make are going to be effective. Otherwise, it is not worth it.
ReplyDeleteThe algae boom clearly seems to be a human-sparked growth. When we dump the enormous amount of trash that we create into the lakes, it is bound to cause some issues. One of these issues we see right here with the algae, however in this case it seems to be what we are dumping and not how much of everything else. We can control this by controlling the amount of phosphorus we dump into the water. If we can't dump to much or to little phosphorus into the lake (as the article says), we have to try and find a happy medium where there is enough algae for fish to survive but not to much that the fish can't get oxygen. This would be one way to solve the problem and keep the lakes ecosystem going strong. Another way to possibly deal with this is let the algae grow in abundance and then attempt to extract a chunk of it from the lake to use as an energy source. By using this method that we discussed in class, we can get some help with our energy needs while also preserving the lake's ecosystem in a stable condition.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the fact that human wastewater is contributing to algae blooms and negatively affecting our lakes is irrefutable; all evidence points to this. According to Cleveland.com (http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/08/local_sewer_systems_under_pres.html), the amount of water that goes over Niagara Falls in a second is equal to the amount of untreated water from Cleveland's combined sewer system that is pumped into the Lake in a year. While the numbers may seem a little lopsided, we're talking about 750,000 gallons of waste water. That's equivalent to, depending on the shower-heads, roughly 940 5-minute showers of pure wastewater.
ReplyDeletePumping dirty water into our lakes is entirely unacceptable. We do it unchecked, unhindered, and all the time. Luckily, the EPA does have a plan to stop this, but it will require at least twice as much money as is being paid by anyone who is hooked up to the public sewage system. Of course, as in situations like this, money seems to be both the solution and the problem; a lack of it stops progress.
I believe that this problem is not entirely man made but from looking at the Cleveland Area I believe part of the blame can be put on human activities. Since Cleveland is a large city I do believe that water treatment plants are abundant in our area and that since farming is a large source of income for the state of Ohio in general, phosphorous runoff from farms can also be attributed to the algae blooms. I also think that this algae bloom could benefit the great lakes because through the studying of this bloom we can help other lakes and bodies of water maintain a healthy amount of algae by carefully looking at what substances in the water would produce more algae. Stricter regulation of materials containing phosphorous and other chemicals that might be attributed to the algae blooms could potentially lower the growth rate and amount of algae in the water.
ReplyDelete