As I have been doing a little research, I have discovered more interesting news on the significance of algae growth in Lake Champlain. The invasive species of mussels, commonly known as zebra mussels, thrive on algae. They not only require it to live, but also help along the algae, shoving both species to excessiveness. "The mussels eat virtually everything they can filter - except for microcystis, which they spit out. The theory is that the mussels help foster a blue-green algae bloom by reducing competing algae." (sciencedaily.com) What this means, is that Zebra mussels are eating what they can, but 'spit out' microcystis, which is a single celled algae. From an ecological standpoint, I can see that since there is no competition for the Zebra mussels because they eat almost anything. Then, there is no equal balancing for the microcystis and other water plants, then the algae grows outstandingly. Microcystis is toxic to humans on contact, which is naturally not a pleasant attribute wanted in drinking water.
When I went to find out more specific details on what the algae does to humans, I found some slightly disturbing things; "Toxins in aerosols may cause itching and irritation of eyes, nose, or throat. Some species produce toxins that affect the liver, while other species’ compounds affect the nervous system" ("Blue-green Algae in Lake Champlain", lakechamplaincomitee.org). This research really isn't making me want to go swimming in Champlain, but it gets worse still. The article continues to explain that between 1999 and 2000, two household dog's deaths have been credited towards the algae. This is not only because they are swimming in it and drinking it, but because they lick themselves after they get out of the water, taking in even more of the toxin. Now obviously, the water is filtered some before most of us drink it (hopefully), so why is it affecting our drinking water? To me, through my research, the answer is still unclear. It seems that the main danger is while we are swimming. It is more than likely that a small amount of water will be inhaled, and still quite likely that you will intake the blue-green algae. Plus, the bacteria can give you a rash on contact of the skin. So, if you previously thought that this was just an ugly colorant in the water, you can now see that it is quite harmful. I know I won't be swimming anytime soon.
In the end, I am more than concerned about the water in Champlain, as I have clearly stated. Extensive amounts of research have gone in to the lake, and most of it shows negative news about the health of Champlain, as shown above. Honestly, there's not a lot of good news to say. It sounds as if small mouth Bass populations have increased slightly, which is certainly not bad. But Zebra mussels continue to block out all other eight species of mussels, driving them out of habitat. We'll see what more research brings, but it's looking like personal action is going to be the solution.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Lake Champlain Marine Life - What's the Story?
One doesn't have to dig deep in order to see that Lake champlain is polluted... At first I wasn't sure because I was just going on what other people told me; it was a general assumption. Then, beginning my research for this blog post, I put in a simple Google search to start: "Lake Champlain
pollution". After a couple of seconds, the browser loaded and revealed "About 97,300 results", and not a lot of them were looking good for the lake. Watershedmanagement.vt.gov said that "The primary concern is polluted runoff -- rainwater or snowmelt that drains off of parking lots, roads and streets, logging roads, farm fields and croplands, and lawns." It looks like I was right in my last blog, unfortunately. The site continues to explain that phosphorus found in the runoff is likely the cause of algae growth in the lake; which is becoming rather excessive. But what's bad about Algae, other than it is beyond disgusting when you unexpectedly feel it with your foot in the water? lakechamplaincomitee.org stated that it will "smother wildlife habitat", which basically means that algae and weeds are taking up all the oxygen that marine life needs to survive.
There are over eighty species of fish in Lake Champlain, and each one has to scrape up enough oxygen to breathe, which is evidently not as easy as it perhaps once was. But that's another question- How long ago was it that Champlain was clean and healthy? This took more effort than an easy Google search. Apparently it's been a while since it was clean. Since we have known about the lake, (until recently) we haven't exactly put a lot of work into keeping trash out of it. Retreating glaciers formed the lake by melting and then sealing it off from the Hudson, with large amounts of debris pushed by the glacier (lakechamplaincomitee.org). Roughly twelve thousand years ago, the lake came into existence, which was re-discovered (the lake had long since been known about by Native Americans) by captain Gregg Trask, in 1609, who gave word to the French. Since then, we have been building our towns and cities alongside the lake, with every bit of trash and phosphorous going right into the lake.
Anyway, back to marine life. Most people's top concern is drinking water, because Champlain provides water to around 200,000 people, not keeping the fish healthy. Which admittedly makes a lot of sense, but in my opinion, the fish are almost as important as well. Luckily, cleaning the lake for our purposes will help the fish at least in some ways. If the lake is healthy, shouldn't the fish be? I guess this is an assumption on my part, but that is certainly something I will be digging into in future blog posts.
Sometime soon, I will be visiting the Echo Center, which will certainly not be my first visit, but I think should help me learn a thing or two. If you have questions, comments or sources, comment below!
(http://www.watershedmanagement.vt.gov/erp/champlain/)
(http://www.lakechamplaincommittee.org/lcc-at-work/phosphorus-pollution-in-lake/)
pollution". After a couple of seconds, the browser loaded and revealed "About 97,300 results", and not a lot of them were looking good for the lake. Watershedmanagement.vt.gov said that "The primary concern is polluted runoff -- rainwater or snowmelt that drains off of parking lots, roads and streets, logging roads, farm fields and croplands, and lawns." It looks like I was right in my last blog, unfortunately. The site continues to explain that phosphorus found in the runoff is likely the cause of algae growth in the lake; which is becoming rather excessive. But what's bad about Algae, other than it is beyond disgusting when you unexpectedly feel it with your foot in the water? lakechamplaincomitee.org stated that it will "smother wildlife habitat", which basically means that algae and weeds are taking up all the oxygen that marine life needs to survive.
There are over eighty species of fish in Lake Champlain, and each one has to scrape up enough oxygen to breathe, which is evidently not as easy as it perhaps once was. But that's another question- How long ago was it that Champlain was clean and healthy? This took more effort than an easy Google search. Apparently it's been a while since it was clean. Since we have known about the lake, (until recently) we haven't exactly put a lot of work into keeping trash out of it. Retreating glaciers formed the lake by melting and then sealing it off from the Hudson, with large amounts of debris pushed by the glacier (lakechamplaincomitee.org). Roughly twelve thousand years ago, the lake came into existence, which was re-discovered (the lake had long since been known about by Native Americans) by captain Gregg Trask, in 1609, who gave word to the French. Since then, we have been building our towns and cities alongside the lake, with every bit of trash and phosphorous going right into the lake.
Anyway, back to marine life. Most people's top concern is drinking water, because Champlain provides water to around 200,000 people, not keeping the fish healthy. Which admittedly makes a lot of sense, but in my opinion, the fish are almost as important as well. Luckily, cleaning the lake for our purposes will help the fish at least in some ways. If the lake is healthy, shouldn't the fish be? I guess this is an assumption on my part, but that is certainly something I will be digging into in future blog posts.
Sometime soon, I will be visiting the Echo Center, which will certainly not be my first visit, but I think should help me learn a thing or two. If you have questions, comments or sources, comment below!
(http://www.watershedmanagement.vt.gov/erp/champlain/)
(http://www.lakechamplaincommittee.org/lcc-at-work/phosphorus-pollution-in-lake/)
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Water Conditions - What's the Story?
Excessive amounts of algae blooming, waste being dumped, murky gray waters. What happened to lake Champlain? This year in the What's the Story program I will be researching and developing my knowledge on the water conditions of lake Champlain, which is noticeably bad. My interest has peaked over the past few months of hearing about it over the news, but I don't really know a lot about it. Apparently the water is a mess and the natural ecosystem is being destroyed, which inclines me to believe that not enough work is put into keeping the lake clean.
I have grown up next to a farm, and I try my hardest to eat locally grown food, food grown by farmers who need to fertilize their fields. As I have heard, fertilizer is running off fields into the lake, causing algae to grow excessively and cut off all other plants and water-life by using up oxygen. So does that mean farmers are at fault for the lake's well-fare? I hesitate to say anything that I am not sure of, but field runoff can't be everything... It looks like there is another source of the pollution.
The polluted water is affecting the drinking water, as well as the ecosystem, because the drinking water is pulled from the lake then 'cleaned'. But it appears that it is not being cleaned enough before use, and there have been accounts of sickness from drinking the water.
There are a lot of things that the pollution in the water affects, but what is the most important? What should I focus on these next few weeks during my research? One of the most intriguing things to me is the way that pollution whirls around beneath the surface, killing off marine life. It can't be good for the fish, that much is obvious. But to be honest, I really don't know anything about the way polluted water harms life in the lake. This is likely what I will focus on as I explore and discover the life of Champlain.
Through What's the Story I hope to answer some of these questions for myself, and decide where I stand and why. If you have any suggestions, sources, or questions, contact me!
I have grown up next to a farm, and I try my hardest to eat locally grown food, food grown by farmers who need to fertilize their fields. As I have heard, fertilizer is running off fields into the lake, causing algae to grow excessively and cut off all other plants and water-life by using up oxygen. So does that mean farmers are at fault for the lake's well-fare? I hesitate to say anything that I am not sure of, but field runoff can't be everything... It looks like there is another source of the pollution.
The polluted water is affecting the drinking water, as well as the ecosystem, because the drinking water is pulled from the lake then 'cleaned'. But it appears that it is not being cleaned enough before use, and there have been accounts of sickness from drinking the water.
There are a lot of things that the pollution in the water affects, but what is the most important? What should I focus on these next few weeks during my research? One of the most intriguing things to me is the way that pollution whirls around beneath the surface, killing off marine life. It can't be good for the fish, that much is obvious. But to be honest, I really don't know anything about the way polluted water harms life in the lake. This is likely what I will focus on as I explore and discover the life of Champlain.
Through What's the Story I hope to answer some of these questions for myself, and decide where I stand and why. If you have any suggestions, sources, or questions, contact me!
Friday, September 18, 2015
KUD introduction
What's the Story this year looks like it is going to be awesome. ...But it will have some challenges, and I won't make it without a problem or two. One of these things, though I am not sure, I think will be citation. I have done this in the past, and I have a vague understanding of how to do it, but I don't really have any practice, so it may be a little rough. Since What's the Story certainly requires citation and giving proper credit, I am going to have to try. And, hopefully, if I do struggle, every one of the staff will be here to support me. If I'm having that much trouble, I can ask any time.
What I do know how to do already, and what I am probably most looking forward to, is the media use throughout the course. Without consciously or purposefully being flamboyant, I feel I have a good amount of skill in this area: Over the past few years, I have created several non-professional short films, and two semi-professional stop motion animations, one of which was a commissioned project by a standalone company. This company has asked me to do another, which I will complete in the next month or so. This is what I enjoy most, and thus am looking forward heartily towards filmmaking in What's the Story.
The final prompt is what I think What's the Story is missing in the plan for this year. ...Honestly, I can't say. From the list, it looks like there is going to be a balanced combination of awesome, enjoyable things (filming!), and harder work. Work isn't bad and I do enjoy it, but it is still work, so it may be hard. Overall, however, I really think this is going to be an awesome year, and I can't wait!
Jack N.
What I do know how to do already, and what I am probably most looking forward to, is the media use throughout the course. Without consciously or purposefully being flamboyant, I feel I have a good amount of skill in this area: Over the past few years, I have created several non-professional short films, and two semi-professional stop motion animations, one of which was a commissioned project by a standalone company. This company has asked me to do another, which I will complete in the next month or so. This is what I enjoy most, and thus am looking forward heartily towards filmmaking in What's the Story.
The final prompt is what I think What's the Story is missing in the plan for this year. ...Honestly, I can't say. From the list, it looks like there is going to be a balanced combination of awesome, enjoyable things (filming!), and harder work. Work isn't bad and I do enjoy it, but it is still work, so it may be hard. Overall, however, I really think this is going to be an awesome year, and I can't wait!
Jack N.
Why am I involved in What's the Story?
Question: What
intrinsically draws you to WTS and to be here today?
What initially
caught my attention for What's the Story was the environmental aspect
of the course. I am interested and concerned about some of the
things mentioned in the course description (discussion on water pollution, invasive species, ect), plus I have at least a
small amount of practice in media and film communications, which is
evidently a large part of WTS. My decision to apply was made by the combination of both tech and environmental science, both of which
I greatly enjoy studying and learning about. I think it will be an awesome year in What's the Story!
-Jack
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