Summary
In this article, the author points out the environmental problems of nutrient runoff.
Rain washes phosphorus and nitrogen into water bodies such as oceans and rivers.
These nutrients promote the sudden growth of green algae, turning the water into
the water into a dark green color. The microcystis poison the lakes and leave the
area with no clean water. Many of these areas are becoming more apparent in the U.S.
These blooms cause dead zones where the algae and phytoplankton take up the oxygen
in the area, causing other organisms to become sick and kill them. The microsystis
poison is much stronger DDT, mercury and even cyanide (at smaller doses).
Treatment requires adding chemicals and carbon to filter out the toxins.
Reducing phosphorus runoff will only stop the process of algae bloom a little bit.
What we need to do is only use the required amount of nutrients necessary for our farms.
Reflection
My thoughts on this article are why we are not approaching this environmental
problem with much more publicity. With more publicity, people will realize the
dangers of overusing fertilizers and how can indirectly harm us. The runoff causes
the phytoplankton and algae to bloom causing eutrophication.
The dead zones created from this kill fish and other organisms in the water.
At least we are now working on publicizing this topic and hoped to be fixed in the future.
In this article, the author points out the environmental problems of nutrient runoff.
Rain washes phosphorus and nitrogen into water bodies such as oceans and rivers.
These nutrients promote the sudden growth of green algae, turning the water into
the water into a dark green color. The microcystis poison the lakes and leave the
area with no clean water. Many of these areas are becoming more apparent in the U.S.
These blooms cause dead zones where the algae and phytoplankton take up the oxygen
in the area, causing other organisms to become sick and kill them. The microsystis
poison is much stronger DDT, mercury and even cyanide (at smaller doses).
Treatment requires adding chemicals and carbon to filter out the toxins.
Reducing phosphorus runoff will only stop the process of algae bloom a little bit.
What we need to do is only use the required amount of nutrients necessary for our farms.
Reflection
My thoughts on this article are why we are not approaching this environmental
problem with much more publicity. With more publicity, people will realize the
dangers of overusing fertilizers and how can indirectly harm us. The runoff causes
the phytoplankton and algae to bloom causing eutrophication.
The dead zones created from this kill fish and other organisms in the water.
At least we are now working on publicizing this topic and hoped to be fixed in the future.