Polluted Beaches

Beach Pollution (And How We Can Fix it)

by Kaylee

       This beach pollution is more serious than you may think. A major problem when it comes to plastic is that plastic doesn't degrade. Fish or other sea life could eat plastic and die. Plastic has chemicals on it, which means every piece of plastic that goes into the water releases chemicals and humans ingest them. The chemicals will impact human systems.  

        Microplastics are also a huge problem! Microplastics will go into watersheds, then they drift through water drains, then the microplastics will go through rivers and end up in our oceans, where it will be broken down by waves. The main problem with microplastics is that they attract toxins. Those microplastics will eventually get eaten by fish, birds or humans. If we don't recycle plastic and other garbage, they will find a way to end up in our oceans. 

    If everyone on the earth lived like Americans, we would need five Earths of resources.  Also, did you know that every time you burn fossil fuels it creates this atom called CO2? CO2 traps heat in the earth, and we are creating too much CO2, so the earth is getting too hot. Did you know that the average American uses over 16 football fields of Earth's resources?

      What I did about this problem was I made an EV3 robot, which was made to pick up garbage on beaches. On the robot there was a claw that me and my partner made, to pick up the garbage. 

My robot was also made to ride along the beach and pick up trash and plastic on the way.  

        You may now realize how much of a problem this is. But what you may not realize is that you can fix this! Basically, all you need to do is stop adding to the problem. Just recycle plastic and stop littering. You should also stop using products with microplastics in them. You should especially not litter cigarettes because they play a major part in plastic pollution. So now that you know what to do to help beach pollution and what's so bad about it... go help!

Here is where I got my information, pictures and made my meme:

“Six Types of Beach Pollution You Need to Know About.” Swim Guide, 17 Aug. 2016, www.theswimguide.org/2016/07/18/six-types-beach-pollution/.

www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/ttw2014_Impacts_of_Beach_Pollution.pdf.

“Photo Editor | PiZap: Free Online Photo Editor and Collage Maker.” PiZap Photo Editor & Collage   Maker, www.pizap.com/pizap.

Cappronnier, Dominique. “Pollution.” Flickr, Yahoo!, 10 May 2012, www.flickr.com/photos/.

Dealing with Dangerous Algae

As you might be able to see in this picture, the water is green. This green water could indicate that this lake/river has a very dangerous type of algae, Blue-Green Algae. Some of the Blue-Green algae, such as the algae in Anderson lake contains anatoxin-a and microcystin. Anatoxin-a causes potent nerve damage and chronic exposure to microcystin causes liver damage. This kind of algae eats phosphorus.         People first found out about this alga being in Anderson lake when two pet dogs drunk the water and died. The problem of Blue-Green algae and why it is there in Anderson lake is a mystery that has stumped scientists for many years.
    Algal blooms happen when plants that live in seawater and groups of algae grow out of control and will cause a "red tide." A red tide is when all these groups grow out of control and make an algal bloom that will turn the water red, kills fish, sickens shellfish, and make the air harder to breathe. An algal bloom is not always bad, they aren't always dangerous, in fact, they will provide food for the animals and it is a major energy source for the ocean food web.
     We can't really fix the problem of Anderson lake until we know what caused the Blue-Green algae to be there and to keep coming back. But we can try to remove the worst of it every year using robots or very fine nets. Scientists are still trying to find the cause to the problem and they feel that their close.
    Here are some things that you can do to help prevent Blue-Green algae in all lakes, rivers, and streams. You can clean up after your self or animal, not put pollution in the lake, use a net or something else to take it out of the lakes, and you can help invent something or help the scientists to find the problem.

By Layla F

Bibliography

      Lake Bluegreen Algae | Jefferson County, WA, Jefferson County Public Health, www.co.jefferson.wa.us/724/Lake-Water-Quality.

US  Department of Commerce, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “What Is a Red Tide?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, 1 June 2013, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/redtide.html.