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| Taken by: Billy Wilson |
There has been an antitoxin problem at Anderson Lake. It was discovered in 2006 when two dogs died after drinking the lake water. They suffered seizures and died before their owners could get them to the nearest vet. However, there was a third dog that drank the lake water and didn't die. The dog shared the same symptoms as the others, but managed to get to the vet after having fallen into a coma. The dog made a full recovery and was okay, but how did this deadly antitoxin-a get into Anderson Lake?
The antitoxin-a is produced by Cyanobacteria or Blue green algae when they die. The reason they have made the lake so toxic could be because of nutrient pollution. This pollution is caused by fertilizers that make their way into water and cause algae to over populate. Some of these algae can produce toxins such as the ones in Anderson lake, but others cause oxygen depletion by over populating and using too much of the dissolved oxygen which can make fish and other inhabitants die.
This type of water pollution, sadly, doesn't have any easy fix's it could have been easily avoided had people in the area not used fertilizer there wouldn't be a problem. There are many alternate fertilizers that don't contain these nutrients such as Compost tea, organic fertilizer, or even just the old fashioned way! This Completely keeps the problems from happening. Though if you find this hard remember the seven R's!
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Replace, Refuse & reject, Recover, and Rethink. For this type of pollution though, I most recommend Refuse and reject. By refusing and rejecting fertilizers you can stop this type of pollution.
"How to Make Compost Tea." How to Make Compost Tea. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2016. <https://youtu.be/JP5Aqsd_g3s>This type of water pollution, sadly, doesn't have any easy fix's it could have been easily avoided had people in the area not used fertilizer there wouldn't be a problem. There are many alternate fertilizers that don't contain these nutrients such as Compost tea, organic fertilizer, or even just the old fashioned way! This Completely keeps the problems from happening. Though if you find this hard remember the seven R's!
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Replace, Refuse & reject, Recover, and Rethink. For this type of pollution though, I most recommend Refuse and reject. By refusing and rejecting fertilizers you can stop this type of pollution.
Sources
Follow the Rs: Reduce, Replace, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Refuse and Reject, Rethink (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 3 May 2016. <http://en.envirocitiesmag.com/articles/pdf/waste_management_eng_art2.pdf>
"Anderson Lake Closed after Two Dogs Die." Port Townsend Jefferson County Leader. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2016. <http://www.ptleader.com/news/anderson-lake-closed-after-two-dogs-die/article_f29e9b6c-331e-519c-88fa-71cefb14b26f.html>.
by Caitlyn
Wow Caitlyn, you really know your stuff about Biology! You did an awesome job of explaining how this toxin is created, then made a hypothesis about where it comes from. You told us readers how this is a bigger issue than just unclean water... it's about the way we treat our environment! Not only that, but you give us ways that we can help out to avoid this from happening again, which is great to hear! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteCaitlyn, great work. Pollution thats inadvertently being caused by fertilizers is an issue all over the country. I fully agree with the "R" you chose to address this problem of Refuse & Reject. Using organic fertilizers or compost 2 are both alternatives we should consider. However, we should consider another "R" for this situation and thats Recovery. While we don't want antitoxin-a infecting any other lakes, we also should try to restore Anderson Lake to its original state as well as we can. I really enjoyed reading your post!
ReplyDeleteWe were really sucked in by your hook about the dog. Even though this was a topic we weren't familiar with, you were able to interest us and teach us about Lake Anderson. Your call to action makes us want to do what we can to protect the rivers & lakes around us.
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