Toxic Algae Outbreak Overwhelms Polluted a Ohio River
The Ohio River has long been the most polluted waterway in the United States. However, in the past 5 weeks, nearly two thirds of the river, or 636 miles, has been overrun by a toxic algae known as microcystin. The previous algae explosion in the river, for contrast, only covered 40 miles. Although there is currently only an advisement to stay away from the river, the algae is capable of causing diarrhea, vomiting, and liver damage in addition to killing animals. This can have drastic consequences: a similar incident in Lake Erie caused Toledo to shut down drinking water supplies for 4 days. The algae bloom is as a result of phosphates and nitrates that come from fertilizer and feed the bacteria. In hot sun and still water, conditions that the Ohio River has been facing, the bacteria will flourish in population. Although there is only a minor increase in phosphates within the river, it is believed that the changing weather patterns in the area may have helped cause this mess. In order to combat these algae blooms, states are cracking down on phosphate use in lawn fertilizers and the federal government is attempting to reduce fertilizer runoff and use in general.
This article truly strikes close to home. This is an issue that we face within America- we cannot detach ourselves from it. These toxic algae blooms have extreme risk not only for animal populations, but for humans as well. Declining animal populations due to deaths from the algae will severely disrupt our ecosystem, and if a major city was forced to shut down its drinking water supplies it could spell disaster for millions of people and the economy of the city. Toxic algae is an issue that we must address as a nation before we have worse consequences than simply having to stay away from rivers.
I felt that this was an very well written, informative article. I enjoyed how, in addition to explaining the effects being felt so far from the Ohio River, he also explained the effects that were felt from Lake Erie. I also enjoyed how he compared this bloom to the previous one. Finally, I enjoyed how he showed that the government regulating bodies were trying to prevent these blooms. I think he could have elaborated more upon how fertilizer runoff occurs and how it can be prevented and explained how close the people along the Ohio River are from having their water shut off.
Wines, Michael. "Toxic Algae Outbreak Overwhelms a Polluted Ohio River." The New York
Times. The New York Times, 30 Sept. 2015. Web. 01 Oct. 2015.
-river.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&_r=0>.
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