Tag Archives: pollution

Conservation Law Foundation file photo
CVU Community, Our Natural World, Uncategorized, Vermont, Volume '22, Issue 1, Weather, Wellness

Polluted Lake Champlain: How Can We Stop It?

Written By Jocelyn Kaplan

VERMONT–Have you ever driven across the causeway between Colchester and South Hero and been hit with the pungent smell of a chemical-like odor? Have you ever looked across the lake and noticed patches of green clinging to the surface of the once vibrant lake?

Lake Champlain, Vermont’s largest lake and greatest landmark is being polluted by an excess amount of phosphorus runoff.

Too much phosphorus promotes an overgrowth of algae blooms. The blooms grow on the surface of the water and block light from entering into the lake. The blocking of sunlight prevents plants from photosynthesis, causing decay and death.

The Department of Health in New York states, “Exposure to any blue-green algae blooms can cause health effects in people and animals when water with blooms is touched, swallowed, or when airborne droplets are inhaled.” Algae blooms are harmful to humans, as many types of blue-green algae contain toxins which cause digestive issues and breathing difficulties.” Animals swimming in the lake can also suffer from the toxins, which in severe cases if ingested can cause liver failure and seizures.

Heather Morely, AP Environmental Science teacher, noted that the amount of algae blooms are affected by climate change as temperatures continue to rise. She also commented on what farmers can do to help reduce runoff. “Riparian buffers, areas that absorb a lot of the runoff before they get to waterways, and strategies about the time of year manure is applied to fields.” I asked what her main concern was about phosphorus runoff, and she voiced troubles with wastewater treatments,“We should really be focusing on our wastewater treatments and applications of manure to lawns.”

The phosphorus intake is directly related to the amount of runoff into the lakes. Runoff is caused as snow melts and there is more water than the land can absorb. The excess water flows down the land into bodies of water.

The Lake Champlain Basin Program details how Lake Champlain is suffering from phosphorus runoff coming from all parts of human life. “Nonpoint sources of pollution, which include runoff from roads and developed areas, and from lawns, farmlands, and other rural areas contribute more than 90% of the phosphorus that reaches the Lake.”

Farmlands contribute a significant amount of runoff, with 38% of phosphorus in the lake stemming from nutrients within fertilizer and manure that wash off before reaching the soil.

Developed land also has a big impact on the sheer mass of phosphorus that is ending up in Champlain, taking responsibility for 16%! Developed areas like parking lots and roadways are impervious and shed water. Instead of the absorption through grass, the rainfall and snowmelt is sent towards the lakes. Intense storm flows, a direct consequence of rainfall building up with little to no absorption, causes a higher amount of erosion in stream-banks which sends more sediments into the lake.

Vermont citizens are concerned about the state of the lake’s environment, but many are unaware of how the increasing pollution is caused by farmlands and urbanization. Ally Clos, 17, was an anomaly who was able to cite important factors that contribute to the phosphorus runoff, but was unaware of how the phosphorus buildup could be prevented. “Isn’t runoff caused by farms? We learned that it was from the soil and cow manure that runs down and pollutes the lake. But I don’t know anything about how to stop buildup of phosphorus.”

CVU students Jimmy and Hayden, both 15, discussed how the pollution has affected their lives. They have both experienced the smell of phosphorus, and have been unable to swim in the lakes because of the pollution buildup. Hayden noted that his health has been impacted by the lake’s pollution, “I’ve gotten sick from the algae, I went home with a headache and ended up with a raspy throat.”

Educating Vermonters, specifically the farmers, on the harmful effects of phosphorus could be groundbreaking on preventing future pollution of the lakes. Cutting back from phosphorus fertilizers, and implanting sewage grates designed to catch runoff water would help all Vermont’s bodies of water.

While the issue can hardly be solved by one individual, being aware of the strategies designed to prevent pollution and educating others into considering and embedding these resources into our farming, gardening, and wastewater plants could help the lakes of Vermont tremendously.

lake
CVU Community, Our Natural World, Vermont, Volume '22, Issue 1, Weather, Wellness

Pollution in Lake Champlain

By Victoria Chyra

Pollution can be found everywhere and it affects us more than we even think.

Lake Champlain is tucked in the Champlain Valley between the Adirondack Mountains, New York and the Green Mountains of Vermont. It’s a great attraction for many locals. It is used for sports fishing, hunting and recreation and it’s also the major source for drinking water for nearly 200.000 people.

In 2012. groups of toxins were reviewed for the first time by the Lake Champlain Basin Program and partners. Specific contaminants within these groups were labeled as substances of concern.

The pollution did not occur suddenly and wasn’t caused by just one source. First of all, Vermont’s Winooski River dumps about 20,000 metric tons of chloride in the lake per year, and at the same time the runoff from rainwater and snowmelt flows into the water. On top of that,there was an excessive growth of algae found which is caused by too much phosphorus; this comes predominantly from agriculture. Because of that, large reductions are needed from farms within the Lake Champlain watershed. This amount of algae creates danger because of its toxicity for animals and even humans. It has been a problem in recent years, which led to beaches having to close. Signs were put up to discourage visitors from swimming in the lake, like in July 2021 at Burlington’s Blanchard Beach.

In the Year 2021 the Vermont government stated after years of starting the Lake Champlain Basin Program, which is in partnership with government agencies from New York, Vermont and Quebec to coordinate and fund efforts that benefit the Lake Champlain Basins water quality, fisheries, wetlands, recreation and cultural resources, that the water quality meets several standards for swimmable and fishable waters but there is still a long way before declining victory against the pollution at the Lake.

And even locals can help to decrease pollution at their known Lake by just following five simple steps:

Always avoid releasing untreated sewage into lakes and rivers as it gets mixed with water and pollutes it.
Don’t throw any solid waste into the water streams as it clogs the flow of water thereby leading to pollution.
Avoid releasing construction waste into the river. Use organic gardening techniques and avoid using pesticides and other herbicides.
Avoid releasing harmful chemicals and oils into storm drains or rivers.
Always check that your car engine is not spilling oil that finds its way into drains and then rivers.

coral
Our Natural World, Volume 11: Sp '21

Ghost Coral 

Kaylee Eaton

Coral reefs are turning  ghostly white, causing that area to become lifeless and barren.

 Coral reefs are home to thousands of species, but half the world’s coral reefs are dying due to bleaching and without the coral, many of the tropical fish species will go extinct. 

Unfortunately, most bleaching happens due to climate change, meaning if the water temperature gets cold and doesn’t warm up fast enough the coral will die.  But as people we can’t just cut everything that gives off carbon emissions because the world relies on businesses and technology which causes mass amounts of carbon pollution. 

Scientists have found other ways to revive the dying reefs. One scientist by the name of DR David Vaughan found that cutting the coral in small pieces will grow faster and he has been using that technique in his coral farm/nurseries. 

Unfortunately, according to Frank Mars, he has found that many farms aren’t paying attention to where they relocate the new coral to because coral farms can’t be built where there has never been a reef and resilient coral can’t be grown on floating nurseries which are located on the ocean’s surface. 

Mars Coral Restoration Foundation  came up with a better idea by focusing on physically restoring the reefs that have been killed. Mars coral foundation installed more that 8,000 “spiders” which cover more than 8000 sq ft of the ocean floor in Indonesia. Spiders are cages which are helping regrow coral by providing a structure for the coral to properly re-grow on. 

A Biologist by the name of DR Tom Goreau  has put to use the biorock structure as a way to restore coral. Biorock structures are a metal frame with coral on it that is electrocuted with low voltage to stimulate the new growth.  According to a study done by Thomas J. Goreau shows that coral will grow 3-4 times faster and have higher rates of survival when biorock structures are used. 

This is an international issue; 16% of the world’s tropical reefs died in 1998 And 70% of the earth’s coral was damaged in 2016. Many have ignored this global issue but if this continuous, by 2050 it’s estimated that 90% of the coral reefs in the world will be gone.  

If the coral reefs die, costliness  will be damaged more due to flooding, hurricanes, and cyclones. And many fishermen will suffer from lack of their only income because of the lack of fish and coastal towns will suffer from lack of tourism the coral reefs would have brought in. 

Volume 4, Issue 2

Cities Go Green

Mr. Kevin Motia

In an effort to fend off the negative effects of fossil fuels such as ecological disruption and health problems like respiratory ailments and cancer, many U.S. cities have been transitioning towards the use of clean energy for their electrical needs.

Two years ago, Burlington became the first city in the U.S. to become completely reliant on renewable energy for its residents’ electrical needs. The city has become an example for other communities to follow.

the McNeil Plant, courtesy of Burlington Electric
the McNeil Plant, courtesy of Burlington Electric

Burlington became the first city to run on 100% renewable energy by investing in a hydropower plant in 2014. More recently, influenced by Burlington’s achievement, other American cities have begun to look at their own natural resources for energy uses.  According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, there are now 29 cities located in the United States which are run 100% on renewable energy.These cities include Aspen, Colorado; Kodiak Island, Alaska; and Greensburg, Kansas.

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Opinion & Review, Volume 4, Issue 1

Opinion: One Vegetarian Makes the Environmental Case Against Meat

Ms. Natalie Casson

The well being of our environment has been rapidly decreasing in the past decade, and likely global climates will be unable to handle more change.  We all know turning lights off and driving cars less helps our planet, yet almost every person is harming the environment dramatically on a daily basis: during our meals.  It was recorded in an article by the National Public Radio that in 2012, in America, we consumed over 52.2 billion pounds of meat.  That number feels almost too big to grasp, so let’s put it into perspective.  Let’s compare it to wheat—one of the most fundamental crops in our world today.  Your average American citizen will consume around 132.5 pounds of wheat annually.  With 318.9 billion US citizens, we are consuming over 42.2 billion pounds of wheat a year.  10 billion pounds short of our meat consumption.

When I found this out, I was astonished.  Animals take up space, produce waste, and require huge amounts of food, chemicals, and water.  In 1909, it was recorded in the same article that around 9.8 billion pounds of meat were consumed: 42.4 billion pounds less than today.  Despite the population being lower, the proportions still don’t add up.  The meat consumption within the US has been growing exponentially and is continuing to do so.

Meat, pound per pound, has a much larger impact on our environment than any other food we consume.  The most unfortunate part of it all is many people, including myself before I began research, are not aware that what they eat affects the environment.  Often times people don’t jump to food when they think about the contributors to climate change and pollution; however, it has an incredibly large impact in many different ways.  In being conscious when choosing what we eat, we can reduce our carbon footprints and our effect on the environment.

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