Month: September 2022

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Freshwater Algae Blooms

Selzer, M. (2022, July 6). The state of knowledge on harmful algal blooms of cyanobacteria in the Great Lakes. State of Michigan. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://www.michigan.gov/egle/newsroom/mi-environment/2022/07/06/the-state-of-knowledge-on-harmful-algal-blooms-of-cyanobacteria-in-the-great-lakes

This article writes about the effects of cyanobacteria blooms in a freshwater environment, the Great Lakes. The great lakes are located up north and are very cold and nutrient poor. Some of the factors for increased blooms have been attributed to changes in agricultural practices, extreme weather events, and increased air temperatures that occur near the shore. Some species of invasive muscles have caused more nutrients to be concentrated near the shore, resulting in a more susceptible area that can be affected by eutrophication. Even though there has been more algae activity in recent years, there needs to be more scientific research done about how climate change affects the algae blooms in the great lakes.

This article was very informational because I did not realize that cyanobacteria could bloom in freshwater. The article also brought up how muscles concentrate the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus into an area that can be easily influenced by eutrophication.

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Algae Blooms in Florida

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2022, March 18). Florida: Harmful Algal Blooms. National Ocean Service. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/hab/florida-2018.html

In Florida, there is a persistent algae bloom known as “Red tide”. This algae bloom is especially harmful to humans and it produces neurotoxins called “brevetoxins”. This leads to a pile up of dead fish along the shore and in some cases there have been stranded mammals found. Because of Florida’s tropical weather, the affected area of the tide is unclear and depends on weather that influences the tides, such as a hurricane. The duration of the bloom is also uncertain each occurrence and can last for a few weeks or for about a year.
I was in Florida back in 2018 when this bloom occurred and it sparked my interest in the subject. When I visited the beach it was littered with dead pufferfish and I think some lionfish. I also remember coughing a lot at the beach because of the toxic effects of the algae. I also have an idea of what these blooms can do to oceanside communities because I was there near the ocean for about a week and remembered how often I was coughing.

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Dead Zones

Evers, J. (2022, May 19). Dead zone. National Geographic Society. Retrieved July 8, 2022, from https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/dead-zone

Dead zones are often due to a process known as eutrophication. This process happens when cyanobacteria get too many nutrients and proceed to grow extremely fast. This growth is attributed to there being too much nitrogen and phosphorus in the area that these bacteria grow. Eutrophication is more common than ever because of our ever developing agricultural and industrial practices. This article says that we emit 2 times more nitrogen and 3 times more phosphorus than natural cycles. One of the first identified dead zones was observed in Chesapeake bay in 1970 because the western side of the city was used for poultry farming.

In developing countries many dead zones are caused by poorly treated wastewater management. Some sources of fossil fuels cause atmospheric nitrogen levels to rise. The atmospheric nitrogen follows a similar path as the carbon cycle, and gets absorbed into the ocean creating an unbalance in nitrogen level causing the oceans to be more prone to algae blooms and dead zones.

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Effects of Algae Blooms

Environmental Protection Agency. (2022, January 31). The Effects: Dead Zones and Harmful Algal Blooms | US EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved August 14, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/effects-dead-zones-and-harmful-algal-blooms

Dead zones happen when a burst of algae bloom and consume all of the oxygen in a certain area. These dead zones kill all life in the affected area except the algae that blooms. These blooms happen when an excess of nitrogen and phosphorus cause the rapid growth of algae. The algae also blocks out the sun and harms aquatic plants and when the algae dies it takes all the oxygen with it and creates an oxygen-less void. The main problem that leads to an algae bloom is nutrient pollution. Nutrient pollution is caused solely by human impact.

It seems that the main cause of nutrient pollution algae blooms is agricultural activities. Many fertilizers have nitrogen and phosphorus to help plants grow. Because our agriculture industry is so widespread across the U.S. it makes many of our bodies off water prone to algae blooms. Some of these blooms are harmful to not just aquatic life, but also towards humans. Some things that we can do in our homes is to reduce fertilizer use, plant native plants, and to not overwater gardens.

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Aging Dams Could Soon Benefit from $7B Federal Loan Program.

Army Corps of Engineering is taking its first step in repairing old dams with a $7 billion loan. Most states don’t have grant or loan programs specifically targeted for repairing dams. “The Association of State Dam Safety Officials estimates it could cost nearly $76 billion to rehabilitate the almost 89,000 dams owned by individuals, companies, community associations, states, local governments and other entities besides the U.S. government.” This program is to provide public safety and reduce risk. More loans could go up to $20 million but generally, it could cover up to 49% of the costs. But that could extend up to 80%

This article is stating the cost to repair dams all over the US. It is important to save the dams so that is may not destroy the environment or other ecosystems around the United States. It may be extremely expensive, but it is also extremely critical. I think it’s an overall good idea to continue to repair the dams because a massive build-up could cause collapsing and we lose all the water and communities are put into danger. It might be a danger of losing power and or danger of flooding.

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How the Western Drought Is Pushing the Power Grid to the Brink.

Cuts in hydro energy production in the West because of the water shortages. Exceptional heat causing the demands for energy hits a record. If the drought continues two of the largest (Lake Mead and Lake Powell) dams in the US will eventually be in critically dry condition. Natural gas plants have been being used more due to dams being unable to fulfill their tasks. Some see this as an opportunity to grow without water and to adapt. For example, some power plants are now using dry cooling, a technology that requires 95 percent less water than conventional methods. For better methods that it is necessary to look beyond industrial power plants. 

In this article, it is talking about the decline in Dams. We need to figure out a solution so that we may not only rely on fossil fuel-burning plants as our only source of energy. We also have to adapt and find better alternative energy sources. Dry cooling is a great concept, but I don’t think it could be a permanent solution to our problems.

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Giving Old Dams New Life Could Spark an Energy Boom.

The Western Dams are unfortunately not thriving due to the droughts occurring, and it is causing an electrical decline. Fortunately, the dams in all the other regions are doing excellent. “In 2016, a U.S. Department of Energy study forecast that hydropower in the United States could expand from its current capacity of 101 gigawatts to nearly 150 gigawatts by 2050.” Hydropower is key to efficient energy production.  Environmental groups warn that nonpowered dams can produce negative environmental impacts. Rye Development looks at dams as an opportunity. They claim that their Overton project can produce 49 megawatts when finished, and it will provide enough electricity to power more than 9,000 homes from the Red River in Lousiana

In this article, it talks about how instead of destroying and creating new dams they are being upgraded to become more efficient. I do agree that there might be some environmental impacts, but that the benefits outweigh the cons in this situation. I see this as an opportunity to create more energy for the US and as a healthy alternative power source. The nation’s most iconic dams will be 5 times fast than they are ever been

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Dams Are Supposed to Prevent Floods. Some May Make Them Worse

Study finds dams may make flooding worse on silty and sandy rivers. Finding suggests river managers might need to rethink flood control strategies. Hongbo Ma studied the Yellow River, which is one of the world’s muddiest rivers. The Lower Yellow River dam was built on the Yellow River in China’s Inner Mongolia region in 1999. Ma wondered whether the dam would cause floods to back up, overflow riverbanks, and spill onto the floodplain. At the end of his result it should that floods could be as deep as twice the size of the dam. Climate models suggest rainfall in the region could increase by 30% this century. The Yellow River could be an unusual case. Most large dams are built on rivers carrying coarser sediment.

This article is stating that he need to find a different way to control floods so that they dont ruin our communities. Dams provide multiple benefits. They generate relatively clean electricity; they store water and release it in the dry season, which helps farmers and other users, and they can hold back floods. They are also downfalls. Dams are get rid of people when they are built and preventing fish migration and causing other ecological harm.

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AP analysis finds growing number of poor, high-hazard dams.

A dam, capable of holding 36 billion gallons of water, is now about three quarters empty. It is standing empty because of the fear that too much water will put a strain on the dam and it was burst. It has been recorded that around 2,200 dams around the US was put in the unsatisfactory condition list. Joe Biden signed a trillion dollar infrastructure bill to put $3 billion into dam related projects. Yet, it is still just a small part of the $76 billion plan to repair 89,000 dams owned individuals, communities, companies, and government.  

 

This article talks about dams, and how they are falling apart. Dams are important, and can store water for many purposes. Dams are used for human water supply, livestock water supply, irrigation, and recreation. Most Dams in the US are about over half a century old and potentially are extremely dangerous when they hang over homes, businesses, and communites. Warm atmosphere could bring a devastating storm that could destoy the dam itself.

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Pheromones used as Alternative Pest Control are now more Economical with New way of Production

Stokstad, E. (2022, September 1). Researchers just made it easier-and cheaper-to confuse crop pests. Science. Retrieved September 14, 2022, from https://www.science.org/content/article/researchers-just-made-it-easier-and-cheaper-confuse-crop-pests 

Many farmers turn to pesticides to protect their crops whereas some prefer a gentler approach, spraying their fields with behavior affecting chemicals called pheromones. The pheromones mimic a smell given off by female insects to attract mates. When farmers flood their fields with the chemicals, it overwhelms the biological signals in the insects and prevents reproduction. The downside- artificial pheromones are incredibly expensive and labor intensive. The price of the chemicals is almost $400 per hectare, and requires workers to set and maintain the traps. Christer Löfstedt, a chemical ecologist at Lund University, and his colleagues have been experimenting with an alternative and cheaper method of using pheromones. They created a genetically modified plant with the chemical building blocks needed to create pheromones. They decided to use a flowering plant called Camelina, and outfitted the plant with a gene that causes the seeds to give off hexadecenoic acid, which can mimic the mating pheromone. There they are able to purify the seeds into oil, and create a liquid similar to the expensive artificial pheromones. The traps proved to work just as well, and cost only a quarter of the previous pheromones to produce, which makes this a cost effective solution, putting it on par with current pesticides.

While I think that creating cost effective pheromones to control pest populations is a hopeful idea, I think that there are few issues with technical implementation. Firstly, according to the article the pheromones have proved to work best in large fields. Since farmers in most developing regions work small plots of land, there would need the unification of surrounding farmers which could possibly prove difficult to obtain cooperation. The introduction of these new pheromones could also have lasting effects on the surrounding ecosystem. There is no way of knowing if the chemicals would affect pollinators of other keystone species necessary to upholding a stable environment. Overall I think the idea of such alternatives to pest control is promising, this one seems to have logistical issues as well as the possibility of unintended consequences.