Bay Nature. (2023, July 10). Can We Prevent Another Algaepocalypse in the Bay?
https://baynature.org/2023/07/10/can-we-prevent-another-algaepocalypse-in-the-bay/
The toxic algae blooms are discussed once again in this article. This article talks more about the causes of the blooms and the prevention of a repeat disaster. The original bloom was supposedly caused by eutrophication, the massive amounts of nutrients flowing into the bay. Fertilizer runoff from farms in the San Francisco Bay Delta, and this watershed leads directly into the bay. Thanks to this, all the nutrients from farms in the 75,000 square mile area are concentrated in this one bay.
This article represents how some actions we take have unforeseen consequences. The nutrients for industries in the Bay Area have flown into the Bay and started feeding these toxic blooms, so they grew larger and larger. If it were just one farm, then the side effects of it impacting a larger area might have been fine. But California is a massive fruit and vegetable producer, and thousands of farms are doing this at the same time in a relatively compact area. With environmental science, we can learn about how we influence the environment and topics like eutrophication. If the usage of nitrogen fertilizers is limited in an agrarian state like California, profits will be reduced. But if this continues to go on, fisheries will be impacted by the red and green algaes. As such, environmental scientists have to find alternatives and balance out these two things.
It is wild to see the indirect consequences of something that seems so harmless such as growing plants. It displays how humans need to really pay attention to the methods we use and the products we use in all industries including agriculture. How do we as a society create a valid method to ensure the safety of these methods?
Hi, thank you for reading. I believe that the current testing process is fine for products. Many products have extensive testing phases nowadays, but the problem is now in old products. Nitrogen fertilizers have been being used for decades now, and since is has been used for so long now, changing that would be something people are not so open to, even after now knowing about the consequences. Changing it would be expensive, and people have been using it for so long that they wouldn’t want to, even if provided with an alternative.