Creating The Epidemic Of Blue Green Algae Essay - 1682 Words

When I was a little girl, I spent my summers rafting down and swimming in the rivers of Northern California, minutes from my house. My family would spend hours at the river weekly, having fun and relaxing by the water, but we never truly thought about what was actually in the water. Over the course of a few years, the water started becoming greener, making it so that we could not see the bottom. This cause was from the algae growth in the water. Our county started having health issues from humans and dogs alike, and every case of these issues came from swimming in the rivers. That summer, Humboldt County put a health warning out to the community, asking to stay away from the water. Of course, people would not listen, creating the epidemic of blue-green algae. Algae are the most noncomplex members of the plant kingdom, and the blue-green algae are the most plain of the algae. Blue-green algae have a substantial and increasing economic importance, they have both helpful and life threat ening effects on living beings. Although they are named after algae, they are not true algae. Blue-green algae do not have a nucleus, or chloroplasts. Actually, blue-green algae are more related to bacteria, which have closer characteristics. The activity of nitrogen fixation and the occurrence of gas vesicles are extremely important to the triumph of blue-green algae. Blue-green algae are located in various locations on land and in water, generally in environments where vegetation does notShow MoreRelatedWhy We Need Light And Water1528 Words   |  7 Pagesforce to drink and bath in water that contains a green blue algae coming from Lake Erie that has harmful bacteria called mircocystin that can cause liver damage. The main reason most scientists think this is happening is because more rain, especially in 2011, caused torrential downpours. This caused the worst cyanobacterial bloom in the history of Lake Erie. The cause of this major epidemic was due to fertilizer runoff to feed t he harmful toxic algae to bloom and grow in huge numbers causing a majorRead MoreChapter 5 8 Essay6131 Words   |  25 Pagesdiverted to Everglades. Water quality now degraded because of nutrients (especially phosphorus) from agricultural run off) o Water Release †¢ Broader program originally begun in 1996 (cost $15 billion) - plan for removing 240 miles of levees/canals, creating system of reservoirs/underground wells to capture water for release during dry season o Funding †¢ Difficult parts †¢ Major step - 2008, US Sugar agreed to sell its land and facilities to Florida for $1.7 billion - planned sale scaled way back becauseRead MoreSexually Transmitted Diseases35655 Words   |  143 Pagesturn litmus (or indicator papers) red. Litmus is a vegetable dye that may be either red or blue, depending on the acidity. When a sample of an acid is placed on red litmus paper, the color of the litmus does not change. Red litmus has been previously treated with acid. Adding more acid does not change the red color. However, when the same acid is placed on blue litmus paper, the color turns from blue to red. (Blue litmus has been treated with a base). 3. Acids contain combined hydrogen.   When