Application Essay: The Effects Of Climate Change On The Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is a 200-mile-long estuary extending from Norfolk, VA to Havre de grace Maryland. On average this bay contains about 68 trillion liters of water. This bay is the largest estuary in North America. It inhabits more than 3,000 species of plants, animals, and fish. “Since the early twentieth century, the Chesapeake Bay has experienced serious environmental degradation. Problems include large reductions in sea grass, reduced amounts of finfish and shellfish (especially oysters and crab), seasonal depletions in dissolved oxygen, and increases in sedimentation.” (Atkins & Anderson, 2003) These changes are brought on by pollution (Eutrophication and Toxic Contamination), development, deforestation, and agriculture. And according

An issue that was present in few specific cities in Maryland have now expanded throughout the entire state. The Chesapeake Bay, a large estuary that has an extremely complex ecosystem that is vital to important habitats and food webs in this area. The Chesapeake bay is arguably one of the most productive environments in the United States. Over the years, this bay has been in a decline of wellness. Pollution, contaminants, and many other factors are destroying the overall well being of these waters, and completely messing up the important ecosystem that has been built there. Although there is an extreme amount of Marylanders fighting for the restoration of the Chesapeake, there are also who are not.

The immigrants that settled the colonies of Chesapeake Bay and New England came to the New World for two different reasons. These differences were noticeable in social structure, economic outlook, and religious background. As the colonies were organized the differences were becoming more and more obvious and affected the way the communities prospered. These differences are evident from both written documents from the colonists and the historical knowledge of this particular period in time.

In order to help save the Bay some changes need to be made, human activity must change, the Bays health needs to become a higher priority and the steps that could be taken to restore the health of the Bay need to be discussed.

The Chesapeake Bay, which derives from the Algonquin word Chesepiooc meaning “great shellfish bay”, has been around for a very long time. Approximately 35 million years ago, a rare bolide (a comet- or asteroid-like object) hit what is now the lower tip of the Delmarva Peninsula, creating a 55-mile-wide crater. The bolide created what geologists call the “Exmore Crater,” which they believe was as large as Rhode Island and as deep as the Grand Canyon. Although this bolide did not create the Chesapeake Bay, it helped determine that a bay would eventually be located there.

Eutrophication is a concern in the Chesapeake Bay. Eutrophication is caused by excessive amounts of nutrients. Excessive nutrients in the bay have negative effects on the bay's ecosystem. The extra nutrients make the environment unbalanced. The extra nutrients cause a chain reaction that eventually kills most of the organisms in that area. This is what is known as a dead zone.

Although the Chesapeake Bay Colonies and New England colonies were both founded by men of English origin, during similar an era, they gradually developed very different societies. The Chesapeake Bay Colonies were fabricated originally for the sole purpose of amassing financial profit through the collection and trading of gold. New England Colonies, however, were made to develop the Separatist Church. Colonists belonging to these colonies left England during the Protestant Reformation of the English Church to escape the persecution of King James I. After further analysis of the documents provided (A-H) it becomes evident why the New England Colonies and Chesapeake Bay Colonies eventually evolved into two very different regions exhibiting different

Depending on each region’s location, the climate affected the terrain and life span. The terrain affected what was grown in the soil and how the economy was modeled; moreover, lifespan affected population growth. In a way, the first Chesapeake colony was founded for economic reasons. Jamestown, founded in 1607, was the first permanent settlement; however, the colonist didn’t plant any crops to live off of, instead they looked for gold. A settler by the name of John Smith, saved Jamestown with great leadership; his famous quote during this time states, “he who shall not work, shall not eat”.

could resist him as a spiritual leader and then would certainly defy as a political

Scene in Fig. 1.1., the Chesapeake Bay is substantial in size; at roughly 64,000 miles, it contains roughly fifty rivers and thousands of streams and creeks. It encompasses parts of 6 states, including all of Washington, DC. The Chesapeake Bay is what is known as a watershed, an area that contributes to the drainage to a water body, stream, river, lake or ocean. Rainwater that falls within the 64,000 square miles that is the Chesapeake Bay will subsequently travel through many streams and rivers, eventually making its way into the largest estuary system in the United States.

New England and Chesapeake Bay were both developing in the new world, and their beliefs, and work ethic would soon lead them to become drastically different, one may even say they became polar opposite. The New Englanders were largely Puritan Separatists who came in large families, who sought religious freedom and were rather intolerant towards anyone else. Chesapeake Bay was largely popularized by indentured servants and young men. During this time, both colonies were in the process of defining themselves. New England was in the midst of forming close communities and became very religion based, while Chesapeake Bay was struggling to form a village. While New England believed that it was God's will that they build their life in the new world, Chesapeake Bay began to struggle due to their incapability to work. Unlike New England, Chesapeake would begin to attempt to stay alive with lack of food, and community. The two colonies beliefs and effort to build a new life in a new world would

Overall the best solution from the three is to plant more trees around Chesapeake Bay so it will clean the air. A positive environmental consequence is that the more trees that they plant will make the air cleaner. When the air is cleaner it will decrease the chance of acid rain, and acid rain will make the water worse for the animals. If the animals stay alive then more of the wildlife will come back and that will revive the ecosystem around the bay. A negative environmental would be that the trees will take a long time to grow. It takes 3-4 years for a normal tree to grow, that is way to long to wait for the pollution problem to be

Everyone forges their own path, backed by their passions, hopes, and aspirations, and for now, my academic goal is to gain knowledge, further passion, and cultivate care. Looking back, I know that my childhood has impacted how I see the world. I grew up with the natural world at my fingertips, spending most summers outside. As I’ve grown, so has my love of the natural world. I have learned about a few of the countless injustices happening around the world, and if I could to anything to better conditions either domestically or internationally, that would be enough. The constant news reports and media coverage of terrible outcomes, people getting injured or killed, thousands of acres of land getting destroyed, all because we humans indirectly or directly caused a natural disaster are no longer shocking because of their frequency. We need more people studying our impacts in every possible way, small scale and large scale. Environmental issues are becoming one of the largest problems of our generation, and I’m not going to sit out for this battle. I want to pick up a sword and fight for what I

Despite the insignificant size of Maryland, it exhibits considerable climatic diversity so it is possible to experience many different kinds of climate. In the summers, there will be beautiful sunshine and in the winters, there will be snowfalls. The kids will sure have a lot of fun making snowmen and snowballs! The climates are perfect for farming so the farmers will not have to worry about the crops not growing and it is possible to have prosperous and luxurious life by selling tobacco plants. Maryland also has many geographic features such as the Chesapeake Bay, which divides Maryland into the Eastern Shore and the Western Shore. There are also the Catoctin Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, and the Piedmont Plateau. Maryland as 23 rivers and many creeks and lakes and they will make the kids have fun in the summer by playing in the water. Last of all, the neighbors of Maryland are Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and Columbia.

I hope this proposal will assist the reader in understanding our Earth’s critical condition and ways even an individual can attribute to the betterment of our environment.