Environmental Disasters : The 464 Mile Long River

About two hundred forty one thousand two hundred twelve people live in Cumberland County, and all of those people somehow pollute the Conodoguinet Creek. The Conodoguinet Creek is a tributary to the Susquehanna river, which is the longest river on the American East Coast, spanning 464 miles long and draining into the Atlantic ocean. Many things, such as livestock, construction sites, fossil fuels and fertilizers, all go into the Conodoguinet creek. Now, that is A LOT of pollution that can (or will) go into the creek. This does not just affect the Conodoguinet Creek, but everything that the creek drains into, like the Susquehanna river, then the Chesapeake bay, and then the Atlantic ocean, which covers over 20% of thie whole globe! As you

In the academic journal written by Ronald A. MacGillivray the purpose was to find out information about the Delaware River and how polluted it is. The research was done over a four-year period to find out if lethal toxins were coming out of tributaries (MacGillivrary et al., 2011). The research was done by a sampling procedure. The researchers would go out into the field and collect samples on a weekly basis depending on the weather to see how the toxic levels in the river were from 16 different locations (MacGillivrary et al., 2011). At the end of the four years that the research was taken the results were conclusive that the tributaries that led into the Delaware River were found to be at normal toxic water level rates (MacGillivrary et al., 2011). The pollution levels found were normal with a few exceptions depending on the water content of the day (MacGillivrary et al., 2011).

Recently, a contractor working for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unintentionally released 3 million gallons of toxic mine waste into the Animas River in the Mountain West state of Colorado. Right now, people in the US are debating the efficacy of the EPA (the right-wing is using the spill as anti-government propaganda) and the noxious aftermath the spill will undoubtedly have on local economies, communities and ecosystems.

Is the Conodoguinet creek polluted? I thought it was, but multiple tests from my peers and I proved my hypothesis wrong. To prove our hypotheses, my peers and I did multiple tests of the organisms living in the creek. We also tested the water quality. You may be wondering, “ How does this apply to me?” “ Why should I care?”, the fact is that the Conodoguinet runs through 100 miles of Pennsylvania. It runs through farms, towns, communities, and maybe even your backyard. So, making sure we protect it should concern all of us.

Hydrologic studies has always been the subdiscipline of environmental science that has most intrigued me; probably because the eco- and geological systems that comprise surface and shallow groundwater systems are so inexorably entwined and very delicate. Both of the virtual labs were interesting, and paint a clear picture of how we affect our hydrosphere and how that, in turn, affects us. Spotsylvania County and the city of Fredericksburg share four water treatment facilities that pull water from the Mott's Run Reservoir, the Ni River, and the Rappahannock River, which is the largest river in the local area, the other two being smaller tributaries that feed into it. The Rappahannock River is a significant body of water, providing the potable water for roughly a quarter-million people. Toward the coast the river sees mostly recreational and some light industrial use, and further upstream it is affected by many small to midsized agricultural operations that take place on the land adjacent to the river.

In Mount Judea, Arkansas, there lies a hog farm very close to the historic Buffalo River, known for its natural beauty and amazing sightseeing. On the contrast, immense amounts of green algae have been found in its water in the past few years. As a result, suspicions have been expected with the possibility of the hog manure ponds leaking into the Buffalo River. This is an enormous environmental problem, as endangering a natural, free-flowing river is constrained in any aspect. The Big Creek Research and Extension Team (BCRET) from the University of Arkansas have recently drilled deep into these manure ponds in search of a leak and have accomplished their goal. (TFW). Around 120 feet below, there lies a wet place of soil that could possibility be the cause of green algae found in the nearby river. Individuals notice how big of a problem this can become. Three women, in fact, have appealed to constrain the amount of manure spread in the nearby fields surrounding the Buffalo River. (TFW). People love to see natural beauty, which is what the Buffalo River provides. Instead, they have to burden with the fact of green algae. Green algae can affect a body of water in many ways, including the contamination of turning these

While the Animas disaster avoided immediate and catastrophic results, the ultimate ecological price tag will take longer to figure. The river moves so fast that it swept obvious toxins downstream quickly. Yet the long-term toxicity reached hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of times over what is considered safe for the life beneath the river’s surface. That price will be silently calculated over months and years—by the trout.

The Conodoguinet Creek is a one-hundred mile long body of water running through central Pennsylvania. This area has many pollution issues, such as Eutrophication and many others. Eutrophication is when there is too much nutrients in the water. Some people might not understand why too much nutrients in the water is a problem, but it is a very serious one. The higher amounts of nutrients in the water allows a larger amount of algae to grow on the surface of the water, absorbing all the dissolved oxygen in the water, leaving no oxygen left for the fish, and they die.

Toxins in the water contribute to problems of the river because of the many times back in the day when businesses dumped their waste into the river and till today isn’t not yet cleared. Another problem of the Chicago River is that the public has to interest and don’t take any access towards the river because the river is fenced and some people still remember the awful stinky smell and the black color. The purpose of this field trip was to go test the different chemicals that are in the water and the health of it and see what can be found in it. The field trip lets people know what kind of biodiversity is around the river or in the river to see and determine the health of the river to see what contributes to what the state the river is in

The Conodoguinet Creek flows 101 miles through the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania. We traveled to just a small portion of the Conodoguinet Creek. In our area eutrophication and acid rain are common. Eutrophication is caused by sewage treatment plants, home sewage systems, and fertilizer runoff. Acid rain is caused by fossil fuel burning. If we were to test the Conodoguinet Creek for signs of acid rain, eutrophication or other types of pollution, then it would test with high levels of pollution. That way my hypothesis and what I thought about the pollution in the Conodoguinet Creek before I went there and tested the water.

Looking at the glistening waters of our streams and rivers, it may be hard to believe that approximately 5,300 miles of streams in Pennsylvania are so polluted they are currently classified as "dead". Due to loopholes in the Clean Water Act, more than half of the streams in the Keystone State are vulnerable to pollution. This affects an approximate 8 million Pennsylvanians who are served by public drinking water systems that draw from surface water. Only recently has the EPA taken action to restore protection to waterways in the United States. Unfortunately, it will take time for our streams and rivers to be truly clean again. Clearly, it is time that we act to preserve these waterways. Most people,

The St. Johns River is suffering from a significant environmental disaster because of toxic substances from municipal and industrial wastewater, fertilizer runoff, failing septic tanks, and stormwater. Consequently, over 55% of the river miles, 80.4% of acres of large water bodies, 59.4 % of estuaries, and 31.4% of coastline miles do not meet water quality standards in Florida (Florida Department of Environmental Protection 119). For that matter, studying those pollution problems that the river faces is vital since one can use this information to salvage the natural resource which is at the brink of destruction.

This spring, record breaking floodwaters along the Mississippi River caused massive damage in nine states, totaling over $25 billion dollars in damage (Watts, 2011). In most areas the floodwaters have receded, however there is concern that even a little rain could cause more flooding due to the already saturated land. As cities and towns are beginning the restoration process, one thing caused by the flooding waters cannot be restored. Pollutants’ such as nitrogen from fertilizer, due to this area being primarily composed of farming land, is making its way toward the Gulf of Mexico. Every year pollutants traveling in the Mississippi River enter the Gulf and contribute to the Coastal Dead Zone; however, this year the Dead Zone in the Gulf

I feel that the impact of the hurricane was not felt equally through all socioeconomic classes. Knowing the history of New Orleans, I feel like he government official could have done a better job with the evacuation process. However, there is a direct link between environment disaster and poverty. Not only with Hurricane Katina did we see the link between environment disaster, look at such places like Haiti, some part of Africa, Asia and India.

The purpose the following scientific literature review was to examine the published research on the effect of the presence and effect of Selenium (Se) on fish in the freshwater systems United States and focused specifically of Kentucky and surrounding states. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published peer reviewed compilations of research in support of national water quality criterion of Selenium in surface waters. These criteria are related to streams that are habitat to aquatic biota designated Clean Water Act (CWA) 305b designated use of warm water aquatic habitat. Based on the EPA reference research the water quality criterion for