News items from Eutrophication News

RIO DE JANEIRO — A local newspaper is reporting that Rio de Janeiro state’s iconic Guanabara Bay is heavily polluted as Brazil prepares to host the “Rio plus 20” Earth Summit in June.

SACRAMENTO, CA, Mar 15, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- The fertilizer industry is very concerned and engaged in the issue of nitrate contamination in California's groundwater supplies, according to Richard Cornett, communications director for the Western Plant Health Association in Sacramento, a trade group that represents fertilizer companies, manufacturers and retailers.

The Iowa Environmental Council and a raft of other environmental groups this week sued the U.S. Environmental Protection, contending the agency and the state of Iowa haven’t done enough to keep nitrogen and phosphorus out of the Mississippi River.

Controversial water quality standards could mean big costs for waste water treatment plants and drainage districts across the state. The Colorado Water Quality Control Commission has given preliminary approval to regulations that would limit the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in bodies of water statewide.

DUNDEE, Mich. — In an effort to combat the toxic organic sludge known as blue-green algae, which has plagued western Lake Erie for years, killing fish and hampering water recreation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be handing out $2 million to farmers in three states.

LEE COUNTY, FL - Red tide was last in Southwest Florida about six weeks ago, but it is still having lasting effects on the coast of Sanibel Island.

Water pollution from agriculture is costing billions of dollars a year in developed countries and is expected to increase in China and India as farmers race to increase food production, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.

WATSONVILLE -- A new UC Davis study pins most of the nitrate contamination of California groundwater on agriculture and says the problem is likely to get worse in coming decades.

A watershed ecologist says farming and industrial practices near the Opihi River have led to the "death by a thousand cuts" of the river, and that new ways must be explored to restore it.

Kota Kinabalu: Initial tests on water samples collected from the Likas Sports Complex lake - the scene of mysterious deaths of thousands of fish on Monday - found dissolved oxygen content to be very low.

BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The head of China's oceanic authority has said that the outlook for China's maritime environment is "not optimistic," calling for further efforts to build the ocean conservation culture.

A dog has died in Upper Hutt after coming into contact with toxic algae in the Hutt River.

Millions of tons of one of theChesapeake Bay'slargest sources of pollution continue to be dumped onto farm lands without proper regulation. Farm animals produce 44 million tons of manure annually in the bay watershed, and most of it is collected and disposed of on farmland — or left where it falls.

Feb,20, 2012 | WMFE - A federal judge in Tallahassee has ruled that specific limits on sewage, manure and fertilizer contamination in state waters must take effect March 6. The pollutants feed algae blooms on lakes, rivers and streams. The blooms can cause health problems in humans and can be fatal to wildlife.

Although the federal government wants Louisiana to put the Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" back onto a national list of polluted water bodies, state environmental officials say "no."

Much of the air pollution at the park comes from vehicle tailpipes, power plants and industrial sources all around Denver and other Front Range urban areas, but much of it also comes from ammonia emitted from farms and feed lots throughout eastern Colorado.

CONCORD — State Rep. Adam Schroadter said his three bills aimed at cleaning up the Great Bay estuary have been a lot of work but progress is being made.

There was a time when you threw a pebble into the lake and it would not sink. Dianchi Lake was so polluted it was choked up and dying. But now, the lake is starting to breathe again. Our Yunnan bureau's Li Yingqing and Guo Anfei track its resurrection.

When it comes to an environmental issue like Dianchi Lake, it is not hard to find passion, and nowhere does it flame higher than in the hearts of the people of Yunnan and those who have chosen to make their homes in this beautiful province in Southwest China.

A special commission formed to consider the future of county government on Cape Cod recommended yesterday the creation of a robust new regional wastewater agency.