News items from Eutrophication News

There is a generation of young adults for whom the notion of a Chesapeake Bay populated by an abundance of blue crabs is nothing more than a story told by their elders. It was about two decades ago that the first alarms began to sound about the decline of the blue crab. Early in 1993, stories began to appear in the media about decreasing numbers of crabs in the bay. Destruction of forests and wetlands, development, pollution, an overabundance of rockfish and overfishing were all suggested as possible causes.

Conservationists say that pollution from farms, wastewater treatment facilities, storm water runoff, and power plants in the 64,000 square mile watershed — which includes parts of six states and the nation’s capital — is slowly killing the bay.

The risk of blue-green algal blooms off the coast of Finland, especially in the Gulf of Finland and around its mouth, is mainly moderate this summer, environmental researchers have reported, and the risk is much lower in comparison to last summer

An environment official yesterday painted a bleak picture of pollution in China's rivers, lakes and seas, saying the problem in the near-shore water of major coastal economic zones was particularly serious.

TALLAHASSEE — A Florida administrative law judge Thursday rejected a challenge by five environmental groups to the state's proposed water pollution rules.

Vice Minister of Environmental Protection Wu Xiaoqing said the quality of the near-shore water of north China's Bohai Sea and the East China Sea as well as water in five of the nine bays along China's coast was "extremely poor."

HIGH SPRINGS – As tropical storm Beryl slid across northeastern Florida, she deposited thousands of gallons of rainwater across the drought-stricken land. The rain soaked into the thirsty soil, awakened wilted plants, drenched bone-dry lakebeds, and raised reservoir and pool levels.

Newmont Ghana, says it is investigating the discovery of dead fish in one of its Ahafo Mine Environmental Control Dams (ECDs) in the Brong Ahafo Region following days of rainfall.

Pennsylvania isn’t exactly leading the pack of the six states and Washington, D.C. in plans for reducing pollution to the Chesapeake Bay watershed. However, the state’s plan for bringing down waste water pollution has been upgraded per the Environment Protection Agency’s (EPA) estimation.

As algal blooms and resulting fish kills happen year after year, citizens and regulators start to think that it's a normal phenomenon, caused only by high temperatures and extreme weather events. But we cannot pretend that this is normal, particularly when the science presents an urgent situation.

Sindh, PAKISTAN INCREASED use of irrigation water supplies and agro-chemicals, coupled with its irrational use, is causing significant water pollution problems.

When you think of the environmental obstacles facing New Bedford Harbor, a heightened level of nitrogen isn't the first thing that comes to mind. With toxic contaminants like polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) and heavy metals already the focus of major remediation efforts, it's difficult to imagine how nitrogen, an element found in nature, could further deteriorate the harbor's health.

BEIJING - The Chinese government plans to allocate 500 billion yuan ($79 billion) for the prevention and control of water pollution in major drainage areas from 2011 to 2015, up from 300 billion yuan for the previous five-year period.

The owner of the Domino sugar refinery in the Inner Harbor has agreed to pay a $200,000 civil penalty and install pollution controls to settle a federal lawsuit accusing the plant of violating the Clean Air Act.

A powerful stench was in the air Saturday at the Inner Harbor as 12-year-olds Alison Chase and Marissa Westerbeke hunched over the water's edge, studying tiny crabs floating to the surface.