Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Environmental Conservation/Answer Key"

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{{Infobox Book
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{{honor_header|2|1973|Nature|General Conference}}
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| name          =  Silent Spring
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{{AY Master|Conservation}}
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| title_orig    =
 
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| translator    =
 
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| image        = [[Image:Silent Spring Book-of-the-Month-Club edition.JPG|200px]]
 
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| image_caption = The [[Book-of-the-Month Club]] edition, with included endorsement by [[William O. Douglas]]
 
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| author        = [[Rachel Carson]]
 
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| cover_artist  =
 
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| country      = [[United States]]
 
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| language      = [[English language|English]]
 
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| series        =
 
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| subject      = [[Environmentalism]]
 
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| genre        =
 
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| publisher    = [[Houghton Mifflin]]
 
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| release_date  = [[September]] [[1962]]
 
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| [[media]]_type    = Hardcover/paperback
 
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| pages        =
 
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| isbn          =
 
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| preceded_by  =
 
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| followed_by  =
 
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}}
 
  
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'''''Silent Spring''''' is a book written by [[Rachel Carson]] and published by [[Houghton Mifflin]] in [[September]] [[1962]]. The book is widely credited with helping launch the [[environmental movement]] in the [[Western world|West]].<ref>Josie Glausiusz. (2007), Better Planet: Can a Maligned Pesticide Save Lives? ''Discover Magazine''. Page 34.</ref>
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==1. What is the difference between ecology and environmental conservation? ==
 +
;Ecology: Is defined as "the study of how organisms interact with each other and their physical environment."
 +
;Environmental conservation: Is defined as "the rational use of the environment to provide the highest sustainable quality of living for humanity."
  
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When ''Silent Spring'' was published, Rachel Carson was already a well-known writer on natural history, but had not previously been a social critic. The book was widely read (especially after its selection by the [[Book-of-the-Month Club]] and an endorsement by Supreme Court Justice [[William O. Douglas]]), spending several weeks on the ''[[New York Times]]'' best-seller list, and inspired widespread public concerns with [[pesticides]] and [[pollution]] of the [[natural environment|environment]]. ''Silent Spring'' facilitated the ban of the pesticide [[DDT]]<ref>[http://iaspub.epa.gov/trs/trs_proc_qry.navigate_term?p_term_id=6719&p_term_cd=TERM EPA reference: DDT]. Retrieved [[2007-11-04]].</ref> in 1972 in the United States.
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==2. Write a 500 word essay on how the increase in human population is threatening our existence on earth. ==
 +
The most important threat to our existence on earth today is that of global warming.  The human activity that has the greatest effect on warming is the release of greenhouse gases such as C0<sub>2</sub>.  For your research into this issue, see the following Wikipedia articles:
  
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The book documented detrimental effects of [[pesticide]]s on the environment, particularly on [[bird]]s. Carson said that DDT had been found to cause thinner egg shells and result in reproductive problems and death. She also accused the [[chemical industry]] of spreading [[disinformation]], and public officials of accepting industry claims uncritically. 
+
* [[w:Global warming|Global warming]]
 +
* [[w:Greenhouse effect|Greenhouse effect]]
 +
* [[w:Kyoto Protocol|Kyoto Protocol]]
 +
* [[w:Carbon offset|Carbon offset]]
  
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''Silent Spring'' has made many lists of the best nonfiction books of the twentieth century. In the [[Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Nonfiction]] it was at #5, and it was at #78 in the conservative [[National Review]]'s. <ref>[http://www.nationalreview.com/100best/100_books.html The 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of the Century]. National Review. Retrieved on [[2007-11-04]].</ref> Most recently, Silent Spring was named one of the 25 greatest science books of all time by the editors of ''[[Discover Magazine]]''.<ref>[http://www.discover.com/issues/dec-06/features/25-greatest-science-books/?page=2 "25 Greatest Science Books of All Time"]. ''Discover Magazine'', Retrieved on [[2007-11-04]].</ref>
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Other factors include [[w:Overpopulation|Overpopulation]] and [[w:Deforestation|Deforestation]]. Can you think of others?
  
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A follow-up book, ''Beyond Silent Spring'',<ref>[http://www.springerlink.com/content/v8n68q671283064r "Beyond Silent Spring: Integrated Pest Management and Chemical Safety. Edited by H.F. van Emden and D.B. Peakall"]. SpringerLink. Retrieved on [[2007-11-04]].</ref> co-authored by H.F. van Emden and [[David Peakall]], was published in [[1986]].  
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==3. What does the term “death” of a lake or river mean? Is there a lake or river in your area or country which is classified as “dead”? ==
 +
The death of a lake or river is said to occur when it becomes so polluted that it can no longer support life (such as fish, turtles, crustaceans, etc). The most famous dead river is probably the Cuyahoga River in Ohio which actually caught on fire many times, helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s.
  
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==Thesis==
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Fires plagued the Cuyahoga beginning in 1936 when a spark from a blow torch ignited floating debris and oils. Fires erupted on the river several more times before June 22, 1969, when a river fire captured the attention of Time magazine, which described the Cuyahoga as the river that "oozes rather than flows" and in which a person "does not drown but decays."
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The book stated that uncontrolled pesticide use led to the deaths of not only animals, especially [[bird]]s, but also humans. Its title was meant to evoke a spring season in which no bird songs could be heard, because they had all died from pesticides. Its title was inspired by a poem by [[John Keats]], "[[La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad|La Belle Dame sans Merci]]", which contained the lines "The sedge is wither'd from the lake, And no birds sing."<ref>Peter A. Coates. (October 2005), [http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/eh/10.4/coates.html "The Strange Stillness of the Past: Toward an Environmental History of Sound and Noise"]. ''Environmental History'', Volume 10, Issue 4. Retrieved on [[2007-11-04]]. </ref>
 
  
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== Support ==
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This event helped spur an avalanche of pollution control activities resulting in the Clean Water Act, Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, and the creation of the federal and state Environmental Protection Agency. As a result, large point sources of pollution on the Cuyahoga have received significant attention from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in recent decades.  
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History professor Gary Kroll commented, "Rachel Carson's ''Silent Spring'' played a large role in articulating ecology as a 'subversive subject'&mdash;  as a perspective that cut against the grain of [[Economic materialism|materialism]], [[scientism]], and the technologically engineered control of [[nature]]."<ref>Gary Kroll, [http://onlineethics.org/CMS/profpractice/exempindex/carsonindex/kroll.aspx "Rachel Carson-''Silent Spring'']: A Brief History of Ecology as a Subversive Subject". Onlineethics.org: National Academy of Engineering. Retrieved [[2007-11-04]].</ref>
 
  
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According to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine in 1999, within a year or so of its publication, "all but the most self-serving of Carson's attackers were backing rapidly toward safer ground. In their ugly campaign to reduce a brave scientist's protest to a matter of public relations, the chemical interests had only increased public awareness."
+
Water quality has improved and, in recognition of this improvement, the Cuyahoga River was designated as one of 14 American Heritage Rivers in 1998. Pollution remains, however, including nonpoint source problems, Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), and stagnation due to water impounded by dams. For this reason, the Environmental Protection Agency classified portions of the Cuyahoga River Watershed as one of 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern.
  
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Carson had made it clear she was not advocating the banning or complete withdrawal of helpful pesticides, but was instead encouraging responsible and carefully managed use, with an awareness of the chemicals' impact on the entire ecosystem. However, some critics asserted that she was calling for the elimination of all pesticides.<ref>Murphy, Priscilla Coit. ''What a Book Can Do: The Publication and Reception of Silent Spring''. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2005. ISBN 978-1-55849-582-1</ref>
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==4. Carry out a stream investigation of a small stream flowing through or near your home town. Check for the following: ==
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==Criticism==
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===a. Signs of Purity ===
 +
<gallery>
 +
Image:Minnow up close2.jpg|'''(1) Abundance of small fish present'''
 +
Image:Mountain stream.jpg|'''(2) Water visually clear and fresh smelling'''
 +
Image:Pleasant Stream.JPG|'''(3) Stream banks covered with vegetation down to water's edge.'''
 +
Image:Kziv stream.JPG|'''(4) Small amounts of green algae in water (light green in color)'''
 +
Image:Typha latifolia 02 bgiu.jpg|'''(5) Some aquatic plants present, such as cattails, arrow-leaf, or pickerel weed. '''
 +
Image:Australsnturtle2.jpg|'''(6) Turtles present in the stream'''
 +
Image:Crayfish.jpg|'''(7) Crayfish under stones in the stream'''
 +
Image:Hagmolenbeek.jpg|'''(8) Sandbars covered with growing weeds indicating relatively stable water level'''
 +
</gallery>
 +
===b. Signs of Stream Deterioration and Death ===
 +
<gallery>
 +
Image:Algues eau douce.jpg|'''(1) Large masses of blue-green algae present (dark green in color)'''
 +
Image:Norrköping, the stream “Motala ström” without water 7.jpg|'''(2) Scoured banks from high water level during storms'''
 +
Image:Iron hydroxide precipitate in stream.jpg|'''(3) Putrid smell of the water'''
 +
Image:Pollution Tietê river.JPG|'''(4) Detergent foam present'''
 +
Image:Arroyo Ludueña 8.jpg|'''(5) Trash sticking out of mud and sand bars along the stream'''
 +
Image:PlumCreekMinnesota.jpg|'''(6) Water loaded with silt'''
 +
Image:Sivadeule travaux juin 2001Gabions.jpg|'''(7) No aquatic insects or fish present'''
 +
Image:Obvious water pollution.jpeg|'''(8) Presence of raw sewage'''
 +
Image:Engine oil rainbow p1120058.jpg|'''(9) Presence of oil on the surface of the water'''
 +
Image:Triturus vulgaris.jpg|'''(10) No salamanders or frogs under rocks along stream bank'''
 +
Image:Water pollution.jpg|'''(11) Stores or small factories dumping their wastes into the stream'''
 +
</gallery>
  
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Even before Silent Spring was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1962, there was strong opposition to it. According to ''Time'' in 1999:
+
==5. If your stream is showing some of the above signs of death, do something about cleaning it up. Contact the closest government agency to ask what you and/or your group can do to help improve the stream. Organize a group of young people to help in cleaning the trash along your stream. If possible, get businesses to help in your campaign. ==
 +
In the United States, environmental protection is managed by the government at all levels: local, state, and federal.  It will be much easier to contact local or state officials rather than federal officials. Check the phone directory under "Environmental Protection" or search the Internet to find contact information for the agency in your area.  If you are having difficulty finding the government body responsible for this in your area, try contacting a local paddling club, [http://www.americancanoe.org/stewardship/stewardship.lasso The American Canoe Association], or [http://www.americanwhitewater.org/ American Whitewater].  These associations have a vested interest in clean rivers and streams (that's their playground!) and often organize river clean-up projects.  They will be able to get you on a project, put you in touch with the most responsive government body, and recommend local businesses that are responsive to environmental conservation.
  
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<blockquote>Carson was violently assailed by threats of lawsuits and derision, including suggestions that this meticulous scientist was a "hysterical woman" unqualified to write such a book. A huge counterattack was organized and led by [[Monsanto]], [[Velsicol]], [[American Cyanamid]]&mdash;indeed, the whole chemical [[industry]]&mdash;duly supported by the Agriculture Department as well as the more cautious in the media.</blockquote>
+
==6. Make a visit to the city or county trash dump to see how this waste is handled. Find out the following: <br>a. How many tons of trash are dumped daily? Yearly? <br>b. What attempts are made to recycle any of this trash? <br>c. Is any of the trash burned or is all of it buried? <br>d. What is the cost per person per year for handling the trash? <br>e. What happens to junked autos in your area? ==
 +
Once you have made contact with the local government, they will be able to tell you how to get in touch with the solid waste management authority (if you don't know already).  It could be that the government body you have been working with is the same one responsible for solid  waste management.  If this is the case, you previous efforts with them will pay another dividend - they will be eager to arrange a visit. You may also opt to contact the dump facility yourself and make arrangements for your visit.
  
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In the 1960s, biochemist and former chemical industry spokesman Robert White-Stevens stated, "If man were to follow the teachings of Miss Carson, we would return to the [[Dark Ages]], and the [[insect]]s and [[disease]]s and [[vermin]] would once again inherit the earth."<ref>Dorothy McLaughlin.  [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/nature/disrupt/sspring.html "Fooling with Nature: ''Silent Spring'' Revisited"]. PBS Frontline. Retrieved [[2007-11-04]]. </ref>
+
==7. Make a visit to the nearest sewage plant. Draw and label a detailed diagram of what happens to the liquid and solid wastes from the time they come into the plant until they leave. In what form do they leave? Is any further use made of this waste? ==
 +
Again, you have an opportunity to use the contact you established with the local government.  In most municipalities, the department responsible for the sewage plant is the same as the one responsible for the water plant. Make arrangement for both visits (see requirement 8) at the same time.  Make sure to bring paper, pencil, and clipboards, and let the plant manager know ahead of time what questions you will be asking so that they can prepare.
  
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[[Industry]] and [[agribusiness]] advocates continue to criticize ''Silent Spring''. In a 2005 essay, "The Harm That Pressure Groups Can Do", British politician [[Dick Taverne]] was damning in his criticism of Carson:
+
==8. Visit the nearest water purification plant. Construct a flow diagram of the steps in water purification from the time the water enters the plant until it leaves for distribution to homes and stores. Through reading and discussion with water works officials, determine whether water resources in the future are going to be enough to meet the demand. ==
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<blockquote>Carson didn't seem to take into account the vital role (DDT) played in controlling the transmission of [[malaria]] by killing the [[mosquito]]es that carry the parasite (...) It is the single most effective agent ever developed for saving human life (...) Rachel Carson is a warning to us all of the dangers of neglecting the evidence-based approach and the need to weight potential risk against benefit: it can be argued that the anti-DDT campaign she inspired was responsible for almost as many deaths as some of the worst dictators of the last century. <ref>[[Dick Taverne|Taverne, Dick]] "The Harm That Pressure Groups Can Do", collected in ''Panic Nation'', 2005, edited by Stanley Feldman and Vincent Marks, ISBN 1-84454-122-3.</ref></blockquote>
+
See the answers to requirement 7 for more information.
  
−
However, [[DDT]] has never been banned for anti-malaria use,<ref>http://www.pops.int/</ref> and Carson argued in "Silent Spring" that:
+
==9. Read and write a book report on an environment issues book such as Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. ==
−
 
+
==10. What are rare and endangered species? Determine what efforts are being put forth to protect such species in your area. What can you do to help? Write a 300-500 word paper on your ideas. ==
−
<blockquote>No responsible person contends that insect-borne disease should be ignored. The question that has now urgently presented itself is whether it is either wise or responsible to attack the problem by methods that are rapidly making it worse. The world has heard much of the triumphant war against disease through the control of insect vectors of infection, but it has heard little of the other side of the story—the defeats, the short-lived triumphs that now strongly support the alarming view that the insect enemy has been made actually stronger by our efforts. Even worse, we may have destroyed our very means of fighting. ...
 
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What is the measure of this setback? The list of resistant species now includes practically all of the insect groups of medical importance. ... Malaria programmes are threatened by resistance among mosquitoes. ...
 
−
 
 
−
Practical advice should be 'Spray as little as you possibly can' rather than 'Spray to the limit of your capacity' ..., Pressure on the pest population should always be as slight as possible.</blockquote>
 
−
 
 
−
In the 2000s, Carson and ''Silent Spring'' have come under increasing attack from some conservatives who argue that restrictions placed on DDT have caused needless death, and more generally that environmental regulation unnecessarily restricts [[economic freedom]].<ref>Lytle, Mark Hamilton. ''The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and the Rise of the Environmental Movement''.  New York: Oxford University Press, 2007  ISBN 0-19-517246-9</ref><ref name="Conservative criticism of Carson">Examples of recent criticism include:<br />(a) Rich Karlgaard, "[http://blogs.forbes.com/digitalrules/2007/05/but_her_heart_w.html But Her Heart Was Good]", Forbes.com, May 18, 2007.  Accessed September 23, 2007.<br />(b) Keith Lockitch, "[http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4965 Rachel Carson's Genocide]", ''Capitalism Magazine'', May 23, 2007.  Accessed May 24, 2007<br />(c) Paul Driessen, "[http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20070428-100957-5274r.htm Forty Years of Perverse 'Responsibility,']", ''The Washington Times'', April 29, 2007.  Accessed May 30, 2007.<br />(d) Iain Murray, "[http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MjhkYTlmYjljMmJlMzU5Y2IxOGM3ZWM3YzZkNzFiNGE ''Silent'' Alarmism: A Centennial We Could Do Without]", ''National Review'', May 31, 2007.  Accessed May 31, 2007.</ref> For example, the conservative magazine ''[[Human Events]]'' gave ''Silent Spring'' an honorable mention for the "Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries,"<ref name="most_harmful">[http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=7591 Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centuries], accessed August 24, 2007</ref> and in 2002, to mark its 40 anniversary, [[Reason (magazine)|Reason Magazine]] published an essay by economist [[Ronald Bailey]], a former fellow with the [[libertarian]] [[Competitive Enterprise Institute]].<ref>[http://www.reason.org/bailey.shtml "Ron Bailey bio"]</ref> Both the Reason Foundation and the CEI have received substantial funding from corporations in regulated industries.<ref>[http://www.ewg.org/node/7978?title=George W. Bush's Anti-Environmental Advisors]</ref><ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/23/AR2006052301305.html?title=The Tempest]</ref> Bailey argued that the book had a mixed legacy:
 
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<blockquote>The book did point to problems that had not been adequately addressed, such as the effects of DDT on some wildlife. And given the state of the science at the time she wrote, one might even make the case that Carson's concerns about the effects of synthetic chemicals on human health were not completely unwarranted. Along with other researchers, she was simply ignorant of the facts. But after four decades in which tens of billions of dollars have been wasted chasing imaginary risks without measurably improving American health, her intellectual descendants don't have the same excuse.<ref>[http://www.reason.com/news/show/34823.html "Silent Spring at 40"], [[Ronald Bailey]], ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]'', June 12, 2002</ref></blockquote>
 
−
 
 
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Some environmentalists consider this latter day criticism of ''Silent Spring'' and Rachel Carson and concomitant push for DDT to be an industry sponsored strategy to discredit the environmental movement.<ref>[http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3186 ''Rachel Carson, Mass Murderer?: The creation of an anti-environmental myth.''] Aaron Swartz, ''Extra!'', September/October, 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/06/29/rachel_carson/ ''Rachel Carson's Birthday Bashing''], Kirsten Weir, [http://www.salon.com Salon.com], June 29, 2007.</ref><ref>[[David Roberts (journalist)|David Roberts]], "[http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/5/23/17433/0674 My one and only post on the Rachel Carson nonsense]" Grist.com, May 24, 2007. Accessed September 23, 2007.</ref> For example, Monica Moore of Pesticide Action Network has argued that "Renewed promotion of DDT and attacks on those who would limit its use isn’t about malaria, or even DDT. It is a cynical “better living through chemistry” campaign intended to discredit the environmental health movement, with support from the Bush administration and others who seek nothing less than the dismantling of health and environmental protections."<ref>Monica Moore, "[http://panna.org/magazine/fall2006/index.html First Words]", ''PAN Magazine'', Fall 2006. Accessed September 23, 2007.</ref>.
 
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==See also==
 
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* [[Bioaccumulation]] and [[biomagnification]]
 
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* [[Toxins]]
 
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
−
<references/>
 
−
 
−
==Sources==
 
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*Carson, Rachel. ''Silent Spring'' (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1962), Mariner Books, 2002, ISBN 0-618-24906-0
 
−
**''Silent Spring'' initially appeared serialized in three parts in the [[June 16]], [[June 23]], and [[June 30]], [[1962]] issues of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' magazine
 
−
*Graham, Frank. ''Since Silent Spring'' (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1970), Fawcett 1976 reprint: ISBN 0-449-23141-0
 
−
*''Silent Spring Revisited'', [[American Chemical Society]], 1986: ISBN 0-317-59798-1, 1987: ISBN 0-8412-0981-2
 
−
*Litmans, Brian and Jeff Miller, ''Silent Spring Revisited: Pesticide Use And Endangered Species'', Diane Publishing Co., 2004, ISBN 0-7567-4439-3 (67 p.)
 
−
* Lear, Linda. ''Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature.'' New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1997, Owl Books paperback 1998: ISBN 0-8050-3428-5
 
−
* Murphy, Priscilla Coit, ''What A Book Can Do: The Publication and Reception of Silent Spring'', University of Massachusetts Press, 2005, ISBN 1-55849-476-6
 
−
*United States Environmental Protection Agency [http://www.epa.gov/pbt/pubs/ddt.htm "What is DDT?"] retrieved [[April 26]], [[2006]]
 
−
*[http://www.nsc.org/library/chemical/ddt.htm 'DDT Chemical Backgrounder', ''National Safety Council''] Retrieved [[May 30]] [[2005]]
 
−
*''Report on Carcinogens'', Fifth Edition; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Toxicology Program (1999).
 
−
 
−
==External links==
 
−
 
−
*[http://rcbookclub.blogspot.com/ Rachel Carson Online Book Club]
 
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*[http://www.rachelcarsoncouncil.com/ The Rachel Carson Council]
 
−
*[http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Rachel-Carson-Silent-Spring.htm ''New York Times'' report of chemical industry's campaign] July 22, 1962
 
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*[http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/10/05/reviews/carson-spring.html?_r=1&oref=slogin ''New York Times'' book review] September 23, 1962
 
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*[http://info-pollution.com/spring.htm Jim Norton, "Silencing ''Silent Spring'']
 
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*[http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/hcarson.asp Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): The Story of Silent Spring] &mdash; [[NRDC]]
 
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*[http://www.mansionbooks.com/BookDetail.php?bk=210 Photos of the first edition of Silent Spring]
 
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[[Category:1962 books]]
 
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[[Category:Pesticides]]
 
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[[Category:Environmental non-fiction books]]
 
  
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[[ca:Primavera Silenciosa]]
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[[Category:Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book|{{SUBPAGENAME}}]]
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[[de:Der stumme Frühling]]
 
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[[ko:침묵의 봄]]
 
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[[he:אביב דומם]]
 
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[[ja:沈黙の春]]
 
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[[simple:Silent Spring]]
 
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[[fi:Äänetön kevät]]
 
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[[sv:Tyst vår]]
 
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[[tr:Sessiz Bahar]]
 
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[[zh:寂静的春天]]
 

Revision as of 01:53, 9 February 2008

Template:Honor header Template:AY Master

1. What is the difference between ecology and environmental conservation?

Ecology
Is defined as "the study of how organisms interact with each other and their physical environment."
Environmental conservation
Is defined as "the rational use of the environment to provide the highest sustainable quality of living for humanity."

2. Write a 500 word essay on how the increase in human population is threatening our existence on earth.

The most important threat to our existence on earth today is that of global warming. The human activity that has the greatest effect on warming is the release of greenhouse gases such as C02. For your research into this issue, see the following Wikipedia articles:

Other factors include Overpopulation and Deforestation. Can you think of others?

3. What does the term “death” of a lake or river mean? Is there a lake or river in your area or country which is classified as “dead”?

The death of a lake or river is said to occur when it becomes so polluted that it can no longer support life (such as fish, turtles, crustaceans, etc). The most famous dead river is probably the Cuyahoga River in Ohio which actually caught on fire many times, helping to spur the environmental movement in the late 1960s.

Fires plagued the Cuyahoga beginning in 1936 when a spark from a blow torch ignited floating debris and oils. Fires erupted on the river several more times before June 22, 1969, when a river fire captured the attention of Time magazine, which described the Cuyahoga as the river that "oozes rather than flows" and in which a person "does not drown but decays."

This event helped spur an avalanche of pollution control activities resulting in the Clean Water Act, Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, and the creation of the federal and state Environmental Protection Agency. As a result, large point sources of pollution on the Cuyahoga have received significant attention from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in recent decades.

Water quality has improved and, in recognition of this improvement, the Cuyahoga River was designated as one of 14 American Heritage Rivers in 1998. Pollution remains, however, including nonpoint source problems, Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), and stagnation due to water impounded by dams. For this reason, the Environmental Protection Agency classified portions of the Cuyahoga River Watershed as one of 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern.

4. Carry out a stream investigation of a small stream flowing through or near your home town. Check for the following:

a. Signs of Purity

  • Minnow up close2.jpg

    (1) Abundance of small fish present

  • (2) Water visually clear and fresh smelling

  • (3) Stream banks covered with vegetation down to water's edge.

  • (4) Small amounts of green algae in water (light green in color)

  • (5) Some aquatic plants present, such as cattails, arrow-leaf, or pickerel weed.

  • (6) Turtles present in the stream

  • (7) Crayfish under stones in the stream

  • (8) Sandbars covered with growing weeds indicating relatively stable water level

b. Signs of Stream Deterioration and Death

  • (1) Large masses of blue-green algae present (dark green in color)

  • (2) Scoured banks from high water level during storms

  • (3) Putrid smell of the water

  • (4) Detergent foam present

  • (5) Trash sticking out of mud and sand bars along the stream

  • (6) Water loaded with silt

  • (7) No aquatic insects or fish present

  • (8) Presence of raw sewage

  • (9) Presence of oil on the surface of the water

  • (10) No salamanders or frogs under rocks along stream bank

  • (11) Stores or small factories dumping their wastes into the stream

5. If your stream is showing some of the above signs of death, do something about cleaning it up. Contact the closest government agency to ask what you and/or your group can do to help improve the stream. Organize a group of young people to help in cleaning the trash along your stream. If possible, get businesses to help in your campaign.

In the United States, environmental protection is managed by the government at all levels: local, state, and federal. It will be much easier to contact local or state officials rather than federal officials. Check the phone directory under "Environmental Protection" or search the Internet to find contact information for the agency in your area. If you are having difficulty finding the government body responsible for this in your area, try contacting a local paddling club, The American Canoe Association, or American Whitewater. These associations have a vested interest in clean rivers and streams (that's their playground!) and often organize river clean-up projects. They will be able to get you on a project, put you in touch with the most responsive government body, and recommend local businesses that are responsive to environmental conservation.

6. Make a visit to the city or county trash dump to see how this waste is handled. Find out the following:
a. How many tons of trash are dumped daily? Yearly?
b. What attempts are made to recycle any of this trash?
c. Is any of the trash burned or is all of it buried?
d. What is the cost per person per year for handling the trash?
e. What happens to junked autos in your area?

Once you have made contact with the local government, they will be able to tell you how to get in touch with the solid waste management authority (if you don't know already). It could be that the government body you have been working with is the same one responsible for solid waste management. If this is the case, you previous efforts with them will pay another dividend - they will be eager to arrange a visit. You may also opt to contact the dump facility yourself and make arrangements for your visit.

7. Make a visit to the nearest sewage plant. Draw and label a detailed diagram of what happens to the liquid and solid wastes from the time they come into the plant until they leave. In what form do they leave? Is any further use made of this waste?

Again, you have an opportunity to use the contact you established with the local government. In most municipalities, the department responsible for the sewage plant is the same as the one responsible for the water plant. Make arrangement for both visits (see requirement 8) at the same time. Make sure to bring paper, pencil, and clipboards, and let the plant manager know ahead of time what questions you will be asking so that they can prepare.

8. Visit the nearest water purification plant. Construct a flow diagram of the steps in water purification from the time the water enters the plant until it leaves for distribution to homes and stores. Through reading and discussion with water works officials, determine whether water resources in the future are going to be enough to meet the demand.

See the answers to requirement 7 for more information.

9. Read and write a book report on an environment issues book such as Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

10. What are rare and endangered species? Determine what efforts are being put forth to protect such species in your area. What can you do to help? Write a 300-500 word paper on your ideas.

References

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