Jack Harwood

Current Event 1

Wines, Michael. "Toxic Algae Outbreak Overwhelms a Polluted Ohio River." The New York Times. The New York Times, 30 Sept. 2015. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/01/us/toxic-algae-outbreak-overwhelms-a-polluted-ohio-river.html?module=WatchingPortal&region=c-column-middle-span-region&pgType=Homepage&action=click&mediaId=wide&state=standard&contentPlacement=3&version=internal&contentCollection=www.nytimes.com&contentId=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2015%2F10%2F01%2Fus%2Ftoxic-algae-outbreak-overwhelms-a-polluted-ohio-river.html&eventName=Watching-article-click&_r=1

The article, “Toxic Algae Outbreak Overwhelms a Polluted Ohio River” talks about how an invasive type of algae is covering nearly two thirds (636 miles) of the Ohio River. This outbreak has prevented boating, swimming, and it has put water utilities on high alert to make sure the quality of water is safe. This specific algae is highly toxic and has been known to cause diarrhea, vomiting, liver damage, and it has been known to kill most animals who are unfortunate enough to drink the water. The cause of the algae outbreak is from enormous amounts of phosphates and nitrates being flushed into the river from nearby farms with fertilized fields. Phosphorus and nitrogen are two main elements that aid to the growth of plants. Scientists are still trying to figure out why this algae growth has been so incredible and impactful, “It’s still something we are investigating,” Richard Harrison, the executive director of the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, said.

This outbreak is having a very large impact on society. As one could imagine, it is making the water sanitation companies work a lot harder to ensure stable and adequate drinking water for the public. Aside from the short term impact, the algae outbreak will create hypoxic zones (lack of oxygen). When the algae dies, decomposers use lots of oxygen to break down the dead species. Also, the algae continues to plague waters across the country. This also occurred in western Lake Erie.

I thought the article was very well written and it was very clear in showing what exactly was happening with the algae. I felt that it was very genuine and interesting although I wish that they could have included more quotes because this makes the facts more astute if you have an expert on the topic telling you about it. Overall it was a very clear and concise article which interested me greatly.