Great Lakes: Lasting effects of human activity

Another example of how human activity is affecting the environment over long-term periods.

Two industrial pollutants have been found in carp in the eastern part of Lake Erie. Reasearchers from New York institutions recorded levels of PCBs and PBDEs in all of the 18 fish sampled. An article from Science Daily mentions that both of these contaminants can disrupt the endocrine system in these fish.

This study shows that human activity does indeed have long-term effects on the environment. The article from Science Daily mentions that one of these pollutants hasn’t been produced since 1979, but is still detected in the Great Lakes.

Clean-up of the lakes needs to start soon. If there are pollutants in one part of the lake, what’s to stop them from spreading to other areas? Society needs to pay attention to this and learn how it affects the environment overall. Waste disposal will hang around, even if we don’t see it.

On top of contaminants in the fish, who’s to say contaminants won’t start polluting the water to dangerous levels if things don’t change?

It’s up to society and the government to realize that these lakes are a precious resource. The Great Lakes affect many aspects of the environment, including weather, climate, and surrounding habitats. They are large bodies of water but can still be considered fragile when it comes to pollution and contaminants.

These lakes, as well as freshwater sources around the globe, need to be cleaned up and protected.