Pollution In The Great Lakes Essay

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I am scientist Alexa Andanar. For my 45 years of existence, I’ve been living on the Canadian coast of Lake Ontario and I’ve seen its drastic environmental change. As a scientist, I’m very concerned about the changes in our environment, especially in Canada, as these changes slowly kill our home. Therefore, I am writing here today to make you see the horrible situation of the Great Lakes now. Pollution in the Great Lakes is one problem it’s currently facing at the moment. Not only does it affect marine life and the species living in the lakes, but also the people living near the lakes. Pollutants, trash and chemicals have been senselessly thrown into these lakes. Marine species are dying because toxic chemicals like DDT are spreading. Because species are dying, the ecosystem in the Great Lakes is affected, breaking the food chain and therefore causing other species to die. For humans, the water from the lakes is now undrinkable being dark, polluted, contaminated. What seemed to be fresh and potable water is now citizens’ worst nightmare, often caused by point-source pollution, which comes from drainage pipes from factories. The lakes also contain bacteria like Enterococcus and E.Coli, which come from sewages. If left…show more content…
Did you know that in the Great Lakes, there are more than 185 invasive species? These invasive species vary from Sea Lampreys, Asian Carp, Alewives, and Zebra Mussels. Zebra Mussels, coming from the ships’ ballast tanks, are a problem because they take away the food of native species, reduce the population of native mussels and clog many pipes. Another invasive species is the Asian Carp, which destroys the food web and is dangerous to the Great Lakes ecosystem. They compete with native species for food such as plankton, and without the plankton around, native species don’t have food to eat. They also cause injuries when they jump out of the water and attack

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