Freshwater Ecosystems | Blue Living Ideas

Klamath Water Woes: Drought Conditions Pit Farmers Against Fish Again

Posted on Mar 11, 2010 by Jennifer Lance.

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The Klamath Basin and the water that flows out of it from Oregon to California have been a point of contention between environmentalists and farmers over the past century. Dam removal now seems imminent, yet the water woes have not ended for the region. Facing drought conditions, Klamath Lake is currently 12 inches below its lowest level recorded in 1992.
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Atrazine in Tap Water Chemically Castrates Frogs

Posted on Mar 04, 2010 by Jennifer Lance.

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Atrazine is a common herbicide used in agriculture around the world for 50 years. The National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) found atrazine present in “75 percent of stream water and about 40 percent of all groundwater samples,” as well as 90 percent of tap water sampled. Recent research conducted at the University of California at Berkeley has found atrazine actually “castrates” frogs at amounts similar to those found in tap water and considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
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EPA Action Plan for Great Lakes Funded at $475 Million per Year

Posted on Mar 01, 2010 by Scott James.

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Last year President Obama, who knows the Great Lakes well having started his political career in Chicago, proposed a clean-up plan for the Great Lakes. This week the EPA met with governors of Great Lakes border-states to outline an “action plan” for 2010 through 2014 that focuses on eliminating invasive species, cleaning up pollution and remediating wetlands. The action plan will provide $475 million per year in funding for improving the Great Lakes ecosystem, and Obama added another $300 million to the program for next fiscal year.
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Lower Danube Exceeds Green Corridor Targets

Posted on Feb 24, 2010 by Scott James.

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It’s great to hear a green success story when so much of the news around the world is grim about the health of Earth’s water and wetlands. An ambitious wetland protection and restoration program for Europe’s Lower Danube River is just such good news- the project to create a “green corridor” along the entire length of the Lower Danube is ahead of targets. The Lower Danube Green Corridor Declaration was signed in 2000 by environment ministers from Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Moldova. Overall, the Declaration planned to increase protection for 775,000 hectares of existing protected areas and protect an additional 160,000 hectares. And it’s working.
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Lake Chad Recognized as a Wetland of International Importance

Posted on Feb 09, 2010 by Scott James.

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In a world where governments, borders and legislation have everything to do with how our natural resources are treated, it’s cause for celebration when an important body of water in a dry area shared by four countries is recognized as worth protecting. On World Wetlands Day (February 2) 2010, the Cameroon Republic declared its portion of Lake Chad, Africa’s fourth largest lake, a wetland of international importance under the 1971 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Similar declarations were made by the other 3 countries that share Lake Chad as a boundary and water source: Niger and Chad in 2001 and Nigeria in 2008.
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