Eutrophication, Cyanobacteria, and Cyanotoxins Newsletters

Microcystis   aeruginosa  ( Natural History Museum, London, England) From the Mainstream Media / Dans les médias grand public “uPcycle”: Towards a sustainable phosphorus future for freshwater and coastal ecosystems. “uPcycle will develop a new scalable approach for nature-positive sustainable phosphorus management. This approach will champion re-use and recycling innovations to address biodiversity loss, water quality degradation and societal impacts across freshwater and coastal ecosystems.” United Kingdom : Government response to the Nutrient Management Expert Group report: Improving policy and practice for agricultural nutrient use and management “We are continually looking at improving our policy response to tackle pollution from nutrient management and the wider impacts that nutrients can have on the environment and society.” Sustainable Lake Management Concept wins Frontiers Planet Prize “The authors explore the complex topic of sustainable lake managemen...

From the Mainstream Media / Dans les médias grand public Sweden : Nutrient load from horse farms should be included in eutrophication work “Research shows that nutrient leaching from horse farms can significantly increase phosphorus and nitrogen levels in nearby water bodies.” Vermont, USA : State to remove Lake Carmi aeration system after determining it made cyanobacteria blooms worse “Officials found it had “unintended consequences” of mixing phosphorus-rich bottom water with the rest of the lake.” Great Britain : Why polluted water held up 16,000 new homes "Stopping a pig farmer at a very sensitive site enabled us to make a huge saving in the amount of nutrients that end up in the river and we were able to mitigate for around 1,200 new homes." Florida, USA : Stuart, 5 nonprofits urge EPA to set toxic algae standard as FL ignores water quality laws “The city of Stuart, the nonprofit Friends of the Everglades and four other environmental advocacy organiza...

From the Mainstream Media / Dans les médias grand public Lakes Worldwide Need a Checkup “Some lake health symptoms, such as algal blooms, fish kills, and floating pollution, are readily visible via processes like satellite observation. But other concerns can be revealed only with diagnostic tests, which, like diagnostic tests for humans, can be expensive.” Great Britain : Tourist influx turns Windermere green, researchers say “Windermere is England's largest lake and one of the country's most popular natural attractions. High visitor numbers are turning one of Britain's most scenic lakes green, researchers say.” Lethal cyanobacteria are creeping into rivers—no one knows exactly why “Anatoxin-a is a fast-acting small molecule that causes sudden death as the toxin travels directly from the stomach into the bloodstream.” Podcast : AgEmerge: with Chris Jones, author of The Swine Republic, Struggles with Truth About Agriculture and Water Quality “Today he and...

From the Mainstream Media / Dans les médias grand public Taiwan : Nine reservoirs eutrophic “A record nine of Taiwan’s 20 major reservoirs produced eutrophic quality water last year, statistics from the Ministry of Environment showed.” USA : Chesapeake Bay restoration leaders, advocates divided on best path forward “No one disputes that the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus should be reduced. In the Bay, they spur algae blooms and lead to oxygen-starved “dead zones.” They also trigger blooms in rivers and streams, including some that produce toxins harmful to people and wildlife.” Across Farm Country, Fertilizer Pollution Impacts Not Just Health, but Water Costs, Too “Overuse of fertilizer means nitrates are on the rise in water supplies, and rural areas bear the brunt.” New Hampshire, USA : Protecting NH Lakes: $1 Million in Funding to Prevent Cyanobacteria Blooms “To date, cyanobacteria blooms have been documented in 113 waterbodies statewide and account for 64 wa...

From the Mainstream Media / Dans les médias grand public Canada: L’avenir de la gestion de l’eau douce au Canada « La vision de cette nouvelle agence fédérale, dont le siège sera situé à Winnipeg, au Manitoba, est de veiller à ce que les ressources en eau douce restent sûres, propres et bien gérées pour aujourd’hui et les générations futures. » Canada: The future of freshwater management in Canada “The vision for the new federal agency—to be headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba—is to ensure freshwater resources are kept safe, clean, and well-managed for today and for future generations.” The Netherlands: Layers Of Responsibility For Dutch Nitrogen Pollution “Nitrogen is used in chemical fertilizers to produce the soy that, in turn, is fed to livestock. The combined feces and urine of animals that are crowded into barns leads to more nitrogen, which evaporates as atmospheric ammonia. There’s simply not enough space for all the manure.” Wisconsin, USA: Wiscon...

From the Mainstream Media / Dans les médias grand public “It’s getting worse” – US failing to stem tide of harmful farm pollutants “The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has called nutrient pollution “the single greatest challenge to our nation’s water quality,” and acknowledges that much of the nutrient pollution flowing into the northern Gulf originates on agricultural land.” Government agencies “tell you they are spending all this money, therefore they must be doing something right,” she said. “But if you look at water quality data, at what’s really happening, it’s getting worse, not better.” Video : Here’s What All the Earth’s Water Looks Like In One Sphere “2/3 of the planet’s surface is covered in water - but if you took every drop and formed it into a single ball, how big would it be? The answer may surprise you.” How Industrial Agriculture Affects Our Water “Water pollution from industrial agriculture, including CAFO...

From the Mainstream Media / Dans les médias grand public United Kingdom : Fears for river pollution as UK ditches EU farming rules after Brexit “As of 1 January 2024, British farmers will no longer have to follow EU regulations on reducing agricultural runoff into rivers, or a series of other measures designed to promote good environmental practices.” Algae, Aerosols, and Asthma Researchers recently found evidence that airway exposure to the algal toxin microcystin can create an inflammatory response in lungs that is exacerbated in experimental models of asthma. Michigan, USA : MSU ‘Edge-of-Field’ research hopes to turn the tide in water quality “They are examining the effectiveness of a water management system — controlled drainage — to see how it is best implemented and how effective this system is at keeping nutrients in fields rather than draining into surrounding waterways where they can create harmful algae blooms.” Discussing the environmental impacts of zero l...