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| hello, my name is Todd Yester and i am part of the three rivers of muskies inc. I'm in my senior year of high school and i have to do a project on water pollution. I have some question i need to ask some people if you would please answer them. They have to be rated from 1 to 5. 1 is strongly agree and 5 is strongly disagree. Here they are.
1. Water pollution effects the fish habitat?
2. Water pollution kills fish?
3. People who pollute waterways should be fined excessively?
4. People who pollute should do community service if caught?
5. Water pollution is getting worse and worse, year by year?
6. water pollution is a problem on every body of water?
7. There should be a coulpe of rangers on every lake scoping out the water for polluters?
Thanks, and may the lines be screaming |
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Posts: 32884
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | 1.--1
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To address questions 4,5, and 7:
Community service is embarrassing, perhaps even educational, but does nothing to correct or rectify the pollution the person caught is responsible for. Fines, VERY stiff fines, as allowed by current EPA regulations, should be handed down by the Court, and that money applied to correcting the pollution as much as is possible.
Some bodies of water are actually improving every year now that this has become a politically charged hotbutton issue. Lake Erie is a great example. A few years back it was literally a 'dead' lake, while now it supports a tremendous fishery and improving conditions. While some waters are declining, others are doing much better because of the elimination of the source of many pollutants. It's a mixed success story at this point.
There is absolutely no chance of a budget for the number of water quality specialists that would take. We, as fishermen and women, can help by alerting authorities to any pollution we see occurring, as I am sure the DNR Wardens do.
My humble opinion. Thanks for the questions! |
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | 1. 1
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| hey todd,
have fun with your project. after watching the "caught cheating" expose on PrimeTime tonight, just make sure you credit all your sources!!! i'm sure you will.
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a couple of comments: "polluting" is a pretty broad concept. is it a bad thing for people to throw a pop can or fishing line trimmings overboard? yes. should there be "rangers" slapping fines on them? no. in my opinion, this kind of nuisance pollution has greatly decreased. the best way to change the actions of individuals is through broad educational efforts, ie., "hey, pollution is bad so please don't throw trash in the lake." this is the kind of effort that has been effective in many areas - for example catch and release while muskie fishing. it didn't take "muskie rangers" to get this happening, just lots of convincing and education. i think the majority of boaters/fisherpersons understand this concept. does lots of garbage get into a waterway in a major metro area? yes. but likely not from water users.
the real problem pollution is with major polluters - heavy industry, etc. who have the capacity to alter an environment: mercury, toxins, chemicals...is community service the answer for them? no. are multi-million dollar reparation fines and cleanup costs (for example, like in the Exxon Valdez spill) or daily out-of-compliance fines a way to force a money-making business to comply? yes. hit 'em where it hurts.
-m |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | 1. Water pollution effects the fish habitat? 1
2. Water pollution kills fish? 1
3. People who pollute waterways should be fined excessively? 3
4. People who pollute should do community service if caught? 2
5. Water pollution is getting worse and worse, year by year? 4
6. water pollution is a problem on every body of water? 3
7. There should be a coulpe of rangers on every lake scoping out the water for polluters? 2
I work for a state EPA, so a couple comments:
Q.1. I've seen the results of large fish kills from pollution and yes, it does have lasting effects.
Q2. A million and a half fish who used to live in the Ohio River can't be wrong!
Q3. "excessively" is a relative term. They should be fined in a manner that makes it cheaper to comply with the law than to pollute, and to take away any competitive advantage they gained by not following the law in the first place.
Q.4. Sometimes the judges just send them to jail, which is even a better deterrent. I've seen judges require the polluter to pay for ads in local papers describing their deeds and warning others not to do the same. That seems to help too since we can't catch everyone.
Q.5. "Pollution" is a very general term. Because we as a nation are moving away from heavy industry and more toward service oriented jobs, pollution overall is lower than in the 50's and 60's. Construction of anit-pollution devices and cleanup of old toxic waste sites has created many new jobs.
Q. 6. Every water has been impacted in some way, either by direct discharges, contaminated storm water runoff, or acidic rainfall; mercury deposition in otherwise pristine waters from rainfall is an increasing problem.
Q7. Everyone can be an anit-pollution ranger: if you see what might be a problem, call and report it.
Good luck, and please consider the environmental fields in your career choices. m |
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Posts: 1310
Location: Washington, PA | 1. 1
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I've seen many fish kills resulting from the lasting effects of acid mine drainage. The big problem is that the mines and companies that polluted them are no longer around to punish. |
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