Farmers want all of us to ignore their horrible pollution of GLSM but they will NOT reciprocate any caring about all who are suffering because of the pollution. The Bible says we should love our neighbor which does not mean dump uncontrolled amounts of manure into our lake which creates health problems, people losing their retirement investments and home values, jobs being lost, businesses being lost and tens of millions of dollars in tourism dollars. When is enough for people around GLSM before they stand up to this miscarriage of justice. The Bible is not for picking the parts you like and ignoring the parts you don't.
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Joe really points out the problem with the infestation of Cyanobacteria and who knows what else, in our drinking water sources at GLSM and Lake Erie. Our legislators do not have the will to fix the problem and the agriculture industry hides behind their lack of courage. After all if you get that kind of protection why not pollute? Bottom line if it is going to cost the polluters money to abate their BMP's(bad management practices) then the rest of the people can just suffer through their lack of Quality of life!
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Ohio's poison water Monday, March 28, 2016 6:34 PM
The Columbus Dispatch | Apr 04, 2016
Pardon me for shouting, but I’ve just read a study that makes a point I want to emphasize:
WE’RE CHOKING LAKE ERIE WITH FERTILIZER AND MANURE!
There, I feel better already. Actually, no I don’t.
I live in Ohio, whose political leaders just can’t seem to get excited about the fact that the state has poisonous water. Come on, people: You’re supposed to be calm in a crisis, not inert.
Last week, a study conducted by six universities, including Ohio State, concluded that big changes in farming practices are necessary to stop the lake’s western basin from turning green with toxic algae every summer. (Read it at graham.umich.edu/water if you don’t mind dry, technical prose.)
The algae is fed by phosphorous, a component of fertilizers and manure that pour into Lake Erie via the Maumee River.
The agriculture industry is already complaining that the study focused too much on agriculture. Perhaps this paragraph from the study explains why:
“While all sources are important, our focus is on agriculture because it overwhelms other sources. For example, approximately 98% of (phosphorous) input to the Maumee watershed comes from agricultural sources, and a conservative estimate shows that 85% of the Maumee River’s load to Lake Erie comes from farm fertilizers and manures.”
The study says that to meet the target of cutting phosphorous by 40 percent (agreed to in a U.S.-Canada pact) would require some unpalatable remedies, such as converting a lot of farmland to grassland. Even the study authors say that’s unrealistic.
Changes in agricultural practices that cut runoff without hobbling a vital industry are the only way to go. But someone has to force the issue because a voluntary effort hasn’t worked.
The problem isn’t confined to Lake Erie.
Buckeye Lake, Grand Lake St. Marys and the Ohio River have all had algae blooms. Last summer, toxic algae was found in untreated water at a Columbus treatment plant. Two years ago, 400,000 people in the Toledo area couldn’t drink their tap water because of algae contamination.
I think even the small-government ideologues in the legislature would find it hard to deny that the state has a duty to protect a resource as valuable as Lake Erie, with its fishing, boating, hotel, restaurant and recreation industries.
When are they going to do it?
Their inaction sends a message. Here it is:
“Until further notice, we’ve decided to keep the manure and fertilizer flowing. True, we are in effect telling one industry to go ahead and pollute in a way that threatens the well-being of several others. But that’s politics. Have a blooming good summer.”
Joe Blundo is a Dispatch columnist.
jblundo@dispatch.com
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Joe really points out the problem with the infestation of Cyanobacteria and who knows what else, in our drinking water sources at GLSM and Lake Erie. Our legislators do not have the will to fix the problem and the agriculture industry hides behind their lack of courage. After all if you get that kind of protection why not pollute? Bottom line if it is going to cost the polluters money to abate their BMP's(bad management practices) then the rest of the people can just suffer through their lack of Quality of life!
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Ohio's poison water Monday, March 28, 2016 6:34 PM
The Columbus Dispatch | Apr 04, 2016
Pardon me for shouting, but I’ve just read a study that makes a point I want to emphasize:
WE’RE CHOKING LAKE ERIE WITH FERTILIZER AND MANURE!
There, I feel better already. Actually, no I don’t.
I live in Ohio, whose political leaders just can’t seem to get excited about the fact that the state has poisonous water. Come on, people: You’re supposed to be calm in a crisis, not inert.
Last week, a study conducted by six universities, including Ohio State, concluded that big changes in farming practices are necessary to stop the lake’s western basin from turning green with toxic algae every summer. (Read it at graham.umich.edu/water if you don’t mind dry, technical prose.)
The algae is fed by phosphorous, a component of fertilizers and manure that pour into Lake Erie via the Maumee River.
The agriculture industry is already complaining that the study focused too much on agriculture. Perhaps this paragraph from the study explains why:
“While all sources are important, our focus is on agriculture because it overwhelms other sources. For example, approximately 98% of (phosphorous) input to the Maumee watershed comes from agricultural sources, and a conservative estimate shows that 85% of the Maumee River’s load to Lake Erie comes from farm fertilizers and manures.”
The study says that to meet the target of cutting phosphorous by 40 percent (agreed to in a U.S.-Canada pact) would require some unpalatable remedies, such as converting a lot of farmland to grassland. Even the study authors say that’s unrealistic.
Changes in agricultural practices that cut runoff without hobbling a vital industry are the only way to go. But someone has to force the issue because a voluntary effort hasn’t worked.
The problem isn’t confined to Lake Erie.
Buckeye Lake, Grand Lake St. Marys and the Ohio River have all had algae blooms. Last summer, toxic algae was found in untreated water at a Columbus treatment plant. Two years ago, 400,000 people in the Toledo area couldn’t drink their tap water because of algae contamination.
I think even the small-government ideologues in the legislature would find it hard to deny that the state has a duty to protect a resource as valuable as Lake Erie, with its fishing, boating, hotel, restaurant and recreation industries.
When are they going to do it?
Their inaction sends a message. Here it is:
“Until further notice, we’ve decided to keep the manure and fertilizer flowing. True, we are in effect telling one industry to go ahead and pollute in a way that threatens the well-being of several others. But that’s politics. Have a blooming good summer.”
Joe Blundo is a Dispatch columnist.
jblundo@dispatch.com