According to the Washington Post, researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science have found the Chesapeake Bay is showing signs of recovering from its pollution problem.
Researchers specifically noted that they have found that oxygen-depleted dead zones, polluted areas that cannot support animal or plant life, have continued to decrease since nutrient pollution limits were established in the 1980s. Here are some facts about the Chesapeake Bay and efforts to clean it up pollution:
* According to the Chesapeake Bay Program, the Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the U.S.
* The Bay holds more than 15 trillion gallons of water and is very shallow with an average depth of about 21 feet.
* It is also home to more than 3,600 species of plants, animals, and fish and it produces about 500 million pounds of seafood every single year.
* Additionally, the Bay is about 200 miles long and has a surface area of 125 billion square feet (about 4,480 square miles).
* The Chesapeake Bay has suffered from major water quality issues, especially nitrogen pollution, reported the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
* The bay was at its healthiest state in the 1600s, but since then human development, including farms, cities, factories, and suburbs, has caused massive amounts of pollution runoff into the waters.
* The number one source of nitrogen pollution of the Bay comes directly from runoff from agricultural operations, which contributes 40 percent of nitrogen and 50 percent of phosphorus runoff.
* According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Chesapeake Bay agreement was finalized in 1987.
* The historic and landmark agreement outlined efforts to help restore and protect the bay's fragile ecosystems, including wildlife, that had been impacted by heavy pollution throughout the past decades.
* There has been recent controversy over the EPA's plans for nutrient management of the bay, reported the Voice of Agriculture.
* Critics of the EPA's plans claim that the management model is undermining the public's confidence and would force farmers and other stakeholders in the Chesapeake Bay to spend what little resources they have on poorly-directed conservation efforts.
* Newsleader reported that on Friday, members of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry argued with the EPA over their nutrient management plans and the science and effectiveness of it.
* The EPA responded to the criticism by saying that it does coincide with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's study on nutrient and sediment runoff from farms into the Chesapeake Bay's waters.
Rachel Bogart provides an in-depth look at current environmental issues and local Chicago news stories. As a college student from the Chicago suburbs pursuing two science degrees, she applies her knowledge and passion to both topics to garner further public awareness.
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