Love Canal Essay, Research Paper

Problems in the Great lakes

The film Great Lakes Bitter Legacy made a lasting impression on myself. And is making a larger impact on the wildlife and communities surrounding the Great Lakes. I never understood what devastating results could be generated from chemical dumping. Pollutants like plant fertilizers, PCB s, DDT s, and POP s were dumped with complete disregard to the environment. Shocking evidence was found that fish, birds, humans, and other wildlife have been affected. In my opinion all effects must be taken seriously. Topics that really caught my attention are the effects on the bald eagles, lake trout, and humans.

Wildlife on the lakes is the most vulnerable to these contaminates. With these pollutions it effects about all wildlife in the area in some way or another. The Bald Eagle, for instance, has found to be very scarce surround the area. Experts predict the life of the eagle was dramatically lowered, almost cut in half. The eagles were found to have as much as nine times higher concentration of toxicants in their blood stream compared to eagles living more inland. Even more directly affected in the Great Lakes are lake trout. Sediments in the lake were found to contain high levels of PCB s. The effects of these pollutants shocked me. The majority of young trout do not even have a chance to survive. PCB levels were so high that the trout were not able to surface to the top. Trout were born only to die shortly after, not having a chance to fill their swim gland with oxygen.

Lake contaminates have also taken a toll on humans. Most affected are women of childbearing age, infants, and children under the age of 15 who have consumed Great Lakes fish. An advisory stated that fish over twenty-five pounds should not be eaten. Experiments, which included rats and infants, were conducted and results were compelling. The rats showed signs of extreme stress and so did their offspring. The children were smaller in size and memory lost was noticed, compared to women that had not eaten Great Lake fish during pregnancy. Infants were not as interested with new things, and showed signs of slight learning disabilities. I found these results terrifying!

With the information given in this film I can only hope for the best. Which is not very much because damage is very extensive. The devastation that has been caused is unfixable and has scared the environment. People cannot just blame one person, business, or cause for this mistake. Humans taking advantage of natural resources made this problem over time. In the end wildlife and humans will be feeling the effects of this disaster for generations to come.