Illinois Water Pollution
Created by: Kathryn Mayes
Overview
Throughout our nation we see a higher and higher percent of environmental issues daily. We see litter being thrown on the ground and landfills getting so large that we have to create another one double the size. This problem does not just happen in Illinois, but this flyer will help explain the problems, then maybe give some solutions to how we can make Illinois a Green State.
I will go over:
- Saving the Rivers
- Lake Michigan
- Healthy Farming
- BOW (Bureau of Water)
Saving the Rivers
As we all know, there are farms that pollute the rivers with animal and crop waste. Chemicals are being pumped into the very water that we drink out of. We must act now to stop these catastrophic doings (Environment of Illinois). By threatening our rivers we risk one of the greatest factors of our lives. The Mississippi river all the way to Wabash and all of the rivers in between play a huge role in our every day life. Pollution can cause algae blooms, dead zones, can harm wildlife, and more. It puts our bodies at risk with the chemicals we put in it when we drink our daily eight glasses. The number of factory farms is rising and to fix this problem we must push the General Assembly to pass a stronger protection for our rivers (Environment of Illinois). We must keep animal waste from these farms out of the waters and out of our bodies. Gov. Pat Quinn and our legislators need to protect our rivers better by limiting the pollution from these factory farms. There needs to be a ban on manure being able to be dumped into our water that we think is safe to drink. There will come a time if we keep this rate up where it won't be safe to drink at all (Environment of Illinois).
No Drinkable Water
Oil Spill in Lake Michigan
Infected Algae in Lake Michigan
Protecting Lake Michigan
Thousands of people through Illinois enjoy the luxuries that Lake Michigan provides. We go there to take our kids to swim, or fish. Many people enjoy boating just to enjoy the scenery. In January, a 10,000 gallon chemical spill into West Virginia's Elk River left 300,000 people without good water to drink,shower, cook, or clean with (Environment of Illinois). THe polluting industries have left our waters in even greater jeopardy. The governments caused loopholes in the law that leave more than half of America's steams open to pollution (Environment of Illinois). Nearly 2 million miles of our streams are at risk in Illinois. That puts nearly 20 million acres of wetlands damaged. These loopholes in the system undermined 500 EPA water pollution cases (Environment of Illinois). These huge factory farms being built put animal manure into the rivers and streams. We need a majority for the U.S. Senate to let agency do its job. 740,000 Americans voiced their support for the agency plan (Environment of Illinois).
Healthy Farms
Farms need to be environmental friendly because they are what provides us life. The food we put into our body needs to be safe and healthy because we need our bodies to be safe and healthy (Bureau of Water). Environment Illinois is working to make sure the rules for conventional farms to be strong enough to protect rivers and lights. The U.S. House just voted to eliminate programs that encourage local, sustainable farms (Bureau of Water). They are also spending billions of dollars to the factory farms that are ruining our water as a whole. Sustainable agriculture has grown from a collection of visionary farmers to a viable market sector(Bureau of Water). Environment Illinois is a program working to make sure the rules for conventional farms are strong enough to completely protect the rivers and bays of Illinois. Their mission is also set to help prevent the same kind of pollution in the future (Bureau of Water).
Bureau of Water
The mission of this organization is to clean Illinois rivers, steams, and lakes (Save our RIvers). They all support aquatic life that is important to the human ecosystem. They want to ensure that Illinois public drinking water is clean enough for people to drink. They also want to protect the groundwater from chemicals that could ruin our environment (Save our Rivers).
Event Information
Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy
The environmental protection agency and Department of Agriculture announced that they would post a period for the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy. The public is invited to provide comments on a effort that is issued statewide to improve the local water quality of Illinois and the Gulf of Mexico. They are said to make such announcements by January 24th, 2015.
When?
Saturday, Jan 24, 2015, 11:45 PM
Where?
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Trash in Rivers of Illinois
Pollution being Poured In Water
Trash Buildup
Sources
- Welcome to the Bureau of Water." Illinois EPA. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.
- "All Issues." Environment Illinois. Environmental Illinois Project, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.
- "All Issues." Environment Illinois: Save Our Rivers. Environmental Illinois Project, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.