Conservation officials hope that a new herbicide treatment being considered for use in Cocasset Lake in Massachusetts this season may prove an antidote to a mushrooming vegetation problem afflicting local lakes and ponds. ProcellaCOR was recommended for use in Cocasset Lake by Joseph Onorato, an aquatic specialist with Water & Wetland LLC of Upton, which
Forty-one towns in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, Brazil were affected when the Fundão iron mine tailings dam in Mariana, Minas Gerais state (Southeast Brazil) burst on November 5, 2015, and 19 people died. The toxic waste is estimated to have contaminated 240.8 hectares of Atlantic Rainforest and killed 14 metric tons of fish. Brazilian
The glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup has been found to trigger the loss of biodiversity among phytoplankton communities in freshwater ponds. In their experiments, scientists found that while some populations developed resistance to the herbicide and were able to survive exposure at high levels, this came at a cost, with a 40 percent loss in biodiversity. The
Heidi Bunk, a water resources management specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, said while the long-term effectiveness of hand pulling the invasive species starry stonewort is still being evaluated, it can be advantageous because it allows for the removal of starry stonewort without harming native species in the way chemical treatments might. She
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands, made up of 27 islands, sit 2,760 kilometers (1,715 miles) northwest of Perth in the Indian Ocean. A quarter-spin of the globe away, uninhabited Henderson Island is located in the Pacific, halfway between New Zealand and Chile. The atoll, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is on the western perimeter of the
On any given day, helicopters and an armada of airboats fan out across Florida’s fresh waters to spray tank after tank of poison. Pouring millions of gallons of herbicide into rivers and lakes to kill the weeds. What started as sensible navigation and flood control has turned into a million-dollar-a-month chemical addiction that is killing
On April 20, 2010 the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, located about 41 miles southeast of the Louisiana coast exploded. The explosion and subsequent fire resulted in the sinking of the drilling rig and the deaths of 11 workers. The same blowout that caused the explosion also caused an oil well fire and a massive offshore
More than 85% of the world’s oyster reefs have been lost since the 1900s, through over-harvesting of the species, increased coastal development, destruction of wetlands and increased water pollution. Oysters could one day be the answer to the complex question of how to protect California’s disappearing coastline. While a project to restore oyster populations is
Environment and Water Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Zaini Ujang said that the cleaner rivers in the Klang Valley was due to less human interference such as industrial waste and construction works, which contributes to murkey grey waters and general pollution. Globally, countries have seen their waterways clear up and native animals return as human activity
Invasive aquatic plants represent a serious problem in many lakes and waterways. To combat the aquatic weed infestation, herbicides are often applied directly to the water to kill the plants. Many of these herbicides are quite toxic and while permits are required prior to the application there may be flaws with the permit process. Aquatic