Explore the causes and effects of water contamination, including microplastics, chemicals, and stormwater runoff. Learn how to protect lakes, rivers, and freshwater resources.
Refrigerators, foam buoys and even ketchup bottles are piling up on Alaska’s beaches. Almost two years after the devastating Japanese tsunami, its debris and rubbish are fouling the coastlines of many states — especially in Alaska. At the state’s Montague Island beach, the nearly 80 miles of rugged wilderness looks pristine from a helicopter a
Countries around the world experience extended periods of snow and ice. In order to combat the icy road conditions crews spread road salt on sidewalks and roadways. Salt was first used in the United States on an experimental basis in New Hampshire in 1938. By the winter of 1941-1942, 5,000 tons of salt was spread
The mission of the EPA is to protect human health and the environment. It’s a huge undertaking to test new products as well as reviewing all older pesticides and products that were registered prior to November 1984. The EPA performs hundreds of tests prior to registering a product for use and while the tests may
The Great Barrier Reef located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia is the world’s largest coral reef system. It covers an area of 133,000 square miles and is composed of 2,900 reefs and 900 islands. The reef supports a wide diversity of life including many endangered species, some of which are
Written by Madeline Seveland, Education Coordinator with Carver County Water Management Invasive Species have been steadily gaining more interest with lawmakers, interest groups and the public since the introduction of zebra mussels into Lake Minnetonka and the threat of Asian carp in the Mississippi River. Here are the top ten reasons you should care about
Ask the residents of Jackson Wisconsin about their drinking water and right now you’ll hear a lot of grumbles. 100% of the city’s drinking water comes from groundwater and hasn’t reported any contaminants to the EPA since 2005, although numerous private well owners have not been so fortunate. The Wisconsin DNR had issued a drinking
In December, 2010 Wisconsin became the first state in the country to adopt phosphorus water quality standards for lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and streams. The Environmental Protection Agency has approved Wisconsin’s revised rule as a revision to Wisconsin’s federally-approved National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program under the Clean Water Act. Under the new rules DNR determines
Pesticide resistance is a major problem that occurs when a pesticide is used for control for years and then will no longer kill the pest. This is a billion dollar problem for US agriculture. In 1999 the cost of pesticides and the yield loss of crops to pesticide resistance was estimate at $1.5 billion in
World Water Day is held annually on March 22 as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater. At the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development it was recommended that there be an international day to celebrate freshwater, the United Nations General Assembly agreed and designated March 22, 1993 the first