Is Alaska Ready for the Next Wave of Debris
Nearly two years after the Japanese tsunami, debris such as refrigerators, foam buoys, and ketchup bottles are piling up on Alaska’s beaches. Foam pieces, some smaller than packing peanuts, are scattered across the coastline, posing risks to wildlife and the environment. Birds, rodents, and even bears are ingesting the debris, and chemicals from petroleum containers are a growing concern. Aerial surveys show the problem is more widespread than expected, highlighting the challenge of keeping Alaska’s coastline clean.
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A Beautiful Threat
Backyard and business water gardens may look peaceful, but they can harbor trouble for mid-Atlantic ecosystems. The popularity of water gardening has helped aquatic invasive species spread, displacing native plants and harming local habitats. Many invasive plants grow in dense stands with few natural predators, disrupting the balance of the ecosystem.
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Mechanical Harvesting an Economical Choice
Aquatic vegetation can hurt water quality, recreation, tourism, property values, and communities financially. Mechanical harvesting may seem expensive upfront, but over a 10–30 year lifetime, it’s highly cost-effective. Harvesters use little fuel, require minimal maintenance, and even have resale value. Properly maintained equipment can last decades, making mechanical harvesting a smart long-term investment.
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This 30 year old Aquatic Plant Harvester is still operational and in use.
Advantages of Aquatic Weed Harvesting
Mechanical harvesting of aquatic weeds offers many benefits over chemical control or doing nothing. It provides immediate relief from nuisance plants, improves navigation and recreation, removes excess nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, and leaves living plants behind to continue supporting oxygen and habitat. Harvesting also reduces muck buildup, improves fishing access, and creates compostable vegetation for soil enrichment.
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Road Salt Does More than Make Roadways Safe
Road salt keeps sidewalks and highways safe during icy winter months, but it comes with serious environmental and health costs. Salt contaminates drinking water, harms vegetation, acidifies soil, and threatens aquatic life, including frogs and salamanders. Excess sodium in groundwater can increase hypertension risk in humans. While alternatives exist, road salt remains the most cost-effective de-icing solution. Using it efficiently is key to minimizing damage.
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2013 – A Year to Change
Plastic bags and single-use plastics are a major environmental threat, choking wildlife, clogging waterways, and never fully biodegrading. Millions of tons enter oceans every year, impacting sea turtles, birds, fish, and other marine life. Cities like Brookline, Mountain View, Portland, and Delhi have enacted bans to curb plastic use. You can make a difference by refusing single-use plastics, using reusable bags, bottles, and utensils, and encouraging others to do the same.
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Scotts Miracle-Gro Violates Pesticide Laws
Scotts Miracle-Gro pleaded guilty in federal court for illegally applying toxic insecticides to its wild bird food products, violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The company sold over 70 million units treated with pesticides harmful to birds, submitted false documents to the EPA, and marketed products with misleading labels. Scotts was fined more than $12.5 million, marking the largest FIFRA enforcement fine in history.
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What is a Nor’easter?
A nor’easter is a powerful storm along the U.S. East Coast, driven by northeast winds and fueled by the Gulf Stream. These storms bring heavy snow, rain, high winds, and coastal flooding from October through April. There are offshore-forming storms, often newsworthy and hitting cities like New York and Boston, and onshore-forming storms, which are milder. Famous nor’easters include the Great Blizzard of 1888, the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962, The Perfect Storm of 1991, and more recent storms like the Halloween Nor’easter of 2011.
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Pesticides: A Key Concern for the Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia, is the world’s largest coral reef system, home to thousands of species including clownfish, sea turtles, and humpback whales. While cyclones can damage the reef, manmade threats like pollution and pesticide runoff from farms have caused significant coral loss. A 2009 monitoring program found multiple pesticides exceeding safe limits at eight sites, with over 90% coming from agricultural runoff. Efforts like the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and pesticide restrictions aim to protect the reef, but challenges remain.
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colorful coral reef with many fishes and sea turtle
Lost at Sea: The SS Edmund Fitzgerald
Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake by surface area, is as dangerous and unpredictable as the open ocean. On November 9, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, fully loaded with taconite iron ore, left Superior, Wisconsin and never reached Detroit. Caught in a massive winter storm with 35-foot waves and 86 mph wind gusts, all 29 crew members were lost. Extreme cold and the lake’s depth have kept most bodies from surfacing, adding to the lake’s legend.
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Aquarius Systems 