John Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2011/07/03/jewel-not-faring-so-well.htmlLake Erie shows signs of returning to the pastSunday, July 3, 2011 03:18 AMBY DAVE GOLOWENSKILake Erie, which Gov. John Kasich described before his election as a "jewel" and which for almost a generation has generated hundreds of millions of sport and tourist dollars annually, no longer seems to be getting enough thoughtful respect.Those of a certain age who grew up along the lake can remember when catching a walleye was almost as unusual but as significant as sniffing a Cuyahoga River fire.The lake during the 1960s wore a coat of two colors: muddy brown in the winter and algae green in the summer. The lake also was at times almost empty of oxygen and famously was declared dead. Sound familiar?Then government stepped in and things got better, good enough within a couple of decades to declare Lake Erie the "Walleye Capital of the World" with only slight exaggeration.A lake surrounded by agriculture, industry and development needs constant care, however, and the once-revitalized jewel is not faring well these days. Some observers say Lake Erie again is dying and in need of emergency help.Government is stepping in once more, this time with a seemingly different agenda from one that made the lake a destination for so many.Elements within the Ohio legislature last week passed along to Kasich a bill that all but deregulates the taking by business of Lake Erie water. That water is a public resource not only for this state but for the states of Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York as well as the Canadian province of Ontario.There was little doubt the governor would sign the bill. Yet, allowing the unregulated withdrawal of up to 5 million gallons of water a day by a business is almost certain to undermine years of hard work and cooperation among the Great Lakes states, Ontario and Quebec to preserve and protect one of the world's greatest treasures of fresh water from unnecessary and harmful exploitation.The prospect of enormous and unregulated withdrawals of Lake Erie water was deemed so egregious to the spirit of the Great Lakes Compact that two former Ohio governors, Bob Taft and George V. Voinovich, and a former director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Sam Speck, publicly opposed the legislation brought by their fellow Republicans.Allies to those pro-withdrawal elements also plan to legislate out of existence a centuries-old principle - reasserted as law by a Michigan court only a few years ago - that at least a thread along the Lake Erie shoreline belongs to the people.And now some Ohio communities along the lake are asking for a reprieve from a law passed more than a decade ago designed to reduce the amount of mercury streaming into the lake through wastewater plants.Lake Erie has been changed tremendously, probably starting with the draining of the Great Black Swamp several lifetimes ago. Since then, humans have claimed the shoreline as private property, killed off the blue pike, invited invasive flora and fauna of many sorts, and choked the water's inhabitants with runoff and chemicals.Fish that have survived aren't recommended for unlimited eating because of the toxins their flesh holds. Some fish shouldn't be eaten at all.Weeks ago, a report emerged about the presence in Lake Erie of fluoxetine, a commonly prescribed antidepressant, in sufficient quantity to kill bacteria, which are at the base of the food web.Concerns persist about the increase in cyanobacteria, known as blue-green algae, because of toxins they produce that can kill fish and other animals, and that have been linked to illness in humans.Until recently, though, it wasn't known that poisons, called microcystins, produced by the cyanobacteria are found in Lake Erie fish, especially predators and sport fish, that exceed limits set by the World Health Organization. The findings were made by a U.S.-Canadian research team that sampled 10 tropical lakes in Uganda and lakes Erie and Ontario. The report appears in Chemical & Engineering News.Another toxin produced by cyanobacteria, beta-methylamino-L-alanine, or BMAA, is being investigated by 21 research teams in 11 nations as a possible cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - Lou Gehrig's disease - as well as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. Apparently, the most numerous incidents of those dreadful but increasingly common diseases occur around waters abundant with cyanobacteria.The presence of cyanobacteria is tied to high nutrient levels in water bodies, particularly those shallow bodies susceptible to summer warming. Lake Erie matches the description.Researchers from Ohio State University and Defiance College released findings on Friday that indicate cyanobacteria is blooming earlier in the year and farther upstream of Lake Erie tributaries - as much as 50 miles - than previously thought.Low lake water levels, which withdrawals can only exacerbate, concentrate nutrients that spur the growth of cyanobacteria blooms. It follows that low water, a perhaps permanent condition in the age of global warming, concentrate poison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad324 Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 fitting...as I've spent half the weekend on the Lake already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted July 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 enjoy it while you can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagr Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 Unreal. This to me is inexcusable. It's not that they should know better. They DO know better but do it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 Its a shame that our government cannot seem to learn from its past mistakes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReconRat Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 Yeep, gonna drain all the water out of the Great Lakes and put it in plastic bottles and sell it to fools for big bucks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedTriple44444 Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 More evidence that Kasich is a moron. As if we needed any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buildit Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 SE ohio will need that bottled water when Fracking starts and pollutes all their ground water. Once SE Ohio is uninhabitable and Lake Erie is destroyed we'll just sell the state to the Japanese who are trying to escape radiation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saralynn518 Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 Last time I went swimming in Lake Erie, I came home and found out that there was a "toxic level" warning that day (or something along those lines). Meaning nobody should be touching that water. That was about eleven years ago I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buildit Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 It's simple with all the fertilizers, human waste and low O2 levels in Ohio water don't drink it, bath in it or eat the fish. It's really to bad because as a kid I loved playing in the streams, swimming in rivers and fishing anywhere a big bass could be caught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gump Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Someone is getting a fat wallet from the de-regulation. Why else would they be so stupid and how did this happen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad324 Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 welp after 3 straight days in Lake Erie, I'm still alive. Will report back in 2 weeks to see if I'm dying yet from all these terrible things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buildit Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 welp after 3 straight days in Lake Erie, I'm still alive. Will report back in 2 weeks to see if I'm dying yet from all these terrible thingsWe'll miss you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bad324 Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 We'll miss you. Lake Erie tried to kill me a couple times and it has yet to succeed. Much like a lot of things, I just happen to be better than it and it will just have to deal with understanding it can never beat me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buildit Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Denial is the first symptom! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gump Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 I think the mercury effects the denial lobe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buildit Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 I think the mercury effects the denial lobeNo Mercury was God of war, Sheba was God of Da Nile and probably Da Nile lobe too. Sorry guys used all my A list stuff, this is all that's left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblosser Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Last time I went swimming in Lake Erie, I came home and found out that there was a "toxic level" warning that day (or something along those lines). Meaning nobody should be touching that water. That was about eleven years ago I think.<That> might explain some things... welp after 3 straight days in Lake Erie, I'm still alive. Will report back in 2 weeks to see if I'm dying yet from all these terrible thingsWe'll miss you. Speak for yourself... j/k to the both of yous... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawi kid Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 I have desire to read the long first post is there cliff notes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saralynn518 Posted July 6, 2011 Report Share Posted July 6, 2011 <That> might explain some things... j/k to the both of yous...No...you may be on to something lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReconRat Posted July 15, 2011 Report Share Posted July 15, 2011 Kasich just vetoed the Lake bill. Wants conservation and improvement to be factored in. As well as limits and monitoring of water usage."While most of HB 231 fulfills Ohio's obligations without concern and helps meet the needs of Ohio's industrial, energy and agricultural water users, portions of it must be improved," Kasich said in a statement issued Friday. "Namely, Ohio's legislation lacks clear standards for conservation and withdrawals and does not allow for sufficient evaluation and monitoring of withdrawals or usage."http://www.thenews-messenger.com/article/20110715/NEWS01/110715001/Kasich-vetoes-Great-Lakes-water-bill?odyssey=mod_sectionstories Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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