Bay backpack the source for chesapeake bay education. Approximately 200 miles long, from the susquehanna river in the north to the atlantic ocean in the south, chesapeake bay by air captures the unparalleled wild beauty, history and natural serenity of the bay, all from above in high definition. Intend to sue epa on chesapeake bay pollution video annapolis, md. Experts warn of dead zone in chesapeake bay from pollution. Excess nutrient pollution is the leading cause of the decline and degradation of the chesapeake bay and its tributaries. Opinions expressed in this video are of the students and do not. Experts agree that the sciencebased chesapeake clean water blueprint is our last. Ms4 webinars and community resources chesapeake bay. How investing in runoff pollution control systems improves the chesapeake bay regions ecology, economy, and health details the problems created by suburban and urban runoff pollution. Thats according to a report published this week by d. Oil pollution from bp spill found in thousands of fish in gulf.
A short documentary highlighting the crabbing industry on the chesapeake bay and how pollution is forcing this great and historical industry into extinction. Nitrogen and phosphorus loadings to the chesapeake are a regional. The longterm chesapeake bay water quality monitoring program is a. The chesapeake bay program is a unique regional partnership that has led and directed the restoration of the chesapeake bay since 1983. In recent years, virginia and maryland have taken steps to help blue crabs and clean up the bay. Resources for teachers and students chesapeake bay. In the chesapeake bay watershed agreement, the chesapeake bay program set a goal to reduce nitrogen and other pollutants and improve water quality 331 million. Larry hogan has seen too much garbage in the chesapeake bay. This is clipped from the 1991 us environmental protection agency epa video, emap. It said the epas assessment failed to press for more pollution reductions or spell out if there would be consequences for failure. The outcomes will lower nutrient and sediment pollution. Group preparing to sue epa over chesapeake bay pollution. Learn how nasa uses earth observing satellites to monitor conditions in the chesapeake bay over time.
That resulted in the epa developing a limit on the amount of pollution the bay can withstand and remain healthy, and cbf agreed to drop the lawsuit. And it offers steps that local, state, and federal governments can take to reduce pollution and achieve clean water for local streams, rivers, and the chesapeake bay. Across the chesapeake bay watershed, 21 sewage treatment plants violated their permit limits last year by releasing excessive amounts of nitrogen or phosphorus pollution that fuel algal blooms and lowoxygen dead zones in waterways, according to an environmental. To improve water quality, the flow of pollution must be reduced. The chesapeake bay watershed the area with water draining into the bay includes. Overall problems there are two major problems associated with curbing and controlling worldwide pollution. Information about pollution, eutrophication, land cover and watershed runoff helps water managers enact policies to improve the health of the bay. Allison colden explaining why oysters are so important to the chesapeake bay.
Download this important infographic that is packed with helpful tips and tidbits. Ap when the conowingo dam opened to fanfare nearly a century ago, the massive wall of concrete and steel began its job of harnessing water power in northern maryland. Contaminants affect fish and wildlife in the chesapeake bay. The chesapeake bay is turning into plastic soup citylab. Estimates vary, but somewhere between a quarter and a third of all the nitrogen entering the bay stems from air pollution.
Check out this video of cbfs marylands fisheries scientist, dr. What we monitor and why view and download the data. Then and now, students will explore the historical changes in the ecological conditions and water quality of the chesapeake bay. Lancaster county contributes more poultryrelated nitrogen pollution to the chesapeake bay than any other county in its sixstate watershed. Sewage and wastewater plants in the chesapeake bay. This video is public domain and can be downloaded at.
About twothirds is the result of nitrogen oxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion, including such sources as cars, power plants, industries, trucks, boats, tractors, lawn mowers and almost. Lets keep big chickens pollution out of our bay the. But he and numerous other bayarea scientists say nutrient pollution, not sediment, is the major threat, noting that most of the pollutants flowing into the chesapeake come from upstream. The tmdl is informed by a series of models, calibrated to decades of water quality and other data, and refined based on input from bay scientists. That means more pollution running off farm fields and city streets into the bay and. View and download data and nutrient and suspendedsediment load and. Pennsylvania did not meet its 2015 goal for nitrogen and sediment pollution reduction and will not meet its. The 2012 report is the result of the presidents chesapeake bay executive order eo 508 that directed federal agencies to prepare a report summarizing information on the extent and severity of the occurrence of toxic contamination in the chesapeake bay and its watershed. The problem, possible solutions, and the need for verification by rona kobell, tom horton, tom simpson, ph. Pollution, the scary, scary word, first came into play around 1860 when people began building sewage systems that sent waste run off directly into the bay. But many of them are placed within a general time period, since its hard to know exactly when certain practices or phenomena occurred. Chesapeake bay by air is mpts new onehour program that forever captures the unparalleled wild beauty, history and natural serenity of the bay, all from above.
The chesapeake bay watershed encompasses the entire district of columbia, as well as parts of six states. Lancaster county tops poultry pollution list, reduction. Where do these pollutants come from chesapeake bay issues. What does it take to restore and protect the chesapeake bay. Cbf points out that the group sued the epa in 2009 for failing to enforce the clean water act in the chesapeake bay region, prompting a yearlong negotiation between the group and the epa. In recent days, the environmental protection agency released its evaluations of bay states roadmaps to reduce pollution under the chesapeake clean water blueprint by 2025. The chesapeake bay receives water from the 64000 square miles of land. Your browser does not currently recognize any of the video formats available.
The webinars assisted officials in developing chesapeake bay pollution reduction. This timeline reflects some of the important events that have shaped the chesapeake bay watershed region throughout its history. The virginia city combined pollution reduction with efforts to revitalize the city. The chesapeake bay foundation, an influential watchdog group, says that while maryland and virginias draft plans are on track, pennsylvanias fell drastically short. Sea around us and the lenfest ocean futures project coupled with noaa chesapeake bay to develop this 6 minute animated documentary describing the past, present and future of the chesapeake bay. First, it is difficult to convince the international community that pollution is a serious problem which does not always manifest. They include webinar recordings and referenced downloadable documents. The chesapeake bay is the largest estuary in the united states and the third largest in the world. By providing educators with information about funding opportunities, field studies, and curriculum guides and lesson plans related to the chesapeake bay, bay backpack helps educators find the tools they need to give their students meaningful watershed educational experiences, or mwees. Find out more about the bays equivalent of coral reefs, watch the incredible oyster reef.
Click here to download the best management practice bmp verification program documentation november 16, 2015 pdf. While farms remains a major source of bay pollution, signs of improvements are beginning to emerge. Conservation practices are having a positive effect on pollution, even as the challenges of agricultural and urban runoff remain. This oyster curriculum project represents a collaborative effort to identify and build an engaging set of k12 education resources that comprehensively support the vision for science education using the eastern oyster in chesapeake bay as the organizing theme. This video was created by, elaine bledsoe, natalia miller, sarah. Free pollution stock video footage 208 free downloads. Bay backpack is an online resource that supports handson environmental learning. Without an ambitious effort to fairly but effectively regulate pollution coming from farm fields throughout the watershed, there is simply no chance that the chesapeake bay will recover. The iconic estuary has been gradually rebounding under a federal cleanup program launched in 1983 that put an end to unbridled pollution.
Development of the chesapeake bay tmdl required extensive knowledge of the watershed, sources of pollution, land uses, best management practices, precipitation data, and other factors. The time has come to solve the primary obstacle to cleaner water in the regions streams, rivers, and bay. Maryland, virginia and the district of columbia filed a notice of intent to sue the environmental protection agency for failing various, video the national herald. Sediment pollution from contributing sources in bay watershed, tons per year. Students will confirm or refute their predictions after reading excerpts from john smiths journal and viewing reports from the chesapeake bay foundation or other sites. Not only was that a pollution issue but also the newly formed coal burning industries blew mass amounts of smoke into the air eventually seeping pollutants into waterways. Chesapeake assessment and scenario tool cast version 2017. Delaware, maryland, new york, pennsylvania, virginia, and west virginia. Experience the soaring glory of the chesapeake bay, from the air. In a news release, the chesapeake bay foundation noted some of the epas findings. Sewage and wastewater plants in the chesapeake bay watershed executive summary.
The analyses completed during this project provide a basic understanding of microplastic pollution in the chesapeake bay. The latest iteration of the chesapeake bay agreement was recently signed by the. All, ads, brochures, posters, presentations, publications, radio, video, logos, misc. Maryland passed a polluted runoff law that funds ontheground projects to reduce pollution by replacing failing infrastructure, restoring or enhancing stormwater management systems, and creating buffers and green space to filter runoff. It flows past some extraordinary natural features that help tell the story of how the chesapeake bay came to be. Some of the events have specific years attributed to them.
Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution are the most serious problems facing the bay. Runoff in the chesapeake bay watershed carries pollutants, such as nutrients and. Of the samples tested throughout this study, all but one of the chesapeake bay samples thats 98%. Browse our collection of videos to learn about everything from blue crabs and. The skipjacks, a look back at the legendary skipjack fleet. While plants and animals need nutrients to survive, excess nutrients can fuel the growth of algae blooms that lead to lowoxygen dead zones harmful to underwater life. Water quality had been in decline since the 1950s and was taking a turn for the worse. The chesapeake bay is having a crisis with ever increasing pollution affecting the quality of the water and the appeal of the bay the chesapeake bay has been inundated with nitrogen as a result of agricultural runoff, septic system leakage, runoff from roadways, development, residential and commercial fertilizers and air deposition from factories. Free pollution stock video footage licensed under creative commons, open source, and more. While over a dozen senators received fewer than 10 points, 37 senators received over 90 points on lcvs 100point scale. In the lab, the bay programs will parson took clinical, closeup shots of some of the plastic the researchers netted. Analysis of microplastics in chesapeake bay and coastal. Addressing nutrient pollution in the chesapeake bay.