These initiatives are paying off, according to Royer. Turning the Tide : Saving the Chesapeake Bay - Google Books This toad can get you high. 201 Old Main, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 814-865-4700, Copyright The Pennsylvania State University 2023, Institute for Sustainable Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Science (SAFES). These are also known as bank-owned or real estate owned (REO). Please leave comments that are respectful and constructive. But by bringing farmers, agricultural industry groups, landowners, government agencies, and environmental and nonprofit organizations together, Penn State is developing comprehensive science-based solutions that can have lasting impacts. Its obvious just from looking at the Susquehanna Flats that theyre doing something special, Testa says. In other coastal regions, particularly along the U.S. West Coast, acidification has already damaged shellfish populations, thinning their shells and messing with their offsprings ability to mature. Theyre particularly concerned because theres another force, besides nutrient overloading, thats making the bays water more acidic: human-caused burning of fossil fuels. A new life-saving test could help diagnose pre-eclampsia. For almost 50 years, CBF's award-winning environmental education program has been one of the cornerstones of our effort to reverse the Bay's decline. Heres what experts say you can do instead if youre feeling off-kilter. Excess nutrients encourage the growth of algae that robs water of oxygen, making it unlivable for aquatic life. Extension provides access to face-to-face and online education to our customerswhen they want it, where they want it, and how they want itto help them address problems and take advantage of opportunities for improvement and innovation. Agricultural activities and stormwater runoff have contributed to the bays dead zones, areas where no life exists. SAV in the Chesapeake Bay One of the places we work to protect these aquatic plantsand other habitats important for fish)is in the Chesapeake Bay (Maryland and Virginia). www.psu.edu. Nearly 7,000 producers responded to the survey, which showed that farmers funded and installed 1.3 million feet of fencing along streambanks, installed 2,000 manure storage units, and planted 6,000 acres of forest buffers. Remember to leave no trace and only walk, swim and recreate in designated areas when you go out. Saving The Chesapeake Bay ( Exploring The Chesapeake Bay)| Ryan Nagelhout Sign up for one of our daily, weekly or monthly newsletters. This novel was a great way to inform myself of the dangers I cause to the planet in my everyday activities, and that I shouldnt take anything for granted and treat everything preciously so that it will last forever and ever. For water warriors, the Captain John Smith Chesapeake Historic Trail will introduce you to historic and beautiful scenes only accessible via kayak, paddle boat or sailboat. Turning the tide: Saving the Chesapeake Bay. Horton is also able to intertwine even the smallest of things together to show the greater effect they have on our environment. How vulnerable are we? By reading this book you get a whole other view of the world and who everyday events and the things we take for granted are part of the greater picture. Since every animal in the bay depends to some extent on oxygen, this creates a cause of stress, sometimes major, sometimes minor. New construction. 367632. Community Your actions as an informed consumer have great power, and consumer-driven change is already happening. Horton is also able to intertwine even the smallest of things together to show the greater effect they have on our environment. Take this quiz to test your knowledge. Its like the seagrasses are producing antacids that counter the indigestion of the bay, says Jeremy Testa, a marine ecologist at the University of Maryland and an author of the paper in Nature Geoscience describing the newly discovered phenomenon. Something that was happening under our nosesthis big unintended benefit, this added valueit turns out were solving two problems by attacking just one., Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. As a D.C. person, I have traveled around the Bay areas for a few decades and found much pleasure from my trip. Conducting research that improves lives. The arrow proclaimed, "The Bay starts here!" The campaign Heres a list of eight great activities that folks can take part in year-round. Only 10 percent of sites in the upper bay had vegetation when they were surveyed in 1980. Stream cleanups are something we can participate in a few Saturday mornings a year. If after reading you are looking for even more ways to help, check out our How Tos and Tips page for more ideas. Founded by Catherine Kerr, Sylvia McLaughlin, and Esther Gulick in 1961, the organization grew into a body that not only achieved its namesake but also inspired analogous organizations dedicated to other environmental and other political causes. The health of the estuary has been evaluated by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, among other organizations, for years and still needs a lot of help. The purpose of this book, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation which sponsored it, is to build support for restoring the bay's health." -- Lester R. Brown President, Worldwatch Institute " Turning the Tide is a fascinating checkup of the health of our beloved Chesapeake Bay. Turning the Tide: Saving the Chesapeake Bay - Barnes & Noble Worse, during strong winds or at certain times of the year, currents can sweep that deep, super-acidic water into places populated by creatures like oysters and crabs, potentially eroding their ability to maintain their calcium-carbonate based shells. What exactly is lab-grown meat? Test your knowledge with this quiz. When scientist Wen Jun Cai and his colleagues boated across the pea-soup-like waters of the upper Chesapeake Bay in the summer of 2016, water sampling kits and pH sensors in hand, they didnt expect to find chemical magic at play. Not just for our own benefit, but for the good of everybody. Prorocentrum in surface outflowing waters at the mouth of the bay is recruited in late winter into more dense inflowing coastal waters. As the oldest of five siblings, my parents always made me clean up messes that I didn't make. The final phase of the Chesapeake Bay Program has involved initiation of a concerted management effort to restore the Chesapeake to its historical productivity. Considering the Chesapeake Bay watershed affects 17 million people across six states, that might seem like a Herculean task. Surprisingly, minerals formed in restored seagrass beds can offset human-caused acidification miles away. While they may be able to tell the difference between an iPod and an iPad, most children don't know how to identify the plants and animals in their own backyard. The US Geological Survey, in partnership with numerous public and private agencies, has helped raise awareness of how sensitive the Chesapeake is. Save the Bay News: Restoration, Wetlands, and Saving Striped Bass. Unauthorized use is prohibited. 2010-2011 Environmental Science student:Turning the Tide by Tom Horton is an interesting novel about the suffering of the Chesapeake Bay from year of pollution. . The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the UnitedStates. PDF Save the Crabs, Then Eat 'Em'': Aculinaryapproachto Saving the Here are tips and publications to help you get started Read More Ann Jurczyk/CBF Staff In Your Yard Every single person who lives in your neighborhood has a profound impact on the health of the Chesapeake Bay. The unique circulation pattern in Chesapeake Bay causes contaminants to accumulate within the estuary rather than flushing out into the ocean, but cleanup efforts did not gain momentum until the end of 1983. The book took an indepth look at the Bays vital signs to gauge the overall health of its entire ecosystem and to assess what had been done and what remained to be done to clean up the Bay. ; (United States). Our Funding - Chesapeake Bay A follow-up survey was conducted in 2020 in the priority counties of Lancaster, York, Adams, and Franklin. Why the Chesapeake Bay Program Is Critical to Saving the Bay - CBF New Small Farm Cover Crop Expansion Is Good for Communities and the Environment, Saving the Bay Means Creating a Future with and for People. Time to share! Get the best of Nat Geo delivered to your inbox, plus unlimited access to free content. Nearly 1,800 farmers in those four counties responded to the survey, reporting the funding and installation of another 270 manure storages, 118 barnyard runoff control systems, over 7,000 additional acres of forest and grass buffers, and advanced nutrient management techniques on at least 84,000 acres of cropland. A major storm event in the Potomac watershed greatly increased the particulate fraction of nitrogen and phosphorus and lowered the TN:TP in the river-borne loads and accounted for 11% of the nitrogen and 31% of the phosphorus delivered to the estuary by the Potomac River during the entire 60- month period examined here. Zhi-Jun Liu . Extension makes a difference locally through focused engagement, and more widely to customers connecting in the digital landscape. But as an adult, I realize that carelessly discarded trash all ends up in the same place: our waterways. Take action right nowsign our petition to save the Bay! Oxides of nitrogen are a product of combustion, and on release are typically oxidized to nitrates and ultimately deposited. It's an arm of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but also a partnership of federal, state, and local agencies involved in the work of restoring the Chesapeake Bay, as well as a host of academic and non-profit partners. Will Wildfire Smoke Impact the Chesapeake Bay? But as more and more people populated the land around the bay, the grasses took hit after hit. This novel was a great way to inform myself of the dangers I cause to the planet in my everyday activities, and that I shouldnt take anything for granted and treat everything preciously so that it will last forever and ever. Instead, it runs off, picking up pollutants such as oil, fertilizer and dog waste on its way to the nearest stream or storm drain. Warmer waters are less amenable to the storage of dissolved oxygen than are colder ones, dissolved oxygen being simply a measure of the oxygen in water; that is to say, cold water is more amenable to oxygen than is warm water. Rather than eliminate it, we should be supporting it.To say that now is the Chesapeake Bay's moment in time has never been more true. As they photosynthesize in the beating sunshine, they produce tiny granules of a carbon-based mineral that acts like a miniature antacid tablet. As Pennsylvania renews efforts to clean the state's waterways and the Chesapeake Bay, Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is crafting a strategy in which farmers can help. So the vegetation upstream provides a more stable environment for whats living down the bay.. 512251. A New Marine Sanctuary. An early finding was the discovery that contaminants entering the Chesapeake, whether nutrients or toxic chemicals, are not flushed out to the Atlantic but remain in the estuary, joining the food chain or accumulating in the bottom sediments. Penn State Extension is a modern educational organization dedicated to delivering science-based information to people, businesses, and communities. Many farmers are willing to invest their own dollars, but some cant shoulder the cost, he said. Ryan Nagelhout. A net sink of nitrate was indicated during summer. These events have been studied in the Chesapeake Bay for many years due to their adverse effect on the ecology, and commercial and recreational potential of the largest estuary in the country. it could take years, if not decades, for major programs to become effective. Regular soap and water can eliminate bacteria from surfaces and are safer for the water supply as well. In 1991, Island Press published Turning the Tide, a unique and accessible examination of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Chesapeake Bay Essay - 2016 Words | 123 Help Me Composting is also a great way to limit the impact of food and yard waste from your household. Resources to inspire, educate, equip, and mobilize anglers across the Chesapeake Bay watershed to be advocates for clean water. Saving The Chesapeake Bay ( Exploring The Chesapeake Bay)| Ryan Nagelhout, Let's Talk About Smoking (The Let's Talk Library)|Elizabeth Weitzman, The English And American Mechanic: Comprising A Collection Of Over 3000 Receipts, Rules And Tables, Designed For The Use Of Every Mechanic And Manufacturer (1874)|Frank Van Cleve, Lie Group Actions In Complex Analysis (Aspects Of Mathematics)|Dimitrij . Britannica Earth Scientist John Rafferty examines Earths current episode of mass extinction. Save The Bay is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving San Francisco Bay and its related estuarine habitat areas. The Chesapeake Bay is hugestretching over 200 miles long and with a watershed of over 64,000 square miles. Chesapeake Bay Commission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency committed to a historic Bay Agreement, creating the regionwide partnership known as the Chesapeake Bay Program. But its a start. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States, a place where the deep, cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean meet the warmer, shallower waters fed in by a series of storied rivers: the Susquehanna, the Potomac, the Rappahannock, the James. This book presents a comprehensive look at two decades of efforts to save the bay, outlining which methods have worked and which have not. Your donation helps the Chesapeake Bay Foundation maintain our momentum toward a restored Bay, rivers, and streams for today and generations to come. Your comment has been received. Cats, dogs, and rabbits dont deal with heat like humans do. 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. The State of the Bay Report makes it clear that the Bay needs our support now more than ever. Do you know about the threats facing nonhuman life on Earth? In July 2019, local community partners, national conservation and preservation groups, and recreation and education advocates celebrated the designation of a new national marine sanctuary at Mallows Bay in the Potomac River. 90 episodes Turning the Tide, Saving the Chesapeake Bay Chesapeake Bay Foundation Science 4.9 7 Ratings SEP 11, 2018 Worth Repeating: Trees: The Oysters of the Land Worth Repeating: Trees: The Oysters of the Land When a grass dies, it disintegrates, releasing the built-up crystals from its inside as well as out. The Chesapeake gets its name from the Algonquin word for "great shellfish bay." For thousands of years, its rich ecology depended on the ways its shellfish, grasses, fish, and other species interacted; each influenced the chemistry and biology of the others, in a delicate biological dance. Nature / Environmental Conservation & Protection. We dont have enough data anywhere in the world to tell us exactly how those creatures are going to meet the thresholds of acidification, says Doug Myers, a scientist also with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. They reduced the acidity of the water by four times than it otherwise might have been (because the pH scale is logarithmic, small changes in the numbers on the pH scale mean big changes in terms of acidity). Turning the Tide, Saving the Chesapeake Bay - Apple Podcasts The amount of people helping the cause is amazing! reach its bloom area in the Patapsco River and north of the Bay Bridge by late spring. Saving the Chesapeake Bay, - JSTOR They use some of that carbon to build their plant bodies, but turn some of it into tiny crystals of calcium carbonate, a chemical variant on the material that shells are made of. As heat waves become increasingly common, veterinarians call for extra vigilance. That 60 percent means that there is much yet to be done. Listing type. Permeable surfaces, such as pavers, allow stormwater to slowly soak into the ground, reducing flooding and polluted runoff. The coalition brings together more than 200 organizations from Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to advocate for clean water. Another Penn State innovation is the interseeder, a piece of agricultural machinery that makes it easier for farmers to plant cover crops. Seagrasses and other underwater plants packed the bays shallows, stilling and smoothing the surrounding water, leaving it clear and clean for baby fish, crabs, and shellfish to populate. Compounding all this further is an accident of topology: The shape of the bays floor and the varying densities of fresher and saltier water form a pycnocline, a marked zone of difference wherein warm water at the top can keep the cold water at bottom from receiving any water at all. It is our duty to protect the bay, not only as part of the environment, but also as a marketable commodity and a landmark of the southeast. Can laughter strengthen your immune system? But they havent seen this long-range effect before. CBF is not responsible for the contents of any linked Website, or any link contained in a linked Website, or any changes or updates to such Websites. The impacts of climate change on the Chesapeake Bay are becoming more pronounced every daywarming water, flooding, and sea level rise. An Ecological Treasure House in Crisisby Gregory McNamee. The overall picture was that of a declining ecosystem. In the Patuxent and Potomac, the TN:TP ratios of external loads are 2-4 times higher than those observed over the previous two decades. Sure, it's great to recycle all those boxes and bags, but recycling still takes energy and money. We want to help them so they can provide our food supply, be profitable, and be good stewards of land and water., Image: Natural Resources Conservation Service/USDA. Here are some great tips about reducing waste to get you started and if you are interested in composting, check out our How-To guide. Do you enjoy working with others to help clean the Chesapeake Bay? With so much at stake, researchers and Penn State Extension specialists have made significant strides in water quality through cutting-edge research and education. In a partnership with the James River Association, American Forests planted more than 10,000 trees to restore forest buffers along the James River, which flows into the southern part of the bay. Teaching students to be leaders with a global perspective. Join our digital community. By the mid-2010s, underwater vegetation covered expanded over an extra 65 square miles of the Bay, more than 300 percent more area than was covered in the 1980s. Your donation helps the Chesapeake Bay Foundation maintain our momentum toward a restored Bay, rivers, and streams for today and generations to come. Unfortunately, the Chesapeake Bay faces serious problems due to human activities, including polluted stormwater runoff, over-fertilization and pollution from animal wastes, deforestation, wetland destruction from agricultural, urban, and suburban development, and sea level rise caused by global climate change.