With summer slowly coming to a close, we try to make the most of what is left of our vacation by spending time with friends and family with barbecues and bonfires by the beach. Being residents of California, we have the luxury of driving a few miles to get to our local beach. Though California's beaches may not be the best, beaches such as those in coastal Chinese city of Qingdao, are a sure contender.
Recently they had been struck by the “near-record algae bloom that has left its popular beaches fouled with a green, stringy muck”. Although the article states that it this ‘mat of sea lettuce’ is harmless to humans, it seems very dangerous for the environment.
Although global warming seems like a huge environment issue, people fail to recognize other problems that are equally affecting our planet.
My opinion may sound a little biast as I am a worker of the Aquarium of the Pacific, but the fact that people are taking this toxic lettuce so lightly really bothers me. Either the media fails to inform them, or they fail to educate themselves about the dangers of this algae. The fact that “abalone, clam and sea cucumber farms suffered more than $100 million in damage” is terrifying. The population of the these animals will only keep deteriorating.
The article states that the algae later begins to smell like rotten eggs, so I’m sure that that will make people more aware of the cons of the algae. My hope for this situation is that people will keep this situation in mind when they think about how our planet will be 20 years from now.
Hey Jasmine! I too feel like that this situation is taken too lightly. If people know that it is harmful to the environment then they should clean it up or figure out a way to get rid of it. I feel like your commentary was just a little short. Maybe you could have talked about the way that the author of this article structured his or her article. All in all, I think that you did a good job!
ReplyDelete