Writing Resources
Introduction Eutrophication is commonly considered as one major aspect of global environment degradation Nixon 1995 Eutrophication is today both in the developed and in the developing world one of our most pressing environmental problems In recent years in one form or another it has received considerable media attention mainly because of the increasingly pressing need to maintain supplies of fresh water However amongst natural scientists in general and therefore amongst the environmental managers that many of their students nowadays become appreciation of the theoretical basis of scientific understanding of the nature and causes of eutrophication as a process and therefore of its ultimate solutions as a practical problem is poor and based on many misconceptions Eutrophication which comes from the Greek eutrophos well nourished has become a major environmental problem Nitrates and phosphates especially from lawn fertilizers run off the land into rivers and lakes promoting the growth of algae and other plant life which take oxygen from the water causing the death of fish and mollusks Cow manure agriculture fertilizer detergents and human waste are often to blame as well In the 1960s and 70s the eutrophication of Lake Erie advanced so extremely that it became known as the dead lake And many areas of the oceans worldwide some more than 20 000 square miles in extent have become dead zones where almost no life of any kind exists 1 2 What is eutrophication Eutrophication is an enrichment of water by nutrient salts that causes structural changes to the ecosystem such as increased production of algae and aquatic plants depletion of fish species general deterioration of water quality and other effects that reduce and preclude use
