100 % Of Fish In U.S. Streams Found Contaminated With Mercury
(NaturalNews) In a new study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), every single fish tested from 291 freshwater streams across the United States was found to be contaminated with mercury.
"This study shows just how widespread mercury pollution has become in our air, watersheds and many of our fish in freshwater streams," said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that builds up in the food chain at ever higher concentrations in predators such as large fish and humans. It is especially damaging to the developing nervous systems of fetuses and children, but can have severe effects on adults, as well. The pollutant enters the environment almost wholly as atmospheric emissions from industrial processes, primarily the burning of coal for electricity. It then spreads across the planet and settles back to the surface, eventually concentrating in rivers, lakes and oceans, where it enters the aquatic food chain.
The number one cause of human mercury poisoning in the United States is the consumption of fish and shellfish."
Thirty or so years ago one of my favorite activities was going crawdadding on Oregon coastal streams. It really was a lot of fun.
It was an outing for whole families and we usually had a dozen or so people. We'd put in with a mother ship, a driftboat that had towels, clothes, food and beer, and then there were some inflatables for people who didn't want to get wet.
But this was in the middle of summer so the river levels were pretty low and we actually had to yank the boats over the rocks in some places.
We hunters used various methods to catch the critters. We only scoured a couple mile stretch of the streams, mostly wading. Some people used tongs and snorkels. My way was to sneak up behind them with a kitchen colander and scoop them when they tried to make a break for it. We kept them fresh in one big cooler, and later in the afternoon when the sun dropped behind the hills and we got a little chilly we'd head for somebody's house for the feast.
There were always hundreds to prepare. You'd snap the tail off and take small scissors to open the tail shell a little, then steam them. They taste exactly like succulent lobster, and if dipped in garlic butter with potatos wrapped in foil from the BBQ and corn on the cob, I'm here to say those were some of the most sweetly satisfying moments of my entire life.
But times change and you couldn't pay me to eat anything from those streams now except anadromous fish coming in to spawn. Too much herbicide runoff from clear cuts and that damn mercury like in the article above.
pick me up, I double dare you
"This study shows just how widespread mercury pollution has become in our air, watersheds and many of our fish in freshwater streams," said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that builds up in the food chain at ever higher concentrations in predators such as large fish and humans. It is especially damaging to the developing nervous systems of fetuses and children, but can have severe effects on adults, as well. The pollutant enters the environment almost wholly as atmospheric emissions from industrial processes, primarily the burning of coal for electricity. It then spreads across the planet and settles back to the surface, eventually concentrating in rivers, lakes and oceans, where it enters the aquatic food chain.
The number one cause of human mercury poisoning in the United States is the consumption of fish and shellfish."
Thirty or so years ago one of my favorite activities was going crawdadding on Oregon coastal streams. It really was a lot of fun.
It was an outing for whole families and we usually had a dozen or so people. We'd put in with a mother ship, a driftboat that had towels, clothes, food and beer, and then there were some inflatables for people who didn't want to get wet.
But this was in the middle of summer so the river levels were pretty low and we actually had to yank the boats over the rocks in some places.
We hunters used various methods to catch the critters. We only scoured a couple mile stretch of the streams, mostly wading. Some people used tongs and snorkels. My way was to sneak up behind them with a kitchen colander and scoop them when they tried to make a break for it. We kept them fresh in one big cooler, and later in the afternoon when the sun dropped behind the hills and we got a little chilly we'd head for somebody's house for the feast.
There were always hundreds to prepare. You'd snap the tail off and take small scissors to open the tail shell a little, then steam them. They taste exactly like succulent lobster, and if dipped in garlic butter with potatos wrapped in foil from the BBQ and corn on the cob, I'm here to say those were some of the most sweetly satisfying moments of my entire life.
But times change and you couldn't pay me to eat anything from those streams now except anadromous fish coming in to spawn. Too much herbicide runoff from clear cuts and that damn mercury like in the article above.
pick me up, I double dare you
posted by nolocontendere at 5:30 PM
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