My goal is to decrease the amount of nitrates in river systems.
Explain the science of the problem that is created by the indicator.
Eutrophication
Eutrophication is a process that occurs as a result of this indicator. When farmers use fertilizers with nitrates on their crops, the rain washes the nitrates into the river. This excessive amount of nutrients causes the plants to grow rapidly. Now that these plants have grown so large, they block the sunlight. The underwater plants are deprived of sunlight so they start to die. Bacteria starts to decompose these plants. The bacteria consumes all of the residual oxygen. Once these underwater plants have died, they leave the fish and other aquatic life without shelter, food and oxygen. The fish and other aquatic life start to die, due to the lack of both oxygen and sunlight.
Another concern of the use of fertilizers with nitrates are groundwater contamination. Nitrates are water-soluble and can remain
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This impacts our well being because, according to the website: The Mekong River- Survival for Millions, the water from rivers are the source of most of our drinking water. Eutrophication causes an abundance of bacteria to form in the river. If there is too much bacteria in the water, it will cause sicknesses and negatively impacts our health. However, if there is too much manure in the water, it will contaminate the water and negatively affect our health as well. This is why we should use animal manure in moderation. However, there will be different opinions on the proposal. Some people may get upset because the use of animal manure on our food seems revolting. But, I think that most people will not be upset about this change. This is because animal manure is a natural fertilizer so we will be able to receive the same benefits for a more sustainable solution. This is how my proposal/ solution impacts the compass point,