SECTION 9 



EUTROPHICATION IN THE UNITED STATES: PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE 



A.F. Bartsch, K.W. Malueg, C.F. Powers, and T.E. Maloney 



Chief Seattle, leader of the Suquamish tribe in the Washington Terri- 

 tory, delivered a prophetic speech in 1854. The occasion was to mark the 

 transferral of ancestral Indian lands to the federal government. His words 

 indicate much greater understanding of man's position in the natural system 

 than we seem to have today, for he stated: 



This shining water that moves in the streams and rivers 

 is not just water but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell 

 you land, you must remember that it is sacred, and that each 

 ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of 

 events and memories in the life of my people. The water's 

 murmur is the voice of my father's father. 



The rivers are our brothers, they quench our thirst. The 

 rivers carry our canoes, and feed our children. If we sell you 

 our land you must remember, and teach your children, that the 

 rivers are our brothers, and yours, and you must henceforth 

 give the rivers the kindness you would give any brother. 



...The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the 

 earth. 



In the United States we have failed for too long to teach our children 

 that the waters are sacred. Our rivers still carry our canoes, our boats, 

 our ships, but very few of them could feed our children. Most of our lakes 

 are not clear. Many offer no lovely reflection to a potentially admiring 

 glance because most of the time, they are covered with algae or higher 

 aquatic plants. 



As elsewhere throughout the world, eutrophication is now a familiar 

 problem in the United States. This progressive nutrient enrichment of 

 lakes and their responding increased biological production with its related 

 consequences are the major threat to many lakes. Lakes typically evolve 

 from a state of low productivity and relative high purity to one of in- 

 creased productivity and lessened quality. This process often is marked by 

 nuisance algae or other plant growths, drastically reduced oxygen content 

 in the deeper waters, and bad tastes and odors. Reaching this stage 

 usually is a lengthy process, sometimes even requiring thousands of years. 



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