Living Waters: Emphasising the need to protect life's breath on this planet
A virus has caused us to scramble for oxygen but our chokehold on the environment is slowly strangling the very waters that breathe life into us. The virus is a timely reminder: We are merely consumers, not producers of life's breath on this planet
Curated By: Madhu Kapparath
A layer of toxic foam from sewage and industrial waste on Yamuna river in New Delhi, India
There are serious consequences to humans discharging nitrogen and phosphorus into our waterways through sewage, agriculture and industrial activity. The rise in the level of these nutrients in the water causes phytoplankton to multiply rapidly and create what’s known as an algal blooms. These toxic blooms cause zones of low oxygen in the water—often called dead zones— that can hurt the growth, reproduction and survival of fish and other animals. They can alter food webs in our estuaries and coastal oceans.
