I decided to blog my journey as I discover my ecological address. Essentially I will use myself as guinea pig, see what can be learned, and also see the [appalling] degree of ignorance I currently have about my ecological address. The Audubon site has links that help you figure out all the different ecological overlays for where you live. http://www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/Explore.html
The first category of links is Watersheds. I click on the link to the Environmental Protection Administration website, punch in my zip code and a map of my Watershed comes up. I knew I live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the Potomac River Valley, but more specifically I find that I live in the watershed designated as Conococheague-Opequon, by the United States Geological Survey, aka Cataloging Unit 02070004. Conococheague and Opequon are nearby creeks that drain into the Potomac. Sound like Native American words, as is Potomac. (A tangent to research but let’s keep focused here!)
There are links to various other sites. I can peruse multiple water quality studies and link to a range of water quality advocacy groups for my watershed. I try to read over one water quality study and rapidly begin drowning in technical terms. I’ll need to get help from a new friend who is a fish disease expert.
I learn that I live in what is known as the Upper Potomac River Basin (within the political state of Maryland,that is). A fact sheet on the total miles of wadeable streams in this area shows that the Fish Index of Biotic Integrity (FIBI), which is based on fish populations, is 55% poor, 31% fair and only 14 % good.
The first category of links is Watersheds. I click on the link to the Environmental Protection Administration website, punch in my zip code and a map of my Watershed comes up. I knew I live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the Potomac River Valley, but more specifically I find that I live in the watershed designated as Conococheague-Opequon, by the United States Geological Survey, aka Cataloging Unit 02070004. Conococheague and Opequon are nearby creeks that drain into the Potomac. Sound like Native American words, as is Potomac. (A tangent to research but let’s keep focused here!)
There are links to various other sites. I can peruse multiple water quality studies and link to a range of water quality advocacy groups for my watershed. I try to read over one water quality study and rapidly begin drowning in technical terms. I’ll need to get help from a new friend who is a fish disease expert.
I learn that I live in what is known as the Upper Potomac River Basin (within the political state of Maryland,that is). A fact sheet on the total miles of wadeable streams in this area shows that the Fish Index of Biotic Integrity (FIBI), which is based on fish populations, is 55% poor, 31% fair and only 14 % good.
That does not sound encouraging.
Do you know the FIBI for your area? FIBI sounds like a particular concern for fly fishermen--indeed a group called Antietam Fly Anglers are the ones who posted the fact sheet. http://www.dnr.state.md.us/streams/pubs/upperpotomac.pdf
They have also posted a report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on intersex fish being studied in the Potomac and its tributaries including the Shenandoah River. http://www.antietamflyanglers.org/docs/endocrine.pdf
This is when features of the female sex organs are found in the sex organs of male fish, and vice versa. It is believed caused by pollution in the water (endocrine disruptors).
This is when features of the female sex organs are found in the sex organs of male fish, and vice versa. It is believed caused by pollution in the water (endocrine disruptors).
Again, rather alarming. My drinking water comes from the Potomac River, it is “treated” but I need to find out more about how that works…
The EPA site is mind-boggling. There is an Envirofacts page http://www.epa.gov/enviro/
where you can easily find air quality, radiation, toxic waste emitters, compliance reports, etc all according to your zip code! I did not realize how easily available all this information is online. It is not something that is talked about everyday on your local news, in your local paper, or among your co-workers ‘around the water cooler.’ But it should be. Why isn’t it?
Well, just one hour of discovery and I have a multitude of more questions. Perhaps that is the point, once you begin knowing your ecological address you become engaged with the reality of the world in which you are living on a different level.
The EPA site is mind-boggling. There is an Envirofacts page http://www.epa.gov/enviro/
where you can easily find air quality, radiation, toxic waste emitters, compliance reports, etc all according to your zip code! I did not realize how easily available all this information is online. It is not something that is talked about everyday on your local news, in your local paper, or among your co-workers ‘around the water cooler.’ But it should be. Why isn’t it?
Well, just one hour of discovery and I have a multitude of more questions. Perhaps that is the point, once you begin knowing your ecological address you become engaged with the reality of the world in which you are living on a different level.
Of course as living, breathing inhabitants of our local ecosystem we are already unavoidably involved but we are disconnected from consciousness of it. I see that working my way through the Find Your Ecological Address project is going to be much more time consuming, complex and enlightening than I expected. Life-changing might not be too extreme a word. Pretty crafty, Audubon.
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