Ummmmm, if you go to Baltimore, don't eat the crabcakes.
"Restoration push failing Chesapeake crabs; Pollution, climate, overfishing plague a regional staple" by David A. Fahrenthold/Washington Post November 19, 2007
WASHINGTON - The Chesapeake Bay's famous blue crabs - feisty crustaceans that are both a regional symbol and a multimillion-dollar catch - are hovering at historically low population levels, scientists say, as pollution, climate change, and overfishing threaten the bay's ultimate survivor.
A baywide effort to save the crab begun in 2001 is falling short. Governments promised to clean the Chesapeake's waters by 2010. But that effort is far off track, leaving "dead zones" where crabs can't breathe.
The reasons for the decline probably include climate change, because the water now is often too warm for a grass species the crabs use as shelter.
Gonna blame that for everything, I see!
But the causes also include two problems that governments have promised - and failed - to fix.
One is the water. Rain washes down manure, treated sewage, and suburban fertilizer, which cause algae blooms that remove oxygen from the bay's water. Low-oxygen "dead zones" can kill crabs or push them out of their preferred habitat.
State and federal governments promised to clean up the pollution by 2010. Now officials say the effort, led by the Environmental Protection Agency, is far behind schedule.
The remaining tasks are massive: stopping runoff at tens of thousands of farms, replacing hundreds of thousands of septic tanks, overhauling numerous sewage plants. The work will cost billions, officials estimate, and much of the money is not available.
Gees, we are POISONING OURSELVES with these chemicals!
No money for another problem at home, huh? Sigh!
Ann Pesiri Swanson, the executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, an advisory group of state officials from around the watershed:
"We know what to do to clean it up. We just bloody don't have the money to do it."
That's because ALL the MONEY has gone to FIGHTING WARS based upon unholy LIES!
