{"id":76106,"date":"2016-07-11T12:00:47","date_gmt":"2016-07-11T11:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=76106"},"modified":"2016-07-07T12:47:29","modified_gmt":"2016-07-07T11:47:29","slug":"glyphosate-sprayed-on-gmo-crops-linked-to-lake-eries-toxic-algae-bloom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2016\/07\/glyphosate-sprayed-on-gmo-crops-linked-to-lake-eries-toxic-algae-bloom\/","title":{"rendered":"Glyphosate Sprayed on GMO Crops Linked to Lake Erie’s Toxic Algae Bloom"},"content":{"rendered":"

G<\/em>lyphosate, the controversial main ingredient in Monsanto\u2019s Roundup and other herbicides, is being connected to Lake Erie\u2019s troubling algae blooms, which has fouled drinking water and suffocated and killed marine life in recent years.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A dead fish surrounded by algae in Lake Erie during a record-setting algae bloom in 2011. Photo credit: Tom Archer\/NOAA<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a06 Jul 2016 – <\/em>Phosphorus<\/a>\u2014attributed to farm runoff carried by the\u00a0Maumee River\u2014has long been identified<\/a> as a leading culprit feeding the excessive blooms in the western Lake Erie basin. Now, according to a new study from chemistry professor Christopher Spiese, a significant correlation has been established between the increased use of glyphosate to the percentage of dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) in the runoff.<\/p>\n

As\u00a0No-Till Farmer<\/a>\u00a0observed\u00a0from the study,\u00a0DRP loads in Lake Erie increased in the mid-1990s at the same time that farmers began the widespread cultivation of\u00a0crops\u00a0genetically engineered to\u00a0withstand multiple applications of Roundup.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor every acre of Roundup Ready soybeans and corn that you plant, it works out to be about one-third of a pound of P [phosphorus] coming down the Maumee,\u201d Spiese told the agricultural publication.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how the team came to the conclusion, as No-Till Farmer reported:<\/p>\n

Through his own and others\u2019 research, Spiese found that depending on the types of metal in the soil, glyphosate does release P. For example, when glyphosate is applied to soil containing iron oxide-hydroxide, P is immediately released. But almost nothing is removed when it\u2019s an iron oxide material.<\/em><\/p>\n

Finally, Spiese took soil samples all over the Maumee watershed, applied P to them and then sprayed glyphosate to see how much P was released vs. soil that wasn\u2019t sprayed with glyphosate after 24 hours. He saw desorption occurred all over the watershed, but certain areas were higher than others, specifically in the southeastern corner.<\/em><\/p>\n

Based on the average two glyphosate applications growers make every year, Spiese estimates that overall, 20-25 percent of the DRP runoff is caused by glyphosate. But depending on the location within the watershed, that percentage could be much lower or much greater.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSome of those sites, it\u2019s less than a percent. Other sites it\u2019s almost 100 percent,\u201d he says.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The #usa & #canada have joined forces against the attack of the algae at Lake Erie. #sustainablecolumbia http:\/\/ow.ly\/YFFcq<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Previous studies have tied glyphosate to the phosphorous fueling Lake Erie\u2019s blue-green algae. In 2009, Ohio Sea Grant<\/a> researchers, Drs. R. Michael McKay and George Bullerjahn of Bowling Green State University, found that glyphosate could only be detected in the lake at certain times of year\u2014after crops are planted.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur research is finding that Roundup is getting into the watershed at peak farming application times, particularly in the spring,\u201d McKay said.<\/p>\n

Approximately 1,000 metric tonnes (about 2.2 million pounds) of Roundup is applied in the Lake Erie watershed per year, and it is being detected in adjacent waterways particularly in the spring, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) noted<\/a> from McKay and Bullerjahn\u2019s study.<\/p>\n

The researchers also found that the blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in the lake are capable of using phosophonates.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt turns out that many cyanobacteria present in Lake Erie have the genes allowing the uptake of phosphonates, and these cyanobacteria can grow using glyphosate and other phosphonates as a sole source of phosphorus,\u201d Bullerjahn said.<\/p>\n

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Lake Erie\u2019s Toxic Algae Bloom Forecast for Summer 2016 https:\/\/t.co\/rXMaGvslHG<\/a> @greenpeaceusa<\/a> @HuffPostGreen<\/a><\/p>\n

— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) June 14, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n