Declining Biodiversity!

 Dear Nicole Avery Nichols,

My name is Anusha Gupta, and I am an 11th grade student attending Troy High school in Michigan. I’m reaching out to you, the editor of the Detroit Free Press, to raise awareness about an environmental concern I believe we need to take prompt action towards. A major local environmental issue we have is the concerning decline of fish biodiversity in the Great Lakes, due to a combined effect of food waste and pollution. According to the United States Geological Survey, 83% of freshwater species and 30% of freshwater ecosystems have been lost since 1970. This is critical because there are many people who rely on fish for sustenance. The UN estimates fishing provides essential nutrition to over three billion people worldwide. I believe we must, as the state of Michigan, act on this issue and together we can work to restore our freshwater fish species.  

As you may know, food waste is a prevalent issue across the United States. From grocery stores, food manufacturers, farms, restaurants, and households, Michigan is a big contributor to the food waste problem.  But what you may not know is that the pollutants from that food waste is accumulating in our lakes and is killing our fish. This type of pollution is called nutrient pollution. The overabundance of nitrogen and phosphorus from the food waste creates algal blooms in the lakes, ultimately resulting in anaerobic “dead” zones — areas lacking oxygen and sunlight — which kill the fish.

 

I urge this newspaper to publicly highlight the harmful effects of food waste on our environment and begin drawing attention to big corporations that are doing the most harm. If we can reduce Michigan’s amount of food waste, we can reduce nutrient pollution and improve the water quality of our beautiful lakes, ultimately saving our fish populations from decline. Thank you for reading this letter and I hope it leads to widespread change in our state. 

Thank you,

Anusha Gupta