Below the Surface
The Dow nstre a m Cam p aign &
The 90-D ay Plan
“Knowledgeoftheoceansismorethanamatterofcuriosity.Ourverysurvivalmayhingeuponit.”‐JohnF.Kennedy
UPSTREAMACTIONSintheMississippiRiver’sdrainagebasinareleadingtoseriousimpactsdownstream.Theconnectionisclear:problemsonourcoastsdonotstartthere;inordertoaddresswaterqualityconcernsinouroceans,wemustlookupstreamtothesourceoftheproblem.
Atpresent,theMississippiRivercontaminatestheoceanmorethananyothersourceintheUnitedStates.Nonpointpollution(non‐specific,collectivecontamination)istheprimeculprit.Whywaitforproblemstoreachthecoastwhenwecanpreventthemupstream?
THE90‐DAYPLANisasolutionforall.
Natureisincrediblyresilient.Ifwecanallowtherivertotakecareofitselfbycleaningupouractforthreemonths—thetimeittakesfortheMississippitotravelfromitssource,LakeItasca,MNtothesea—wecouldseeconditionsimproverelativelyquickly.AllIamaskingforis90days.
Ihavedevelopedacomprehensiveapproachforindividualstotakewhichwillprovidesolutionstowaterpollutionnationwide,upstreamanddown.The90‐DayPlanisaseriesofstepsforindividualstotakeandchoicestomakeonedayatatimeoverthecourseofthreemonths.TakingactionwillenabletheparticipanttoreducetheirWaterMark™ andplayapartincleaninguptheMississippiRiverandultimatelytheocean.Theplanisnearlyoperational;itwillbelaunchedonJune22nd2009aspartofILGovernorPatQuinn’sIt’sOurRiverDayCelebration.
WaterMark:theamountofnonpointwaterpollutionproducedbyanindividual.
KristianAndersGustavsonisarecentgraduateoftheUniversityofCaliforniaSanDiegowithadegreeinPoliticalScience.HispassionforthewaterledhimtoworkasalifeguardandsurfinstructorwhileatUCSD.Justaswaterintheriversheexploredasayoungboyeventuallyreachedthesea,Kristiandidtoo‐‐hewasborninBloomington,IL. TheconceptoftheDownstreamCampaignwasinspiredbyajourneytwoofhisuncles,BobandGreg,tookwhentheytraveledtheMississippiRiverin1966bycanoe.Asasurfer,Kristianwasexposedtoanewdimensionofthewaterandabletomaketheconnectionbetweenupstreamactionsandtheirdownstreamimpacts.Thoughhewantedtoleisurelytravel‘OleMissfirsthand,hefeltthathecouldnotturnhisbackonthewaterduetoitsdegradation.
Priortohisspringof2008graduationfromUCSD,GustavsonperformedresearchunderthesupervisionofProfessorPaulDaytonattheScrippsInstitutionofOceanographyonhoweffluentfromtheMississippiRivercontaminatestheocean.Hisconclusionmadehimawareofaharshreality:theMississippiRiver‐‐themostpollutedriverintheUS‐‐carriesmorecollectivewatercontaminationfromhumanactivities(nonpointpollution)totheoceanthananyothersourceinthecountry.Inadditiontononpointsources,pointorspecificsourcesareindireneedofstricterregulationduetofrequentdrinkingwaterconcerns.TheseareallseriousissuesandKristianispreparedtogothedistanceinordertotakethemon.TheSanDiegochapteroftheSurfriderFoundationhelpedtolaunchhiscampaign.
BACKGROUND:TheDownstreamCampaignThejourneythatbeganwithafloodandendedwithahurricane:GustavsonsetoutfromCairo,ILon29June2008andtraveledover700milesontherivertoBatonRouge,LAinlessthanthreeweeks.Floodconditionsandriverclosuresalteredhisintendedcourse,whichwastodepartfromPekin,IL.Kristian’sfatherWilliamgotonboardinMemphis,TNfortheremainderofthevoyage.HisgoalwastoreachNewOrleans,LAashisuncleshad;however,heavyshiptrafficandstrongcurrentspromptedsafetyconcernsandresultedinanearlyexit.Inthespringof2009hewillruntheremainderoftheriverfromBatonRouge,LAtotheGulfofMexico;thenuptheAtchafalayaRiverfromthecoastbymotorboatifhecanraisethenecessaryfunding.Thiswouldestablishabaselinetocomparewaterqualityintheseverelypollutedportionoftheriverdubbedthe“CancerCorridor”betweenBatonRougeandNewOrleanswiththerelativelypristinedistributaryoftheMississippi,theAtchafalaya.TheunfortunateeventsofMidwesternfloodsanddamagefromtheactive2008hurricaneseasondemonstratehowthepowerofwatertrulyshapesourlives.InJuly2008,a400,000‐gallonoilspillintherivernearNewOrleans,showsthatproblemsontheriverareever‐presentandillustratedhowquicklypollutionflowsdownriver.Atnearly8,000squaremiles,NOAAscientistshavedeemedtheoxygen‐deficient“DeadZone”intheGulfofMexicothesecondworstofalltime.Oxygendeclineintheworld’soceansisaseriousthreattomarinelifeandtherearenearly400similarhypoxiczonesworldwide.AccordingtoRobMagnien,directorofNOAA’sCenterforSponsoredCoastalOceanResearch,“reducingnutrientpollutiontoprotectcoastalresourcesisoneofthegreatestecosystemmanagementchallengesthatwefacenation‐wide.”Thisisasignificantconcernbecause90%ofmarinelifelivesincoastalwaters.
Theultimategoalistoinformthepublicthatweallliveinacoastalwatershedandthatourupstreamactionshaveseriousdownstreamimpacts.Heaimstodemonstratehowwecanallmakeadifferenceonanindividuallevelandthatthereisnotimelikethepresenttoact.KristianiswelcominginvitationstospeakacrossthecountryforthisspringandsummerashetravelsthroughouttheMississippi’swatershedtakingwatersamplesandpresentinghisfindings.Hehasincorporatedabusiness,BelowTheSurface,asameanstosupporthisefforts.
TheUpstreamAwarenessTourAnupstreamsurgeofawarenessandaccountabilitytobringitalltogether.
‐IntheSpringof2009,IwillsetoutonanationwidetourtopresentmyfindingsfromtheexpeditionandmyresearchcombinedwithsolutionsfromThe90‐DayPlan.‐Totrackpeopleonboard,Iwillhaveaweb‐basedmonitoringsystemmatchedwithforumsfordiscussionandablogofmytravels.‐Ihavebeengatheringfootageforadocumentaryofthejourney,myexperience,andourroadahead.‐MygoalistogivepresentationsatalltheBig12schoolsandtoatleast10otheruniversitiesintheMidwestandSouth.‐IwillintroduceStandUpPaddleSurfingonlakesandriversalongtheway;experienceinthewaterbuildstheappreciationofitandleadstobetterconservationefforts,plusitsfun.‐Iwillcontinuetomeetwithconservationorganizationsandrepresentativestodiscusslocalissuesandbetterunderstandtheoverallhealthofournation’swaterways.‐IwillcontinuetopromotetheSurfriderFoundationandIwouldliketomeetwithasmanychaptersaspossibleacrosstheUS.‐Iwillkeepatravelloginprintandonlineasameansofaccountability.‐Topromoteenergyindependence,Iwilltravelinapick‐uptruckthatrunsonwastevegetableoil(WVO)&Biodiesel.‐Thiscampaignhasthepotentialtoreachthousands,maybemore;Iintendtogobigandforaslongasittakes!
RedefiningourApproach—ShiftingBaselinesWatershedmanagementisamust,butwemustallrecognizewhythisisimportant.Ancient
Hawaiiansfosteredtheirrespectforthelandandtheseabycaringforitasawhole.ThetermAhuPua’areferstotheallocationpracticethatdividedlandintosectionsextendingfromthemountaintothecoast.ImplementingThe90‐DayPlanwillleadtocleanerwaterbecausewhatgoesupmustcomedown.
Evidencesuggeststhatdrasticchangestotheecologicalstructureandfunctionoftheriverhavebeenunderwayduringthelastfiftyyearsduetoanthropogenicorhumancauses.TheMississippiisthemostpollutedriverinAmericaanditdrainsrun‐offfromalmosthalfofthecontinentalUS(1.2millionsqmi).
ExcessivefertilizerapplicationintheMidwesthasledtotheover‐enrichmentoftheMississippiRiver.Theformationofanoxygendeficient“deadzone”intheGulfofMexicohasresultedfromthistypeofeutrophication.Habitatlossandoverfishingcontributetothewatershed’sinabilitytoself‐regulateandsustainstablefishandgamepopulations.Furthermore,invasivespeciesareaprimeconcern,accountingfor80%oftheriver’stotalbiomass.Itiswidelyknownthattheoveralluseofvehiclespollutestheairmorethananythingelse;butwhatislessknownandperhapsjustasstartlingisthatoureverydayactionsareTHEprimesourceofwaterpollution.
I realize that there are some tough issues and serious concerns facing our country. I want to lend a hand in strengthening America because what we have and what we have to lose are one in the same.
TheMississippiRiverhasalwayssymbolizedtheAmericanwayoflife.IftheMidwestistheHeartland,thentheMississippiisthiscountry’spulseandprimaryvessel.Whatdocurrentreflectionsinthewaterindicate?America’soceanscover4.5millionsquaremiles—encompassing23%moreareathanourland.TheMississippiRiverdrainsnearlyhalfofourlandintotheGulfofMexico,carryingwithit1.5millionmetrictonsofNitrogen‐basedfertilizereveryyear.Thistypeofrun‐offhasincreased5X’ssincethe1950’sandisasignificantformofnonpointpollution.Asaresult,over60%ofcoastalriversandbaysintheUSsufferfromeutrophicationandhypoxia(thisisseeninnearlyeverycoastalstate).Thismustchangebecauseoxygenlevelsinoceansworldwidearedrasticallydecreasingandwehavenearlyfortyconfirmed“deadzones”nationwide.Collectively,oilfromstreetsanddrivewaysisequaltooneExxon‐Valdezspill(11milliongallons)everyeightmonths.OurappetiteforseafoodfromtheGulfofMexicohasencourageddestructivefishingpractices;onaverageBycatch,ortheunintendedlandingofanon‐targetspecies,comprises25%ofthecatchandistypicallydiscarded.Justashabitatlossonlandisthemaincauseofextinction,thesamegoesforthewateranditssurroundings.Forinstance,wetlandsintheUSarevanishingatarateofover60,000acresperyear.Unfortunately,conditionsintheMississippiRiverandtheGulfofMexicorepresentwhysimilarwaterqualityconcernsexistworldwide.Justbecauseouractionsrippleoutofsight,theyshouldneverbeoutofmind—ParishesalongtheriverbetweenBatonRouge,LAandNewOrleans,LAthatdrawdrinkingwaterfromtheMississippihavebeencalledTheCancerCorridorbyecologistsbecausetheyhavethehighestratesofG.I.tractcancersintheUS.Wehavearesponsibilitytoourneighborsdownstream;halfoftheUSlivesonornearthecoast,butallofuslivewithinawatershed.
WeAllLiveDownstream
*Thisneedstobeyournewmap
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Withineverychallengeexistsanopportunity
Be the Solution
Thebeautyofthewater,sand,andwavescanobscurelurkingdangersbelowthesurface.Theconnectionbetweenouractionsonlandandsubsequentimpactsinthewaterisclear.Ourabilitytocorrectthedamagedoneisdirectlyproportionaltoourwilltodoso.Thesignificanceofwheretherivermeetstheseamustnotbetakenforgranted.
Wehavecreatedtheseproblems;wecansolvethem.Toooften,individualswonderhowmuchtheirparticipationreallymatters.Thatisnolongerthequestion,buttheanswer.Whatifmakingachangemeanttakingachance?Changeusuallymeanstryingsomethingneworlookingatthesamethinginadifferentway;butifitmeantdoingtherightthing,wouldyoustilltakethechancetomakethechange?
Kristian Anders Gustavson Mobile: 760.277.3503 Email: [email protected]
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©2008BelowtheSurface
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