By: Paola Bencosme and Mailynn Lam
Over the years, it has become a known fact that humans have made many negative impact on Earth’s environment. The significance of people’s effect becomes worse by day, as seen in our own beautiful city. Biscayne Bay is an evident example of areas in Miami affected by such, as it progressively declines in health. Although the bay has always been mistreated, around the start of August, countless dead fish have been surfacing the shores of the bay. An apocalyptic sight, it is a present threat that can spread to surrounding ecosystems, including our pristine beaches. To many, the environment does not concern them, however, it in fact has a great influence on their lives.
The reason behind the enormous loss of fish begins with heavy pollution by humans. Mr. Llano, science teacher and department head at Braddock, explains that “litter, fecal contamination from wast water,” storm- water runoff; overall, poor management of the bay are great factors that increase
temperature and alter oxygen levels in the waters. Oxygen is crucial to all life and in bodies of water
damaged by pollution, the ecosystem suffers when their supply of oxygen is cut off. In the case of
Biscayne Bay, it is known that it is heavily polluted as the citizens of Miami do very little to take care of it. The direness of the situation, however, goes further than just the surface level of the water. A marine expert from the Frost Science Museum has mentioned that there are much more unaccounted dead fish at the bottom of the bay. As we all learned in science class, any weak link in the food chain can have a domino effect. In the long run, don’t be surprised to see a dead waste swamp in exchange for the beautiful Biscayne Bay.
Nonetheless, it is essential that we intervene and care for our planet. Biscayne Bay is a vital part
of our lives. As an ecosystem, it is home to the “largest estuary on the coast of southeast Florida.” Not
only does it serve the animal kingdom, it maintains an aspect in our everyday lives. It is home to the Port of Miami- a large part of our city’s income- and fisheries. The bay provides recreational activities, such as boating and sunbathing- some of your favorites. Llano agreed that each person in Miami- Dade county, whether they are residents or tourists, are greatly affected by the bay. Consequently, the health of the bay is more important to us than one would think.
Although the local government has been trying to fix this problem, their attempts are insignificant
compared to the drastic damage throughout the bay. As citizens of Miami and humans of Earth, it is our duty to protect and preserve our only home; there is no Planet B. To find ways to do your part in restoring our fragile ecosystem, educate yourself and others, advocate about the importance of the bay , and find alternatives to our destructive ways. Ms. Pallidine, the environmental teacher here at Braddock was also interviewed and we got her take on the recurring Biscayne Bay issue. Ms. Pallidine has been a teacher for over 30 years, teaches all kinds of science classes, and is a big animal lover and very big on the conservation of the environment. Ms. Pallidine was asked who is affected by this issue and what the main source of this problem is from. She replied with, “it’s mainly the marine animals and organisms but also the companies that make a profit out of catching and selling these animals that are sold to restaurants.” She strongly believes that the reason city officials have not taken action on the matter sooner is simply because of money. The city gets money from all of the new infrastructure being made in the city and is not taking into account the damage that it is causing to the ecosystems and marine animals.
Ms. Pallidine claims that pollution in the bay is not directly the entire bay as a whole but the parts
that are affected will spread and harm the healthy. If the issue does not, she believes that our bay will drastically reduce in size and number of organisms, affecting our economy as well. The only way to prevent our society from causing an issue is like this is by educating younger and older generations more. Informing children when they are in elementary school the importance of conserving our environment and teaching them to appreciate it would make a grand difference in the way that future construction and infrastructure projects are handled.
The Watchdog 