The Bay’s water pollution is bad, and we should take it seriously because animals are dying, ecosystems are being destroyed, and Fishermen are losing their jobs.  Today I will be telling you about why we have to stop polluting the Chesapeake Bay.  Everybody knows that the Bay is polluted, and people with authority aren't helping to stop it from becoming polluted. Agricultural waste, wastewater treatment, septic, and storm water run-offs are the main four sources of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. 37% and 53% of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution to the Bay, farms can be blamed for. 20% of the total amount of nitrogen pollution and 22% of the total quantity of phosphorus to the Bay is due to the stormwater. This is how agricultural waste becomes the biggest pollutant of the Bay. Over-irrigating farmland, over-tilling soil, and over applying fertilizers and pesticides are, unfortunately, some of the agricultural practices that can push pollution into the Bay and its local waterways. These practices are just a few of the reasons why agriculture is the largest source of sediment and nutrient pollution that goes into our beloved Chesapeake Bay. In 2015, the Bay Program estimated that agriculture contributes 55 percent of the phosphorus, 60 percent of the sediment, and 42 percent of the nitrogen that wind up in the bay. This is a sad, but true story of the Chesapeake Bay. On a distant shore, in the marsh there is a great blue heron, unconcerned about the smokestacks of a nearby power plant and oil refinery, is surprised into flight. A loon that dives into the bay for breakfast is not seen again, due to the horrific water pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.

The first reason why we have to stop polluting the  Chesapeake Bay is that animals are dying. One reason why animals are dying is that oil refineries are spilling oil inside of the Bay, causing the animals to die. Since there are so many oil refineries near the Chesapeake Bay I'm going to give a hypothetical example of what happens when oil spills in the Bay. Imagine if there's an oil refinery next to the Chesapeake Bay. Now imagine that it was not being carefully supervised. Then one day all the oil spilled into the bay. All of the animals around that oil refinery for miles would die because they can't have food and their water is unclean. Now, have you ever heard of dead zone? Dead zones are places where it is so polluted, that the chemical mixer can't even support life.  Dead zones are mostly caused by oil refineries and agriculture. The following animals are the animals that get affected most by dead zones. These species include Atlantic croaker, white perch, spot, striped bass, and summer flounder. These are all a key part of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and support important commercial and recreational fisheries.

The second reason why we have to stop polluting the Bay is ecosystems are being destroyed. One example of how ecosystems are being destroyed is how a lot of times because animals in the Bay are dying, the animals that live on the land don't have any food. For example, if a loon fishes for fish in the bay every day, and then all of a sudden there are no fish left. Then the loon will probably die due to malnourishment.  Another example of how ecosystems are being destroyed is how the chemicals that spill into the Bay’s waters are making the fish become poisoned, to the animals that eat the fish become poisoned, too. For example, If an oil refinery spills its oils into the bay, then the fish in the bay would become poisoned. So, the animals on land that ate those animals would become poisoned, too, because their food was poisoned. One last example of how ecosystems are being destroyed is that big companies are taking part in the Bay for themselves and draining them! By doing this they are destroying animal habitats and getting rid of food for other animals. For example, if a big company drains part of the Bay, then not only are they taking the lives of thousands of animals, but they are also taking away a lot of animals main source of food.

The last reason that I am going to tell you about why we have to stop polluting the Chesapeake Bay is that fisherman are losing their jobs. Fishermen are losing their jobs because all of the pollutions is killing the fish, oysters, crabs, and clams. So, The fishermen cannot sell them to make any money. For example, the Chesapeake Bay used to be one one of the most productive oyster beds in America, and now because all of the oysters are dying, those men and women have nothing to sell, so no money to buy things with. Now, I know that you are probably arguing that we can provide other jobs, and we can fish other places in the world. However, there are animals that are unique to the Chesapeake Bay that you can not get to eat anywhere else, and some fishermen have that job because they like to fish.

So, please, stop polluting our beloved  Chesapeake Bay. You can stop pollution by using less unnecessary oil. By signing this petition, you are helping us reach a goal of 100,000 signatures so that we can take it to court. If we do get the opportunity to take this to court, we will demand that more laws be placed to protect the Chesapeake Bay. Even if the case is not successful, it will raise conversation, perhaps even causing Congress to consider putting more consideration into bringing this controversial topic to the table. The Bay’s water pollution is truly bad, and we should take it seriously because animals are dying, ecosystems are being destroyed, and Fishermen are losing their jobs. This is why today I told you about why we have  to stop polluting the Chesapeake Bay.  Everybody knows that the Bay is polluted, so you should be helping to stop it from becoming more polluted.