Roundup is increasingly found in the environment. It is almost certain that it is present in offshore seawater. Here in California we close beaches after heavy rains because of all the dog waste washing into the ocean. With all our focus on drought tolerant landscaping and the use of Roundup to remove lawns all over coastal areas of California there’s probably been a huge influx of Roundup into the California Coastal seawater.
There is a worldwide increase in coral bleaching. Corals are a community organism consisting of a plant and animal system that build a mineral home. I wondered if anyone has investigated the toxicity of Roundup on the plant component of corals. And for that matter the mind bogglingly large amounts of algae that are the basis the coastal food net. So I googled coral bleaching and Roundup.
http://naturalsociety.com/roundups-glyphosate-fingered-possible-coral-reef-killer/#ixzz3oJD2FiAm describes a new study that
looks at the impact of the agro-chemical on sea life. The researchers found that glyphosate is particularly persistent and dangerous in sea water. It’s half-life, or the rate at which it breaks down, is dramatically longer in the ocean.
The study says, “the half-life for glyphosate at 25°C in low-light was 47 days, extending to 267 days in the dark at 25°C and 315 days in the dark at 31°C, which is the longest persistence reported for this herbicide.” But, in the soil, the chemical’s half-life is as quick as 5 days; in bog or fresh water, it’s 49 days.
Now this study did not investigate specifically the toxicity of Roundup to the coral plant component, but with the potential for rains coming up please stop using products on your yard and property that would likely to be toxic in the ocean. If you are not willing to bathe in it why would you want to force ocean creatures to?
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