Massachusetts

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Massachusetts
Massachusetts is one of the most densely populated states, though it is the sixth smallest. It is the center of finance and trade region known as New England.  Boston, the capital of Massachusetts, is the largest city and a major tourist attraction. The various universities in the Boston area have helped form a hub of research, education, medicine and culture. Fishing is the state’s main industry and cranberries are one of the primary crops (mainly near Cape Cod). Many important historical events, including the Boston Tea Party (which led to the American Revolution), occurred in Massachusetts.

New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a small state in New England known for its natural splendor from season to season. Vacationers flock to the state for outdoor activities, supplying a major source of income. Because of its large granite deposits, New Hampshire is referred to as the “Granite State”. The capital of New Hampshire is Concord, and Manchester is the state’s largest city. Aside from the beauty of its natural environment, New Hampshire has strong mining, papermaking, and ship building industries.  

Crying Indian

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Nashua River
The state of Massachusetts has 4,230 miles of rivers. The Nashua and Concord Rivers both flow from the Merrimack, one of the most important rivers in New England. The Nashua River is named for the Nash-a-way Indians who inhabited the land around the river, called the Nashua Valley, for hundreds of years. The word “Nash-a-way” translates as “River with the Pebbled Bottom”. The natives used the river as a barrier to protect themselves from the pilgrims, who were trying to take over the land.

Pilgrims began to utilize the river for saw-mills in the mid-1700s, and lumber later became a major commodity for the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s. Until the 1960s the Nashua River was used by manufacturers to discharge industrial waste. The dyes of the paper factories polluted the river and colored the water, making the Nashua one of the most polluted and least inhabitable rivers in the nation.

Marion Stoddart, an environmentalist, created the Nashua River Clean-Up Committee in 1965 with the goal of cleaning up both the river and the land surrounding it. To strengthen the effort, the committee formed the Nashua River Watershed Association in 1969 and created a plan to improve the river’s condition permanently. Though the condition of the river has vastly improved over the past 300 years, because of new pollution risks, people must continue to work for the protection and preservation of the Nashua River.

River Diagram

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Water Pollution
Water pollution is an extremely serious problem because 70 to 75 percent of the earth is made up of water. Water pollution is the result of poisons, metals, oils, and other contaminating wastes entering water sources (streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans), and atmosphere (through burning). Air pollution also contributes to water pollution when it rains. The three main sources of water pollution are: industrial wastes, sewage, and agricultural wastes. In some cases it is hard to distinguish polluted water because it can appear to be clean even when it contains unhealthy levels of poisonous chemicals. Pollution prevents organisms, plants, and wildlife from living in the water. It also prevents humans from enjoying bodies of water for swimming and boating as well as for  drinking.

Another harmful aspect of water pollution is that it stops natural processes that take place within ecosystems. Mineralization is a process where bacteria that use oxygen break down organic wastes into simpler substances. These substances are needed for life to exist in water. When one species, such as these tiny bacteria, is affected by pollution, the whole system changes.

Most countries are affected by water pollution. Various laws have been passed to regulate the amounts of pollutions released into bodies of water and billions of dollars have been spent on research and water treatment plants. Unfortunately, many countries can’t afford the research and treatment, and their populations are forced to live with contaminated water, including drinking it.

Water is part of everything. 60 percent of the human body is made up of water, as is most of the earth. It is important to remember that water is life.

New Hampshire		Massachusetts