Water Contaminated At Lake Atitlan Guatemala and South Dakota Pine Ridge Reservation

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 20, 2010

The Lakota Nation in South Dakota and the Mayans at Lake Atitlan have two things in common.

Both indigenous groups have been under a systematic plan by western civilization to exterminate their culture and religious beliefs.

Both groups, still living in poverty essentially controlled by the ‘white man’, are now even forced to drink contaminated water, which could mean the end for both of them.

Pine Ridge South Dakota

In South Dakota at the Pine Ridge Sioux Reservation, what’s left of the once proud full-blooded Lakota Nation, are now living worse than dogs with water contaminated by high concentrations of uranium levels from mining operations that have poisoned their underground water aquifers.

The response by the U.S. government 20 years ago was deceitful and down right despicable. The result now is cancer occurring due to contaminated water at Pine Ridge at levels 900 per cent above normal.

The result of nothing being done came from a slick and devious plan to first quiet dissent from Americans by promising to pipe fresh water from the Missouri River to Pine Ridge.

But that has never really happened, the pipeline only making it to a select few ‘stay by the Fort Indians’ bought and paid off by the FBI to back stab their own people, the fresh water never really getting to the people who really needed it.

Why has the U.S. government spent $1 trillion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, while ignoring abysmal water, food and housing on Pine Ridge as well as widespread homelessness in U.S.

In fact, when any full-blooded Lakota took up a strong leadership position for his people, including the fight for clean water, they were either silenced, tortured, jailed or even killed.

These stories are rarely heard anymore.

But one story worth recalling is what happened to a true warrior of the Lakota, John Trudell.

“When John went to Washington and burned an American flag in front of a government building, an FBI agent confronted John, saying ‘you know what happens to someone who burns the flag’?” recalled another true warrior and spokesman for the Lakota, Royce White Calf. “The agent said ‘you get burned’ and withing 24 hours a firebomb was thrown into his house back at Pine Ridge, killing his pregnant wife and three little children.

“Twenty years ago I spoke to 10,000 people, telling the white middle class that what you see happening to my people will one day, in the not too distant future, happen to you. One day you all will be living on one big ‘Great Indian Reservation’ just like us controlled by the very same people who destroyed our culture in the name of freedom.”

If we look closely at America and Central America, the prophetic words of Royce White Calf are coming true, freedom being nothing more than an illusion.

Lake Atitlan Guatemala

The story of the Mayans in Guatemala is essentially the same as the Lakota.

The region around Lake Atitlán is one of the poorest in Guatemala, most of the people make their living from agriculture cultivating crops, maize and beans.

However, tourism is also a big money maker, but not for most of the indigenous population.

Atitlan, the second most popular tourist attraction, brings in $30,000 million a year from tourism, a conservative estimate.

And here is where the rich whites rub up against the poor indigenous Mayans. Guess who gets the short end of the stick?

In a recent visit by the Arctic Beacon, we learned it is not uncommon that the locals are hired for $50 a month for gardening and lawn work, requiring them to work six to eight hours a day at least five days a week.

If that isn’t slavery, what is?

While reality is reality, statistics also show how the Mayans are still being trampled on by the benevolent benefactors of western civilization who justify their actions by saying “well, where would these people be without our tourist dollars and they are much better off now because of us.”

Are they?

Let’s look at the facts, not benevolence cloaked in meaningless words.

The distribution of wealth and income in Guatemala remains highly skewed, the rich getting richer and the poor poorer..

Total population is close to 13 million and roughly 80 per cent of the population, including those living at Lake Atitlan live in poverty. It has been estimated that two-thirds of that number or 7.6 million people live in extreme poverty.

Guatemala’s infant mortality and illiteracy rates are among the worst in the hemisphere. Chronic malnutrition among the rural poor worsened with the onset of the recent crisis in coffee prices.

The country’s high rates of illiteracy (85 per cent), infant mortality and malnutrition are even higher among rural indigenous peoples, meaning at places like Lake Atitilan in the western highlands. About five million people or 60 percent of the population live in rural areas and 81 per cent of rural people are indigenous.

Most rural Guatemalans depend upon agriculture, either as subsistence farmers or agricultural day laborers. Incomes are supplemented through small rural enterprises, especially the production of handicrafts.

But still the wages for people on the Lake Atitlan barely provide enough for necessities, many still living in shacks on dirt floors.

Many of the indigenous people an Lake Atitlan go to bed hungry every night. Malnutrition was estimated as being the highest in all of Latin America and even higher than the 35 per cent figure in Africa.

To make matters worse, the drinking water at Lake Atitlan is so contaminated it is not even safe anymore to go swimming let alone drink it.

Here are portions of an article, explaining why Lake Atitlan is dying from cyanobacteria from over pollution The article appeared in a December 2009 American Quarterly publication written by Kim Andrade, a Central American-based freelance journalist who has worked as a multimedia producer and photojournalist for Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, San Jose Mercury News, and Oakland Tribune, among other publications.

In a pretend conversation written in Una Hoja de Papel, a child asks his grandfather what Guatemala’s Lake Atitlán—Central America’s deepest lake—was once like. “It was very beautiful, crystal clear waters, you could see through the waters to the pebbles on the shore,” the grandfather recalls. “It was once nominated as one of the seven wonders of the natural world. The couples chose this destination to spend their honeymoon. Undoubtedly, an enigmatic place of quiet waters and unparalleled splendor.” “But, what happened?” the grandson asked. “Simple, we stood idly with our arms crossed,” the grandfather said.

“I have lost hope,” said Skinner who believes strongly in local accountability. “The only hope is that it will fix itself.” Clearly, it’s time for action or Guatemala may lose one of its prized natural attractions.

Editor’s note: Once known as the most beautiful lake in the world, now Lake Atitlan, a 1000′ deep volcanic lake 130 square km in size, has been taken over by a massive bloom of cyanobacteria that is now entering its toxic phase ending the basic source of water for the thousands of lake shore inhabitants as well as halting the livelihood of indigenous fisherman.

Also, see more of Greg’s stories below on Atitlan. If you want to help raise money, awareness and meet the immediate needs of the Mayans, contact  gregbeacon at gmail.com Look for a new world wide web site coming out in two weeks, galvanizing interests worldwide to see the Mayans and Lake Atitlan are treated fairly. Also, a new weekly radio show will be broadcast highlighting Atitlan and the plight of all indigenous groups in North, South and Central America.

Lake Taihu In China And Lake Atitlan Experiencing Same Cyanobacteria Nightmare

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 19, 2010

The monstrous algae bloom that has turned Lake Taihu in China into a toxic nightmare is happening right now at Lake Atitlan.

And the root cause of Taihu’s algae sickness is the same as Lake Atitlan’s.

Specialists from China and America reported that an accumulation of nutrient-rich sewage and agricultural runoff were the main culprits of toxic cyanobacteria engulfing the lake, the same problems that caused 85 per cent of Atitlan last year to be covered by a thick, green algae scum..

Two years prior to the 2009 outbreak of cyanobacteria engulfed Lake Atitlan, turning the lake into a tourist ghost town, the following article appeared about Lake Taihu in the Marine Sciences Magazine and web site published by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The article detailed the worldwide cyanobacteria epidemic and its grave health concerns to human, animal and plant life.

Why wasn’t the gravity of this problem dealt with immediately at Atitlan? Why did everybody wait so long to do something – anything – since scientists were well aware of the raw sewage and agriculture toxic run-off problems as far back as 1976 when trace amounts of cyanobacteria were first detected.

Here is the article that appeared in 2007 about Lake Taihu. This needs to be distributed in Spanish as well as English and the message passed out to the more than 60,000 indigenous people living on the shoreline subjected to the use of tainted water.

Doing Battle With The Green Monster At Lake Taihu

As the motorboat glides through a carpet of fetid algae, Hans Paerl leans over the side and scoops up some of the tea-green muck with a plastic sampling bottle. In early June, a bloom of cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae, fanned out across Taihu, China’s third-largest lake. The growth was unchecked when a team led by Paerl, a cyanobacteria expert at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, arrived last month to help colleagues at the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology combat the foul bloom.

The amount of clean water pumped from Taihu is projected to reach 1 million tons per day by the end of 2008, and industries in Wuxi must meet a water-recycling rate of 78% by 2010. “There’s no doubt that Taihu is going to be a challenge,” says Paerl. Degradation of the lake’s water quality was a slow-motion train wreck that played out over several decades. It may take many more years to banish the blooms and bring back the Taihu Beauty of yore.
–LUCIE GUO
Lucie Guo is a freelance writer based in Boston.
Published by AAAS
1166 31 AUGUST 2007 VOL 317 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org

Here is a You Tube highlighting cyanobacteria outbreak at Lake Atitilan:

Editor’s note: Once known as the most beautiful lake in the world, now Lake Atitlan, a 1000′ deep volcanic lake 130 square km in size, has been taken over by a massive bloom of cyanobacteria that is now entering its toxic phase ending the basic source of water for the thousands of lake shore inhabitants as well as halting the livelihood of indigenous fisherman.

Lake Atitlan At Risk: Even Low Levels of Cyanobacteria Linked To Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s, and Parkinson’s

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 18, 2010

The people living and visiting the Guatemalen Highlands better think twice before drinking any water coming from Lake Atitlan, once considered the most beautiful lake in the world.

They better think twice before doing anything near the lake, including swimming, fishing, bathing and diving since recent health studies show even low levels of cyanobacteria in drinking water are linked to Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s, and Parkinson’s

They better think even more than twice until at least a proper monitoring system is put into place to detect the full extent of the 2009 cyanobacteria outbreak that erupted after years of neglect and raw sewage spilling into the lake without proper water treatment.

The 2009 outbreak was so bad it basically turned the area into a tourist ghost town with 85 per cent of the 30,000 acre volcanic lake being covered with a thick green algae scum – a scum that smelled like a bathroom at a truck stop.

With that horrible smell lingering in the minds of many, the people at Atitlan better think hard and fast about two very important things:

First, why after more 30 years since cyanobacteria was detected has not one accurate satellite imaging monitoring system been put in place?

Secondly, why hasn’t anybody been warned that a recent health study is linking even low levels of cyanobacteria in drinking water to many serious diseases and even the deaths of 50 people in 1996 in Brazil?

Why haven’t explicit warnings gone out when the algae bloom invaded Lake Atitlan last year, warning against serious gastrointestinal complications, liver damage, kidney damage, neurological symptoms, and potentially even death.

One study recently has linked cyanobacteria toxins to Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s, and Parkinson’s disease. Cyanobacteria is also on the U.S. EPA’s Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) for possible regulation. The Center for Disease Control, 35 U.S. States and Canada have issued serious warnings regarding water contaminated with cyanobacteria.

The same thing — even worse is now taking place at Atitlan – but most people are being kept in the dark and there are no similar warnings.

Cyanobacteria Linked to Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s, and Parkinson’s

Here are portions of a July 2009 article found in a Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine linking the above diseases to cyanobacteria in fresh water lakes like Atitlan. The health study even indicates the cause of these diseases may be stimulated by even low levels of cyanobacteria. The people at Atitlan better listen carefully.

It may be one of science’s most impressive pieces of detective work. Biologists at the Institute for Ethnomedicine, led by Director Paul Alan Cox, believe they’ve found the culprit for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and other “tangle diseases” including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and supranuclear palsy. The tiny neurotoxic molecule BMAA (?-N-methylamino-L-alanine) is produced by blue-green algae (also called cyanobacteria) found worldwide. The good news? The discovery could lead to a cure. The bad news? BMAA in drinking water could be a health risk even at low levels, but no one’s testing for it in water supplies yet.

“We realized that the BMAA molecule could be found at low levels in our water supplies,” says Banack. “We are developing commercial methods that can be easily used by municipalities, but they are not yet available.” The full article can be found at http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2009/…

In another comprehensive health study by the World Federation Neurology Research Group on Motor Neuron Diseases, the group reported how there is a 100 fold increase in ALS attributed to cyanobacteria toxins.

Proper Satellite Monitoring of Cyanobacteria

As unbelievable as it sounds, the officials in charge have not even taken steps to properly monitor Lake Atitlan to really know the full extent of the cyanobacteria problem even though the problem has been known for more than 30 years.

In the past, random samples have been taken but not to the extent needed. In fact, a less than comprehensive monitoring system can lead to conclusions filled with errors as seen in other lake monitoring programs.

In one Canadian lake, random sampling in parts of the lake led to a conclusion that the lake was “all clear” from cyanobacteria. However, after a proper satellite imaging of the lake was done, it revealed just the opposite.

“I cannot impress upon the people at Lake Atitlan the importance of using satellite imaging technology to get the root of the cyanobacteria problem,” said Milt Baker, CEO of Blue Water Satellite in Ohio.

Baker said cyanobacteria is threatening the existence of fresh water lakes all over the world. He added that Blue Water was formed and committed to saving the planet’s fresh water supply and the people needing it for survival, saying cyanobacteria has become the number one threat.

“We would like to use Lake Atitlan as an example of how good people working together can solve this most serious threat to the Mayans and their beautiful lake,” said Baker in a phone conversation Tuesday with members of Save Lake Atitlan Mission, a group formed in the U.S. to work with the Mayans to save their most precious lake.

“We will provide data that can accurately show the activity of cyanobacteria, how it has increased over the years, going all the way back for 27 years using meticulous satellite imaging records and pictures kept on file.

Before a problem can be solved, the extent of the problem must be accurately assessed.

Up until now, random sampling by academia and government officials at Atitlan has been far less than comprehensive, which could lead to erroneous conclusions.

“We even sent one of our consultants down to Lake Atitlan last month, but nobody from there has followed up yet. Our services and technology have been utilized on many other lakes around the world, including our work with the Canadian government to help eradicate cyanobacteria in many of the lakes there.

“I can’t understand why anyone at Atitlan hasn’t contacted us. It is a serious problem and we are willing to even cut our costs to help out.”

Baker went on to say specifically what type of monitoring is needed to get an accurate assessment of the damage done at Lake Atitlan.

“To be clear, our company Blue Water Satellite uses satellite imagery and patented algorithms to detect Cyanobacteria at ppb levels around the world. Because of the wide area of coverage, (approximately 30,000 acres) and our ability to measure 5 samples per acre for Lake Atitlan about 160,000 sample points per satellite scan would be needed. With these scans, we can develop a very accurate picture of cyanobacteria in Lake Atitlan.

“We can also measure Phosphorus on land as well as in water to help evaluate treatment strategies for proper farming to control and stop harmful toxic agricultural run off into the lake. We are ready to go to work at Lake Atitlan and waiting for someone there to make contact with us.”

Concerning the importance of getting accurate data on deadly cyanobacteria levels, Blue Water explains it on their web site at www.bluewatersatellite.com

“Today many large water bodies are sampled with very few data points. This leads to erroneous conclusions about the state health of the water body. We can detect cyanobacteria with high resolution at parts per billion (ppb) levels at a cost that is less than most ground sampling programs. We provide 5 samples per acre (5,000 samples for a 1,000 acre water body) at a cost that is typically less than the cost of 6-10 grab samples, providing statistically significant data. Our RMS error for Cyanobacteria measurement is plus or minus 2 parts per billion.

“We can sample very large watersheds where ground sampling is not practical. Our ability to detect Cyanobacteria early in the bloom cycle frequently allows our customers to save the cost of our service through decreased chemical usage. BWSI™ can also provide customers with information on total Phosphorus on land, total Phosphorus in water, E Coli, and floating vegetation coverage. Every 16 days we provide a report of Cyanobacteria presence, location, and concentration.”

Here is more information about cyanobacteria and Blue Water Satellite from its informative web site:

What are Cyanobacteria?

Cyanobacteria (commonly called blue green algae) are increasingly prevalent in the world’s water supplies. It can produce toxins which are harmful to human and animal health. Toxic cyanobacterial blooms occur because of favorable conditions including hot, sunny days and warm, nutrient-rich water. Cyanobacteria blooms are becoming worse due to global warming. Toxic Cyanobacteria blooms have been documented in water in 35 states and in Africa, Australia, China, and Europe. Cyanobacteria is considered a global problem.

Health Concerns

Human health effects include gastrointestinal complications, liver damage, kidney damage, neurological symptoms, and potentially even death. One study has linked Cyanobacteria toxins to Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s, and Parkinson’s disease. Cyanobacteria is on the US EPA’s Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) for possible regulation. The Center for Disease Control as well as many states has issued warnings regarding water contaminated with Cyanobacteria.

Who Started Blue Water?

Patented Technologies Dr. Robert K. Vincent, one of the world’s leading experts on remote sensing, patented a method to use the US Government’s Landsat satellite to detect incipient Cyanobacteria blooms. (US patent number 7,132,254 “Method and Apparatus for Detecting Phycocyanin-Pigmented algae and Bacteria from reflected light). This patent builds on over $ 1M in research grants Dr. Vincent received from NASA and NOAH and Dr. Vincent’s over 40 year experience in the remote sensing field.

We are dedicated to helping maintain the safety and purity of the world’s water supply. We use patented satellite imaging technology to detect the presence, location, and concentration (down to parts per billion) of early Cyanobacteria blooms in the world’s lakes, streams, rivers, ponds, and reservoirs. Early detection lowers chemical treatment costs and reduces damage to the water body. Satellite imaging is low cost and a key to improving the safety and quality of the world’s drinking water supply and recreational use waters. BWSI™ technology can also detect total sulfate, total phosphate, total vegetation coverage, turbid water, and leaks. See Satellite Images

Blue Water Satellite Advantages

Satellite remote sensing is ideal for detecting Cyanobacteria in large bodies of water at a very low cost. Resolution is 30 meters square and Cyanobacteria can be detected in parts per billion. Accuracy has been validated against direct water sampling. BWSI™ service is much lower in cost when compared with today’s method of direct sampling. BWSI™ can detect blooms early, lowering the cost of treatment chemicals and often saving the cost of the BWSI™ service. Less chemical treatment yields less damage to the water body.

Guatemala’s Lake Atitlán,

Surrounded by volcanoes and Maya settlements, it has been taken over by a massive bloom of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). It’s no shock to realize that decades of environmental damage have led to this, but it is still very weird to see a seemingly pristine body of water transformed into a big pool of slime, with growing “dead zones” where fish and other critters can no longer survive. Guatemala is facing a widespread hunger crisis already — so, for the at-risk human populations around the lake who live off a subsistence farmer/fisher lifestyle, this means more hunger, more death.

Here is an article on Blue water satellite on the NASA website.
 http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/news/news-a…

Also here is a short TV news story that was done about Blue Water.
 http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?sectio…

Editor’s Note: See more of Greg’s stories below on Atitlan. If you want to help raise money, awareness and meet the immediate needs of the Mayans, contact  gregbeacon at gmail.com Look for a new world wide web site coming out in two weeks, galvanizing interests worldwide to see the Mayans and Lake Atitlan are treated fairly. Also, a new weekly radio show will be broadcast highlighting Atitlan and the plight of all indigenous groups in North, South and Central America.

Save Lake Atitlan: Mayan Wisdom Forgotten

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 17, 2010

The word needs to get out – and get out quick — that Lake Atitlan in the Guatemalen Highlands is dying and needs immediate help.

Mayan wisdom is behind it.

Lakota wisdom is behind it.

God’s wisdom is behind it.

But what about the ‘great wisdom’ of the ‘man gods’ of modern western civilization?

This ‘great wisdom’ seems to be lacking when it comes to even the basic necessities – fresh water, clean air and healthy food.

Oh, the great “white fathers” can blame it on over population, global warming.

But these are all lies, lies intended to turn the world into one big “reservation” controlled by the elite who already control our water, food and even our air supply.

These are lies to pit mankind against one another in a constant battle of survival. These are lies intended to keep the good people of the world fighting against one another, struggling for survival while the elite wait to pull the final plug on mankind as we know it.

The Mayans know this.

The Lakota know this.

But why are so many white people blinded?

Why do so many not even see their air is invaded by toxic chem-trails, their food is being tainted by corporate farming and their fresh water is being left undrinkable by inept government and environmental officials who are essentially taking their orders from the elite.

These people, many of whom think they are helping, are actually taking their marching orders from the very same people who are actively still trying to destroy the remains of the Mayan and the Lakota.

The Mayans know the plan.

The Lakota know the plan.

Now its time for good white folk also to know the plan.

And there are plenty of good white people out there just waiting to finally hear the truth, waiting to hear what the revisionists of history have been covering up or, better yet, rewriting for centuries in order to give us a clouded picture of the past.

Give us a tainted history so tainted history repeats itself.

This is the slogan of those in charge of what should be called the ‘Abomination and Desolation’ of the earth and the remaining good people on it in the name of western progress, in the name of “We the People.”

It should be noted there remain many good white people who know deep in their hearts and souls something is drastically wrong with the world scene.

They know it but can’t put their finger on it.

For the time being put your little pinky finger in the water at Lake Atitlan and put your other pinky in the water at the Pine Ridge Lakota Reservation in South Dakota.

Analysis of both pinkies will show them contaminated.

It will also show both indigenous populations subject to a lack of fresh drinking water.

It will reveal that if the good white folk don’t take a strong stand for these two indigenous groups they will eventually be extinct. They will eventually be completely done in just like the great white wisdom of the ‘great white fathers” have been planning all along, ever since the Spanish invasion of Central America and the western European onslaught on North America.

If we don’t take a stand now to save Lake Atitlan and the fresh waters of South Dakota from becoming two green swamp pits, we good white people have the same future as the past Mayan and Lakota generations have experienced.

We will one day live on a ‘great Reservation’ with tainted water, tainted food and tainted air, controlled by a very small group of elite who take great delight in their dirty handy work while “We the People”, one by one, die a slow death just like the Mayans and Lakota.

So we here at Save Lake Atitlan Mission take this subject very seriously and call upon you good white people to stand for something more than just letting the so called “experts” make your decisions for you.

Using Lake Atitlan as a microcosm of the world’s fresh water problems, in a very short time there have been many good white folk wanting to lend innovative and cost effective solutions to save Lake Atitlan from extinction.

If that be the case, then why have there been so many stumbling blocks in the last 30 years?

Why are there still no water treatment plants? Why is raw sewage being dumped into the lake from all 12 towns and villages surrounding the lake? Why are people leaving Atitlan with cases of amoebic dysentery? Why are there concerns for cholera and other diseases cropping up at Atitlan reminiscent of the Dark Ages?

Why is the malnutrition rate of the Mayans the highest in Latin America, even exceeding the 35 per cent figure in Africa? Why are only 15 out 100 Mayans able to read?

Why do 75 per cent of the Mayans at Lake Atitlan live in impoverished conditions when a tourist industry brings in more than $30 million a year and that’s a conservative figure?

The reason is the good people in America and Guatemala are listening to wrong people. They are listening to the wrong wisdom. They are reading the wrong books and relying on tainted history lessons taught even at our so-called most prestigious universities.

If we said the problems at Atitlan could be solved with a little study of Mayan and Lakota wisdom coupled with an understanding of biblical principles, most people wouldn’t even know what we are talking about.

If we said, there are three or four good companies and many other good people right now ready and able to save Lake Atitlan, most people will just sluff it off, thinking let the experts handle it.

But the so-called “experts” won’t handle it. The “experts” never have and never will handle problems like are going on at Lake Atitlan otherwise our basic necessities of food, water and air wouldn’t be so polluted and unhealthy.

The words of a Lakota warrior and true chief of his people, said before a gathering of 10,000 in South Dakota in the 1970s, remind us of our eventual fate if we don’t take his words seriously and the words echoed by Mayan Elders.

He said the American people will end up just like the Lakota people, end up living on a ‘great big Reservation” controlled by the very same people who destroyed the Lakota Nation, the very same people who destroyed the Mayan Nation.

Simply put, what goes around comes around.

Let’s hope we can reverse that cycle at Lake Atitlan.

Editor’s Note: at least let’s get this short editor’s note translated into Spanish so the powers that be can contact the following companies and names that could make a difference at Lake Atitlan. Usually articles like the one above are interpreted by the so-called ‘experts’ as excluding them from any input. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, the so-called ‘experts’ are only being asked to question authority when authority is a hindrance rather than a help. The experts are asked to work side by side with good people wanting to solve Atitlan’s problems, including us at Save Lake Atitlan Mission and the people listed below.

See more of Greg’s stories below on Atitlan. If you want to help raise money, awareness and meet the immediate needs of the Mayans, contact  gregbeacon at gmail.com Look for a new world wide web site coming out in two weeks, galvanizing interests worldwide to see the Mayans and Lake Atitlan are treated fairly. Also, a new weekly radio show will be broadcast highlighting Atitlan and the plight of all indigenous groups in North, South and Central America.

Lake Atitlan Dying For Lack of Harmony Between Cultures

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 16, 2010

A Guatemala City news service reported last November that a thick chocolate scum covered 85 per cent of Lake Atitlan, driving tourists away and making water undrinkable for many of the 60,000 Mayans living on the shoreline.

A cry for help went out from the mountains protecting the sacred volcanic lake, but seven months later nothing really has been done.

But the mountains have been crying for their Mayan friends for much longer than seven months.

It has been going on for centuries ever since they were double crossed by western civilization after it came storming into Guatemala with swords drawn, guns blazing and a conquer or be conquered attitude.

In fact, no matter what western civilization says, it never really wanted to live side by side and in harmony with indigenous people, the mountains and Lake Atitlan. All western civilization ever really wanted to do was bring disharmony by disrupting the natural flow of things in the name of progress, power, control and greed.

History has shown us that sad fact.

In America, the west treats the once proud and brave Lakota Nation as cigar store Indians, turning the their sacred Black Hills in South Dakota into nothing more than ‘white man’s land’ and a huge money making tourist attraction

In Guatemala, the west has essentially done the same thing with the Mayans and their sacred Lake Atitlan.

In fact, the present day situation playing out at Atitlan is showing us all over again that history does repeat itself.

For example, if harmony existed, the Black Hills would be back in the hands of the Lakota, but their sacred hills remain tainted “white” even though The U.S. Supreme Court admitted treaties were broken and the land essentially was stolen.

For example, if harmony existed, Lake Atitlan would be back in the hands of the Mayans, but their sacred hills also remain tainted “white” even though the government, the Roman Catholic Church and foreign business interests know their land has essentially been stolen.

If harmony existed, the Mayans would have been allowed to live above the poverty line, farming and fishing in harmony with their lake, as they did for centuries. Now 75 per cent at Atitlan live in extreme poverty without even fresh water to drink.

Is that western progress?

If harmony existed, the United Nation’s Children Fund would not have recently reported Guatemala having the worst malnutrition problem in Latin America, even higher than the 35.2 percent average in Africa.

If harmony existed, an estimated 95 per cent of the indigenous population wouldn’t need improved fresh water sources due to mining operations, the explosion of tourism and the pollution that comes with it.

Simply put, if harmony really existed the Mayans wouldn’t be pushed close to extinction as their sacred lake dies a slow death at the expense of a $30 million dollar a year tourist industry.

Knowing you can’t turn back the hands of time and the clashing of cultures at Lake Atitlan, here is part of what is going on and some reactions from those watching:

There, of course, have been promises from the government and many scientific studies done to correct over pollution at Atitlan, but this has been going on for a very long time. This type of “wait till next year” attitude has been going on ever since first signs of toxins in the form of dangerous cyanobacteria were detected in 1976 just about the time the tourist industry was getting into full swing in Guatemala..

Finally, after years of neglect, the situation reached a boiling point last year when the lake essentially said it had enough, saying it had enough toxic fertilizers, enough raw sewage, enough poverty among its people and enough double talk from the powers that be.

It reached a point where Atitlan was telling the world with a display of thick, green algae going 100 feet deep in spots that it could no longer cleanse itself.

Scientists then scrambled to interpret Lake Atitlan’s symptoms, identifying the microorganism responsible for the massive green algae outbreak as Lyngbya, a species of toxic cyanobacteria.

The Guatemalen news assessed the damage being done at Atitlan this way:

“Cyanobacteria thrive on phosphorus and nitrogen, at the surface or in the depths of the lake, and in order to eradicate them both these elements must be prevented from entering the lake,” biologist Margaret Dix explained.

But pollution is not a new experience for these villages.

Editor’s Note: See more of Greg’s stories below on Atitlan. If you want to help raise money, awareness and meet the immediate needs of the Mayans, contact  gregbeacon at gmail.com Look for a new web site coming out in two weeks, galvanizing interests worldwide to see the Mayans and Lake Atitlan are treated fairly. Also, a new weekly radio show will be broadcast highlighting Guatemala and problems of indigenous people in North, South and Central America.

Last Laugh On People At Lake Atitlan

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 15, 2010

The last laugh is going to be on the people of Lake Atitlan if they continue to listen to cockeyed government and environmental agencies telling them how to solve toxic waste water flowing into the lake daily.

Their solutions, coming after a recent toxic green algae outbreak cut the legs off the $30 million a year tourist industry, were not only as impractical as climbing Mt. Everest barefooted in a bathing suit, but about as financially feasible as purchasing an emperor’s mansion on a peasant’s wages.

Since dangerous cyanobacteria was detected from a massive algae bloom covering 85 per cent of the surface water in October 2009, officials were finally forced to go public even though they have been aware of pollution in Lake Atitlan since the 1970s.

With reports spreading to the West and the resort community looking like a ghost town in 2009, the government said 15 new chemically based mechanically operated sewage plants were needed at a cost of $350 million to solve the problem.

And leave it to government to solve another problem with nothing more than an impossible dream of raising $350 million!

Leave it to fast talkers in government to lay out an impossible solution, especially considering the condition of the Guatemalen economy, a country that has a hard enough time rubbing two nickels together for a crumbling infrastructure let alone an exorbitant environmental protection plan.

Simply put, the government plan is like ordering an expensive dessert at a Five Star restaurant when it doesn’t have enough money in its pocket to even pay for the main course.

So why not look for reasonable solutions when we know governments in both Guatemala and America have a long history of being unreasonable, impractical, wasteful and, in fact, more of a hindrance than a help?

In a relatively short time, Save Lake Atitlan Mission, a non-profit organization formed in the States, has found a number of private individuals and companies willing and able with cost effective solutions to go to work.

Here are some examples of how bureaucracy and so-called experts get in the way of private ingenuity:

Monitoring Cyanobacteria

This should be the first order of business. A company called Blue Water Satellite, featured in the Arctic Beacon’s March 14 edition, should have been contacted but to date hasn’t.

Instead the University of California at Davis has allocated $18,392 dollars for a team of researchers to travel to the lake this year to provide further studies, including how to set up a monitoring system for water quality.

Why not spend $5 with a simple phone call to Milt Baker of Blue Water Satellite and let him tell the so-called experts from academia how to set up a monitoring system. Here is what he said this week to members of Save Lake Atitlan Mission.

“I read about your efforts to clean up Lake Atitlan. Our company Blue Water Satellite uses satellite imagery and patented algorithms to detect cyanobacteria at ppb levels around the world. Because of the wide area of coverage and our ability to measure 5 samples per acre (for Lake Atitlan 160,000 sample points per satellite scan) we can develop a very accurate picture of cyanobacteria in Lake Atitlan. We can also measure Phosphorus on land and in the water to help you evaluate treatment strategies.

“We are currently featured on the NASA web site and are on the cover of the latest issue of the North American Lake Management Society newsletter.”

Untreated Raw Sewage From 12 Towns And Villages.

Unless the raw sewage problem flowing into the lake daily isn’t corrected, everyone might as well pack their bags and head for the hills. Currently no effective sewage and water treatment exists, the last marginally effective plant knocked out by Hurricane Stan in 2005.

Tens of thousands of dollars have been spent on academic and environmental studies to come up with solutions in the last 30 years.

The result: no water treatment and a lot of ‘hot air’ blowing around the once pristine waters of what was considered the most beautiful lake in the world.

However, cheaper way would have been to tell the so-called ‘experts’ to put their noses to work, not their brains, take one good whiff of the lake smelling like a bathroom at a truck stop and then instead of writing, start building environmentally friendly waste water treatment facilities or constructed wetland projects.

Environmentalists also claim the introduction of Black Bass in the 1950s to lure tourists to Lake Atitlan disrupted the ecological balance, but even the Black Bass won’t be able to swim in a lake full of green toxic muck caused by an over abundance of garbage, toxic fertilizer and human excrement being dumped into the lake daily.

It’s a given that the government proposal of 15 sewage plants at $350 is absurd. It is most likely that not even one plant will go up in the next year, realizing nothing but al lot of talk has been the only accomplishment in the last 30 years.

With that in mind, why not let private interests go to work. At least two feasible alternatives exist, both ignored so far by the so-called experts.

The first alternative comes from a company out of British Columbia called Eco-Tek.

Patrick Meyer, chief operating officer, is excited about getting involved but said no one from Guatemala has even bothered to contact his company.

“In short, yes. This is something we can help with. “Panajachel is reputed to be about 14,000 (estimates now are 20,000) people. That’s far too many people to be going without water treatment. So, Panajachel did have a collection system and an existing site for sewage treatment. That makes things much easier and less expensive.

“The more I think about this opportunity the more excited I get. We have a low-cost opportunity to make a major change, a significant improvement on what is currently happening.”

“Also, take into consideration our facilities are not just about treating sewage; they’re about water re-use. We clean water to high enough standards that the water may be re-used for agricultural purposes. In Havana we created food producing gardens and an orchard as part of the project. Using this water for irrigation will reduce the toxic run-off from farms the area is presently experiencing.

“Costs for our system are minimal in warm climates. Our system is Havana would be most similar. It treats 300m3/day and cost $150,000. Further details of that project can be viewed at www.ecotek.ca/havana.html

“As an aside. A key consideration with any mechanical system is to keep maintenance costs in mind. Traditional sewage treatment systems can be extremely expensive when it comes to replacement parts. For our Havana project we really broke down the process and simplified it to eliminate most of the high-cost components. We estimated that operations/maintenance would cost $5,000 per year but I’d be surprised if it amounted to more than $2,000. Since then we’ve done further work on simplifying our system to the point that its hardly recognizable as a sewage treatment facility. Operation costs of the treatment facility should be zero.

The second alternative, which could very well work in conjunction with Eco Tek, comes from Chemical Engineer Kirk Jones, who is familiar with Lake Atitlan.

Jones says ‘the simplest, if not the most elegant, effective treatment method for Lake Atitlan is the constructed wetland.”

He said the government plan is impractical and too costly, adding “the most common method among industrial countries is mechanical treatment combined with microbiological and chemical treatment. This method is energy-intensive, labor-intensive, requires highly skilled personnel, is financially intensive, and is often polluting in its own right.”

On his web site www.lakeatitlan/treatment.htm he brings a very practical and inexpensive solution which must be considered:

The municipality of Panajachel, Guatemala (population 20,000) has been without wastewater treatment for 3.6 years due to the destruction of Hurricane Stan in late 2005.

Thus, the bio-available Phosphorus and Nitrogen enhance plant growth (and are removed from the system through continual harvest) while the rest of the Nitrogen is released (harmlessly) to the air and the rest of the Phosphorus is adsorbed to the Iron, Aluminum, and Calcium in the gravel and sand. The E. Coli and pathogens are removed through sedimentation, filtration, and absorption. The clean water can then be further used for agriculture or other reuse applications.

Editor’s Note: Once known as the most beautiful lake in the world, now Lake Atitlan, a 1000′ deep volcanic lake 130 square km in size, has been taken over by a massive bloom of cyanobacteria that is now entering its toxic phase ending the basic source of water for the thousands of lake shore inhabitants as well as halting the livelihood of indigenous fisherman.

Blue Water Satellite Wants to Monitor Cyanobacteria At Lake Atitlan

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 14, 2010

A company called Blue Water Satellite, featured on a NASA website, wants to help at Lake Atitlan in order to accurately monitor the toxic cyanobacteria outbreak from a thick layer of green algae that covered 85 per cent of the huge volcanic lake last October.

Before measures are implemented to correct the toxic algae bloom, it’s important to monitor lake conditions, according to Milt Baker, CEO of Blue Water Satellite, Inc in Ohio.

“I read about your efforts to clean up Lake Atitlan.,” said Baker this week in an email to the non-profit organization, Save Lake Atitlan Mission, a group from the U.S. and Guatemala trying to raise awareness and money to help the 60,000 Mayans living on the shoreline.

“Our company Blue Water Satellite uses satellite imagery and patented algorithms to detect cyanobacteria at ppb levels around the world. Because of the wide area of coverage and our ability to measure 5 samples per acre (for Lake Atitlan 160,000 sample points per satellite scan) we can develop a very accurate picture of cyanobacteria in Lake Atitlan. We can also measure Phosphorus on land and in the water to help you evaluate treatment strategies.

“We are currently featured on the NASA web site and are on the cover of the latest issue of the North American Lake Management Society newsletter.”

Baker said his company is eager to lend a helping hand, encouraging environmental and governmental officials at Lake Atitlan to contact him. To read more about Blue Water information can be found at www.bluewatersatellite.com

The water problems at Atitlan are nothing new but are now reaching a critical point where they can no longer be covered up or downplayed in order to keep tourist dollars flowing estimated to be more than $30 million a year as of 2002 figures.

When the toxic algae appeared last year, Time Magazine even covered the story.

Time reported that scientists first detected the cyanobacteria that now infests Atitlan as far back 1970s. But the genesis of the problem, reported Time, dates to the late 1950s when the Guatemalan government introduced non-native black bass into the lake’s waters believing that hotels and restaurants could lure more tourists if they could offer freshly caught lake fish on their menus.

The article entitled How Guatemala’s Most Beautiful Lake Turned Ugly, which had a major effect of slashing tourism at Atitlan last year by 75 per cent, had this to say in part.

Atitlan is indeed breathtaking, but nowadays it is leaving many visitors gasping for breath. A thick brown sludge is tarnishing its once blue waters. It is the result of decades of ecological imbalance, brought on by economic and demographic pressures. The unsightly and smelly layer, more than 100 feet deep in some areas, is chasing tourists away from Mayan towns in the area and posing huge cleanup expenses to a government already strapped for cash. Worse, the results of a University of California, Davis, analysis found that the bacteria is toxic. Scientists are urging residents to avoid cooking with, bathing in or drinking the water.

You can read the entire article at: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0…

A local blogger living in Atitlan had this to say about the recent outbreak of cyanobateria:

“I live with a Kaqchikel Mayan family in Santa Catarina Palopó and am trying to learn the Kaqchikel language. I’ve been to Guatemala many times and have spent a lot of time in the country. I would like to state that I care about the people of Guatemala. I feel compassion for them and I am sad to see what’s happening to the lake. I am posting this because I feel it is my duty to report what I witnessed today and because I care about the problem. I am not posting this to be malicious, judgmental, or to make myself appear superior. Indeed, I would rather not post this because this could put me in an awkward position with the community where I reside.

“Today I witnessed something shocking, even for me (and I’ve seen dead people strewn across the street in Guate). I don’t know if I’m over reacting or not but I feel that it is my duty to report what I saw. What I saw was sad, a little scary, and bizarre. It demonstrates the true level of ignorance in the community regarding this issue and illustrates the difficulty of the battle ahead. But it is also very hopeful…

“We have a real problem folks!

“Today, around 8:30 in the morning, the alcalde of Santa Catarina announced over loudspeakers to the village, that the lake is very dirty and that everyone in the village should go to the lake shore to help clean it. I can’t quote him exactly because my Kaqchikel is very poor but all the people whom I asked said something to that effect. Within an hour the shoreline was full of people. I’m not very good at estimating head counts but I’m pretty sure there were over a hundred. Also, people were coming and going throughout the day.

“Algae and seaweed were the declared enemies of the village! The idea was to remove the algae from the lake. People showed up with plastic baskets, screens, bedsheets for sifting and nets to remove the algae. People were plunging into the water and removing algae with their bare hands. They were diving under water and coming back to the surface with piles of seaweed and algae. People were removing rocks covered in algae from the water. There were people in boats, canoes, and on the docs. They were using rakes, sticks, and paddles. Basically, people were trying to remove the algae any way possible! It was a surreal site to see. It went on for the entire day.”

“In a way it made me very sad to see people running into the water to fix a problem in such a way that in my opinion is totally misguided. It made me even more sad to know that there could be health repercussions for their futile attempt.”

Here is a short You Tube to get a better picture of what is really going on at Atitlan:

Editor’s Note: See more of Greg’s stories below on Atitlan. If you want to help raise money, awareness and meet the immediate needs of the Mayans, contact  gregbeacon at gmail.com Look for a new world wide web site coming out in two weeks, galvanizing interests worldwide to see the Mayans and Lake Atitlan are treated fairly. Also, a new weekly radio show will be broadcast highlighting Atitlan and the plight of all indigenous groups in North, South and Central America. The promo for the new radio show, the first broadcast set for March 31, can be found at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gregbeacon

Lake Atitlan ‘Playing With Fire’ After Toxic Green Algae Outbreak

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 13, 2010

The people at Lake Atitlan are playing with fire if a number of water treatment plants aren’t immediately built.

Raw sewage from the 12 villages pours into the volcanic crater lake daily. The worst offender is Panajachel, a town of 14,000 where nothing has been done to fix its old marginally effective treatment plant demolished by Hurricane Stan in 2005.

The reason people at Atitlan are rolling the dice with their own health is the form of cyanobacteria attacking their lake in the form of green algae can be lethal and dangerous.

What makes it worse, it’s a mutated form of toxic algae only seen and studied in scientific circles since the late 1970s. Reports from all corners of the globe indicate this toxic algae strain, called Lyngbya , is spreading havoc at numerous lakes in North and South America and Canada.

Scientists say this type of green algae growth can be very deceptive, some forms being toxic and others not. They warn, however, it is better to err on the side of caution, basing their warnings on the explosion of toxic algae reeking havoc in so many lakes around the world.

For example, 50 people died in Brazil in 1996 from contaminated water containing cyanobacteria similar to the strain uncovered at Atitlan. The people died at a blood dialysis center after receiving injections of cyanobacteria contaminated water in their veins.

In America, one of its Great Lakes, Lake Erie, has been attacked by the toxic green algae.

“Lyngbya (like in Lake Atitlan) is a tough, new invasive algae in Maumee Bay and the western shores of the Western Lake Erie watershed. Lyngbya multiplies rapidly in warm water and survives the winters – washing up on the shore green in the winter,” reported the Lake Erie Waterkeeped Assoc in a recent article.

“Most think lyngbya arrived because the chemistry and water temperature changed and/or it came in on a recreational boat from Southeast US. Lyngbya is a great threat to western Lake Erie, home to the most fish in the Great Lakes.”

Dr. John Rodgers of Clemson University calls it the “beast of water algae,” stating “I consider it among the top ten worst environmental enemies I’ve seen in my 30-year career.”

Recently in Canada an article appeared with a headline reading:

Quebec’s Famous Lakes Teeming With Blue-Green Algae

The Quebec bloom, like in Atitlan, has become a major headache for the tourist industry and to owners of lake shore real estate who fear property values will fall with the rising pollution.

It appears, however, Quebec is tackling the problem head-on while those in Atitlan are “playing footsy” with a dangerous environmental enemy.

Excerpts from a recent Canadian article by Guillaume Lavallee is worth listening to if you want to know what is also happening at Lake Atitlan.

Unsightly and potentially toxic, blue-green algae has infested Quebec’s prized lakes, fed by fertilizers that keep summer home lawns plush and green and local residents and authorities fretting. With its half-a-million lakes, Quebec is nirvana to fishermen and boaters fleeing inner city stress for the peace and calm of summer cabins and mansions on the shores of cool lakes. But this summer, a pall has fallen over this idyllic paradise and over the surface of many lakes in the form of blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria.

In 1996, some 50 people at a blood dialysis center in Brazil died after getting injections of cyanobacteria contaminated water in their veins.

It is our hope people at Atitlan, not just the experts, force the hand of “the powers that be” to release needed money to cure this problem before what happened in Brazil in 1996 takes place at Lake Atitlan.

The problem at Atitlan has been known for more than two decades. It is high time something be done about it.

Money is needed. The Arctic Beacon is seeking “deep pockets” in America from high rollers in finance, business and Hollywood entertainment to get behind the Mayan people and their children as a last ditch effort to preserve their culture and beautiful lake, a lake having deep significance in their traditions and beliefs as a people.

Here is a short You Tube, showing the problem at Atitlan:

Editor’s note: Once known as the most beautiful lake in the world, now Lake Atitlan, a 1000′ deep volcanic lake 130 square km in size, has been taken over by a massive bloom of cyanobacteria that is now entering its toxic phase ending the basic source of water for the thousands of lake shore inhabitants as well as halting the livelihood f indigenous fisherman.

Also, see more of Greg’s stories below on Atitlan. If you want to help raise money, awareness and meet the immediate needs of the Mayans, contact  gregbeacon at gmail.com Look for a new world wide web site coming out in two weeks, galvanizing interests worldwide to see the Mayans and Lake Atitlan are treated fairly. Also, a new weekly radio show will be broadcast highlighting Atitlan and the plight of all indigenous groups in North, South and Central America.

Ultrasound May Be Another Solution For Dying Lake Atitlan

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 12, 2010

The type of cyanobacteria or green algae creating havoc at Lake Atitlan, threatening its very existence, is fast becoming a world wide epidemic.

According to scientists, many other fresh water lakes in America and other parts of the world are experiencing the same toxic blooms that occurred at Lake Atitlan in October 2009.

The difference, however, are solutions have been slow to come by or even non existent in Guatemala.

While lake rescue efforts and treating health concerns have become a major priority at other lakes in the world with much time and money being spent, the life threatening problems at Atitlan are being downplayed and virtually ignored. To add injury to insult, very little money has been spent to correct a very serious problem.

According to researchers, these attitudes could prove to be a costly error for those at Lake Atitlan, an error that could result in the loss of animal and human life as well as the life of a once vibrant and healthy lake.

“None of the villages around the lake are really dealing with the problem,” said a recent environmental researcher concerned about Lake Atitlan. “People there are even saying the lake is getting better without doing a single thing. That’s impossible.

“The water treatment plant promised by the government now in Santa Catarina Polopo is just a symbolic gesture if you know anything about Guatemala politics. Nothing will be done after that if it really does get done in the first place!

“I hope your group, the group being put together in the States and in Lake Atitlan can do something significant to get rid of the cyanobacteria.”

The researcher, who will remain anonymous so as to keep the lake project moving in a positive direction, spoke to the Arctic Beacon, referring to a non-profit group in the States and Lake Atitlan, forming to make sure the Atitlan’s problems get fixed and get fixed quickly!

The group called Save Lake Atitlan Mission is putting together a world wide web site to galvanize all interests working to save the lake as well as organizing a weekly radio show dedicated to Atitlan’s major environmental concerns.

The web site is due out in two weeks but in the interim contact  gregbeacon at gmail.com if you’d like to get involved or if you have valuable information which could bring solutions or awareness to what is really going on at Lake Atitlan.

Once known as the most beautiful lake in the world, now Lake Atitlan, a 1000′ deep volcanic lake 130 square km in size, has been taken over by a massive bloom of cyanobacteria that is now entering its toxic phase ending the basic source of water for the thousands of lake shore inhabitants as well as halting the livelihood of indigenous fisherman.

Authorities on lake pollution in a recent gathering at Istanbul listed Lake Atitlan as the world’s most threatened lake in 2009. With haphazard garbage collection and no raw sewage and water treatment, the once crystal clear water is now undrinkable.

“Cyanobacteria are becoming a serious problem in surface waters worldwide,” said Dr. Alan Wilson, a Ph.D. in Applied Biology from the Georgia Institute of Technology and assistant professor in the Department of Fisheries and Aqua-Cultures at Auburn University.

“Nutrient enrichment from fertilizers, animal waste, human waste, sewage plants and other urban and farm sources has promoted these algal blooms. When blooms degrade, the algae use up dissolved oxygen in the water, thus ‘suffocating’ fish and killing them. The algae also produce toxins that can seriously affect humans and animals.”

Realizing it will take many solutions from many different areas to save the lake and its people from over pollution, a recent article regarding how ultrasound can reduce toxic algae blooms, should also be considered by those working at Atitlan.

Here is an excerpt from an article by Duncan Graham-Rowe that appeared recently in the New Scientist Magazine. He should be contacted immediately to see if this innovative method could help.

BLOOMS of algae in lakes and seas can release neuro-toxins into the food chain or suffocate the local ecology by sucking up too much oxygen. When one occurs, the safest option is usually just to wait for the bloom to clear of its own accord, but now scientists at the University of Hull, UK, think they have found a way to put a stop to these deadly algal explosions- by exposing them to blasts of ultrasound.

These high frequencies are absorbed rapidly as they travel through water, and at 1 megahertz the effective radius is less than 20 metres, says Postema. So the technique may be more practical for clearing algal blooms in lakes and ponds than for large-scale red tides that can cover hundreds of square kilometres of sea.

In an effort to move solutions to the forefront, the Arctic Beacon has contacted a company called Eco-Tek in British Columbia, which recently provided an environmentally friendly waste water plant in Havana, Cuba, at a cost even affordable for an impoverished country like Guatemala.

Patrick Meyer, chief operating officer for Eco-Tek is excited about how his company could possible help the people at Lake Atitlan, but said he has never been contacted by anyone from Guatemala.

“In short, yes. This is something we can help with,” said Patrick Meyer, chief operations officer of Eco-TeKEcological Technologies, Inc. “Panajachel is reputed to be about 14,000 people. That’s far too many people to be going without water treatment. So, Panajachel did have a collection system and an existing site for sewage treatment. That makes things much easier and less expensive.

“The more I think about this opportunity the more excited I get. We have a low-cost opportunity to make a major change, a significant improvement on what is currently happening.”

“Also, take into consideration our facilities are not just about treating sewage; they’re about water re-use. We clean water to high enough standards that the water may be re-used for agricultural purposes. In Havana we created food producing gardens and an orchard as part of the project. Using this water for irrigation will reduce the toxic run-off from farms the area is presently experiencing.

“Costs for our system are minimal in warm climates. Our system is Havana would be most similar. It treats 300m3/day and cost $150,000. Further details of that project can be viewed at www.ecotek.ca/havana.html

“As an aside. A key consideration with any mechanical system is to keep maintenance costs in mind. Traditional sewage treatment systems can be extremely expensive when it comes to replacement parts. For our Havana project we really broke down the process and simplified it to eliminate most of the high-cost components. We estimated that operations/maintenance would cost $5,000 per year but I’d be surprised if it amounted to more than $2,000. Since then we’ve done further work on simplifying our system to the point that its hardly recognizable as a sewage treatment facility. Operation costs of the treatment facility should be zero.

“Vital information at the outset is two-fold. Understanding the waste we’re treating, and knowing that there is a source of revenue that can pay for the expenses. I would hope they would contact us or we can make initial inquiries as well now that we know they need help.”

Another company contacted by the Arctic Beacon, which could help at Atitlan, is Phoslock Water Solutions Ltd based out of Australia. This company produces a product which reduces phosphorus levels leading to toxic algae bloom. Their product is now being used in Italy’s Lake Varese to cope with the same type of algae bloom problem occurring in Lake Atitlan.

Although admitting Phoslock would not be a cure-all, Nigel Traill. regional manager for Phoslock in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, said possibilities should at least be explored to see if his company’s product could help in some small way.

“From what I have read on the internet, there are huge inputs of phosphorus entering the lake annually from external sources so addressing this is obviously going to be critically important in any strategy that is implemented.

“Having said that, eutrophication is generally caused by both external and internal phosphorus loadings and even once external loadings have been controlled/reduced, internal loadings of phosphorus remain and it can take several decades or even longer for lakes to recover naturally. Most of a lake’s internal phosphorus load is generally found in the sediments.

“Under certain environmental conditions (e.g. no oxygen in the deep water), the phosphorus will be released into the overlying water column in the form of phosphate, which is bio-available to algae. The algae grow by taking up by consuming this source of phosphate. When the algae complete their life cycle, they generally sink to the bottom of the lake and are broken down by bacteria. The phosphorus remains in the sediment until anoxic conditions develop again, at which time, the cycle starts again. The concept behind Phoslock is that it breaks this cycle by depriving algae of their food source.

“Although Lake Atitlan is a huge and very deep lake, it is possible that, with sufficient information about the distribution of phosphorus concentrations in the lake and an understanding of the main sources of the phosphorus that are driving the cyanobacterial blooms, targeted applications of “Phoslock could be undertaken in order to reduce this source of phosphorus.”

Editor’s Note: Watch for tomorrow’s article on how Chemical Engineer Kirk Jones also has a proposal to improve waste water management at Lake Atitlan.

Also, see more of Greg’s stories below on Atitlan. If you want to help raise money, awareness and meet the immediate needs of the Mayans, contact  gregbeacon at gmail.com Look for a new world wide web site coming out in two weeks, galvanizing interests worldwide to see the Mayans and Lake Atitlan are treated fairly. Also, a new weekly radio show will be broadcast highlighting Atitlan and the plight of all indigenous groups in North, South and Central America.

Hope Remains In Saving Lake Atitlan

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 11, 2010

There are some good things going on at Lake Atitlan despite over pollution threatening the very existence of the lake and the people surrounding it.

Facts hard to get around indicate there is some effort going on to clean up the lake, but as they say “it’s just not good enough.”

Once known as the most beautiful lake in the world, now Lake Atitlan, a 1000′ deep volcanic lake 130 square km in size, has been taken over by a massive bloom of cyanobacteria that is now entering its toxic phase ending the basic source of water for the thousands of lake shore inhabitants as well as halting the livelihood of indigenous fisherman.

Authorities on lake pollution in a recent gathering at Istanbul listed Lake Atitlan as the world’s most threatened lake in 2009. With haphazard garbage collection and no raw sewage and water treatment, the once crystal clear water is now undrinkable.

Not only undrinkable but also becoming unliveable for its fish.

Eye-witness reports tell of large numbers of dead fish turning up on the shore, a site never before seen at the lake. Simply put, if the fish are sick, the next group to be effected will be the people who eat them.

A recent private water sample taken from the lake by the Arctic Beacon after testing in the States shows high concentration of minerals but unsafe to drink. This substantiates why everyone in Atitlan, visitors and residents alike, drink bottled water.

As said here in the States, “a major fixing is needed and quick!”

With that in mind let’s look at some of the positive things taking place. Why not all of us lend a hand with suggestions, prayers, technical advice and hands on help to meet the immediate needs of the Mayans living on the shore.

Before looking at some of the people working hard to help the lake, a fact overlooked is that Lake Atitlan is a microcosm of what is occurring and about to occur on a major scale in America.

Atitlan is an example where no middle class really exists, a reality now starting to surface in many American cities.

Lake Atitlan and its 12 surrounding villages, named after the 12 Apostles, is a place where the rich and poor – Western civilization and Mayan – meet head on, living side by side. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist, to figure out which group is the poor one.

Statistics recently compiled show in Guatemala, particularly in the Sololá region at Lake Atitlán, 74 per cent of the people live in extreme poverty. Until now, the issue of environmental protection has only played a minor part as the expansion of the health care system as well as the construction of routes and schools have higher priority and therefore privileged access to funding.

However, the lake should be the number one priority because if there is no lake, there are no schools, educations and roads to fund.

Statistics also recently compiled in 2002 indicate tourism brings in more than $30 million a year, a whopping figure for an impoverished nation. Therein lies the great divide between rich and poor. Therein lies the major question facing Atitlan

Are the motives to now clean up the lake solely to line the pockets of the rich, keeping the tourist dollars flowing? Or are the motives to help the poor Mayans really improve their lifestyle since their lake, in essence, has been invaded by Western civilization and Western tourism.

Is it now their lake or an Anglo Saxon lake where the Mayans are nothing more than the slaves of the West?

In other words, sick Lake Atitlan on the verge of turning into a green swamp is telling us either of two things will happen. The lake is telling us either the problem will be dealt with by your God’s standards or it will be dealt with by man’s standards

Man’s Way
First, if the rich and poor problem isn’t solved, making Mayans richer and the Westerner’s a bit poorer, the lake will eventually die from greed as well as pollution.

If we allow the lake’s indigenous population to remain as “cigar store Indians” like in the States, becoming nothing more than merely a tourist attraction like goes on in the Black Hills of South Dakota, then all efforts to save the lake will fail.

The lake is telling us this and we should listen.

To prove our point, reports to the Arctic Beacon indicate many of the wealthy in Atitlan hire Mayans at $50 or a $100 a month for 6 to 8 hours of work daily. If this isn’t slave labor what is?

And if this divide between rich and poor continues all the money in the world will not bring the lake back to health.

God’s Way
Second, however, if the rich and poor problem is dealt with by biblical standards, something quite unique in the modern world, the rich would then willingly share their wealth, the poverty gap would then be broken, the lake would come back to life and all people living there would prosper.

It would be as if the hand of God came down and touched all clean. History has shown us, however, the hand of man destroys what the hand of God will not touch.

With that in mind, let’s briefly highlight one group dealing with the lake’s problems. We realize there are others unknown to us. Please contact the Arctic Beacon so these good people doing God’s good work can be featured.

Maybe, just maybe, it will catch on and the lake will be clean and healthy again.

There is a group of Westerners and Mayans in San Marcos called Pura Vida, working together to bridge the gap between rich and poor. They began work in 2004 to help end contamination, unsanitary living conditions and improving health.

Their unique programs include garbage collection through recycling through helping create communities to create minimum structures for trash management, such as storage centers for recyclable material, construct homes with Eco-blocks and creating products using recycled material.

To improve health concerns, a major problem when pollution takes over the fresh water of a lake, here is what there web site says they are doing:

The average indigenous family from San Juan la Laguna (near San Marcos la Laguna) spends Q800 (approximately US$100) a year on treating illness related to improper trash management, according to the Fundación Solar.

Bottle stuffing with Trash

Pura Vida also added that it is important not only to live side by side with Mayans, it is important to understand Mayan culture and ancient wisdom, at times in conflict with Western values and customs.

Here is a portion of that discussion taken from their web site at http://www.puravidaatitlan.org/health_en…

…in the ancient Mayan culture food such as sugar, beans, tamales and fish, as well as trading objects like incense, Jade and Obsidian were wrapped in leaves….There clothes were woven with cotton, dyed with plants…There ropes for nets and string bags they rolled from the fiber of Maguey. Industrial forces under the guise of “development” swept also over Maya land. The introduction of a new synthetic material: “plastic”, was only a small component of the widespread paralyzing culture shock. Yet the neglected education about the poisonous results and difficulties of disposing plastic waste have cause numerous direct and indirect related health problems of the most rural Mayan population, which not counts on any systems of trash collection or official trash dumps.

Only in reconnecting ancient cultural wisdom with increasing awareness, strong conscience, aimed education, focused action, individual and collective responsibility and progressive concepts the gap between humanity and nature seems to still have a chance to heal!

Editor’s Note: See more of Greg’s stories below on Atitlan. If you want to help raise money, awareness and meet the immediate needs of the Mayans, contact  gregbeacon at gmail.com Look for a new world wide web site coming out in two weeks, galvanizing interests worldwide to see the Mayans and Lake Atitlan are treated fairly. Also, a new weekly radio show will be broadcast highlighting Atitlan and the plight of all indigenous groups in North, South and Central America.