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.”

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.”

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.

Editor’s Note: Watch for tomorrow’s article on how Chemical Engineer Kirk Jones also has a proposal to improve waster 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.

Lake Atitlan World’s Most Threatened Lake in 2009

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 10, 2010

Hidden from all tourist brochures and business web sites, talking about Lake Atitlan’s beauty and crystal clear water, is a small little article somehow overlooked.

The article appeared in English recently after the Fifth World Water Forum got together in Istanbul to discuss the most polluted lakes in the world, including Lake Atitlan.

What’s interesting is they claim a toxic algae bloom, indicating Atitlan is over-polluted and dying, was recorded as early as December 2008 – almost a full year before the October 2009 cyanobacteria outbreak created nothing less than mass hysteria.

This 2009 toxic bloom covered 85 per cent of the surface water. Why wasn’t there a louder warning cry put out in 2008?

The Global Nature Fund (GNF) released the following warning about Lake Atitlan. Here is the story overlooked in the tourist brochures:

Lake Atitlán in Guatemala is Threatened Lake of the Year 2009

Within the scope of the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Global Nature Fund (GNF) has declared Lake Atitlán in Guatemela “Threatened Lake of the Year 2009”. It was chosen because the assimilative capacity of the lake is greatly reduced due to long term excessive pollution of the lake.

The three governmental agencies responsible for the lake and its catchment area, are meagrely funded up to now. The authority for sustainable development in the Atitlán basin and its surroundings (La Autoridad Para El Manejo Sustentable de la Cuenca de Atitlán y su Entornos AMSCLAE), the State Council for Nature Reserves (Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas y su delegación departamental) as well as the relevant department of the Ministry of Environment have local representatives and strive together with the NGOs for an increase in the financial resources to be able to implement concrete protection measures.

In the last paragraph, listed are the bigwigs in charge of fixing the problem. With the situation life threatening and almost beyond fixing, why haven’t the following two companies at least been contacted.

In an effort to open up lines of communication, please forward the following information to the three agencies mentioned above.

The first is a company called Eco-Tec, a British Columbia company that provides low cost and environmentally friendly water treatment facilities.

Here is a quote from Patrick Meyer, chief operating officer, who has not even been contacted for any advice:

“In short, yes. This is something we can help with,” said Patrick Meyer, chief operations officer of Eco-TeK Ecological 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.”

Meyer said he was looking forward to opening up a line of communication with those in Lake Atitlan working on the problem. He added he was going to immediately contact his Cuban connections to see if this might help open up discussions with Guatemala..

Meyer went on to say:

“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 that at least needs to be contacted 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 occuring 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.

Here is what Traill had to say about Lake Atitlan in discussions with the Arctic Beacon:

“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. But, needless to say, a lot of data about the lake would be required before we would be able to determine this with certainty.

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.

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

Mayan Elder Speaks About Dying Lake Atitlan

A Mayan elder named Pedro when asked about Lake Atitlan simply said “she is sick.”

He said this prior to 85 per cent of Atitlan’s surface water being covered with a thick green algae scum, making the once beautiful volcanic lake smell like a bathroom at a truck stop.

That occurred in October 2009.

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.

Much had been written about the ecological disaster that threatening the very life of the lake and people surrounding it when the lake looked like a big, green blob. But once the algae bloom receded with the cooler weather, interest faded.

What the eye can’t see, the mind forgets.

That’s a fatal mistake. It’s a mistake at Lake Atitlan because the toxic cyanobacteria problem isn’t going away. It’s a double mistake because the algae bloom, the lake’s response to over pollution and raw sewage dumping, will return even worse than ever when the weather warms.

In recent Arctic Beacon articles, much has been discussed about the environmental problems, solutions, scientific studies and government involvement. We refer you the March 9 article below about a British Columbia waste water management company, called Eco-Tek, which could provided a environmentally friendly solution for the enormous amount of human excrement being dumped into the lake daily.

Other articles have focused on the dangers of cyanobacteria which can cause grave illness even death in fish, wildlife and human life. These dangers are accentuated by reports given to the Arctic Beacon by sick tourists who left Atitlan in February, suffering from severe cases of amoebic dysentery, skin rashes and stomach ailments.

Here are a few more reports from people at the scene in Lake Atitlan, as well as a comment from a local mystic trying to raise awareness like Pedro the Mayan elder that “Atitlan is sick.”

“Lake Atitlan, in the Guatemala highlands, is dying. Each day thousands of gallons of raw sewage are being dumped directly into its waters. The level of fecal matter in the lake is now 55 thousand times over permitted levels. And yet tens of thousands of people depend on the lake for their survival.

“Fishermen in San Juan La Laguna know their jobs will be the first to disappear if the contamination continues. They have asked the governments for help but have received none. So they’ve taken matters into their own hands,” reported one local blogger who made his observations available to the Arctic Beacon.

“One of the most beautiful lakes in the world is dying as I write this blog. I arrived in San Pedro de Laguna 2 weeks ago at the beginning of a yet to be explained phenomena that clouded the lake with green plant like things,” reported another eye-witness on a blog dedicated to helping save the lake. “These plant like things are now identified to be dangerous cyanobacteria, similar to blue-green algae but multiply much more rapidly.

“I spent the better part of today helping my friend Pedro and the rest of the town clean the lake. I dońt know if it will make a difference in the long run, but we used screens to take out the thick, oily green blobs of algae that smelled like a bathroom. All of us wading in the water collecting the algae that fisherman using their boats brought close to the shore.”

Another eye witness had this to say:

“It́s a very sad thing that́s happening here, and it́s on the minds of every one I meet. What I dońt want to think about is when the health affects start to manifest themselves. I watched a farmer take water from the contaminated lake and water his corn plants with it. When I acted surprised, Pedro told me… well, what else will he do?

“There is talk of cholera and typhoid and these towns get their drinking water right from the lake… even though the town across the way are the culprits with their wide pipe of raw sewage that gets pumped directly into the lake for the last 3 years.

What will they do? I hope there is a solution. If anyone has any ideas, or contacts, or money they would like to donate, let’s get it to the appropriate parties.”

In response to this plea being echoed by thousands of others, a Save Lake Atitlan Mission non profit organization has been formed in the States for that very reason. Contact  gregbeacon at gmail.com to see how you can help. A web site and radio show will be up and running in two weeks to address this very serious problem at Lake Atitlan, which is also effecting many other lakes around the world.

Another more technical response to the problem came from an eye-witness with a environmental management background:

“I have been to this lake and others in the region. At ground level they look like an emerald green sea. It is mostly due to poor environmental practices of waste management. The runoff from local villages and waste sites cause trash and waste to build up on the shores.

“The additional issue is that national and region agencies and organizations have been sold a bill of goods on several projects that were only window dressing and cash for some other person or organization, no real solution. It has to start with waste handling and management, then go from there.”

A resident living on Lake Atitlan’s shoreline added:

“I am a chemical engineer living in Santiago Atilan on the shore of the lake. To suggest that the tragedy occurring here is an opportunity is appalling. This is not an algae farm nor a way to solve global warming. This is a source of drinking water that contains carcinogens, teratogen, hepatic disease etc. I worked for the California Water Resources Control Board for many years.

“This case here is particularly harmful because of use of sodium triphosphate soaps, NPK commercial fertilizers, organo-phosphate pesticides, untreated human waste, de-hulling operations at coffee processing plants, and storm water runoff which washes everything on the roofs, streets and sidewalks into the lake.”

One observer with a close attachment to Gautemala’s natural beauty was quite critical of the local tourism board, the government and business interests trying to mask the severity of the problem

“Like many things in Guatemala, lake Atitlan has been left unattended and is the latest victim of the growing and endemic disrespect in that country. Obviously, there is much more to preserving a lake than trumpeting to anyone that will listen that lake Atitlan, as per Aldeous Huxley, is “the most beautiful lake in the world” as INGUAT (Guatemalan Tourism Board) would like everyone to know. The same institution that spent a reported $60 000 to lobby the lake’s inclusion as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Understandably, it did not make it. That $60k might have been better spent to nurture the veracity of Aldeous Huxley’s once upon a time resounding quote.

“Strangely, or not so strangely, whatever is authentic and beautiful in Guatemala ultimately gets destroyed, don’t ask me why, that’s just the way it is. A love affair with Guatemala is a painful adventure – sooner or later, the beauty that has seduced no end, just shrivels up or is made to disappear. Lakes, rivers, vernacular architecture, traditions and whatever else. The invaluable cultural and natural mosaic that this country was once made of has suffered the painful consequences of un-love and disrespect.

“Who is to blame? Quite a collection of characters. Certainly many foreign and local NGO’s, those that for years have lobbied their conservation agenda’s as if there was no tomorrow and whose now proven incapacity has betrayed the trust of their benefactors and the world at large. Then we have governmental conservation agencies who do not seem to understand the nature of their mission beyond the status of their name cards, and so on. A story that would be fit for a book rather than for just a short comment. Who is next to bite the dust? It looks like the Mirador Basin could be a strong candidate if it is not declared and preserved as a wilderness area ASAP.”

Finally, as promised, a mystic weighs in on the sick lake, appealing to the better side of our human nature and looking for internal solutions within our own souls. Although some Christians and Catholics may find the message a bit New Age, it’s worthy of some consideration:

Let’s Embrace Lake Atitlan
Many of you have seen the different videos, pictures and at least, the news that the sacred lake of the Mayans, lake Atitlan, is affected with the cyanobacteria.

I invite you, dear ones, to start sending so much love to Lake Atitlan, And to my dear sisters on this planet to start working with all of our inner feelings, whatever makes us feel ashamed, abused, intruded, put down. We know that what we most reject is what we most attract, so let’s have the courage and do healing ceremony, gather in circles and allow those tears to finally flow free and as a result, to start a new life where we can finally attract all we deserve in dignity, grace and love. Posted by AumRak

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.

Eco-Tek Could Provide Solution for Dying Lake Atitlan

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 8, 2010

There is no excuse for garbage pile up and unsanitary water conditions at Lake Atitlan in the Guatemalen Highlands.

Whether the lake is in pristine shape or whether it’s showing signs of being nothing more than a big toilet and garbage dump as it is now, water treatment plants should have been built all around the lake long ago.

Of course, the immediate needs of the 60,000 Mayans living on the shoreline must be met first and there are number of missionary and relief groups in the process of doing just that

But if there is no lake, there is no shoreline. If there is no lake, there are no Mayans. If there is no lake, there are no fish and fishing profits. If there is no lake, there is no tourism and $30 million annually coming in from the tourist trade.

If there is no lake, there are, of course, no Evangelicals or Catholics around to preach the gospel with loud speakers and buckets of what may be toxic holy water.

If there is no lake, there are no New Age people sitting on the rocks preaching love and waiting for the age of enlightenment to arrive. If there is no lake, there are no massage parlors to ease the aching bones of those who write about the beauty of the ancient Mayan people. If there is no lake, there are no churches to visit in order to pray about the dying lake and the lack of fresh potable water.

If there is no lake, there is no nothing!

Simply put, if the long term projects for implementing water treatment plants and garbage disposal systems aren’t started immediately, everyone including the rich and poor ought to just put all their dreams and hopes in a big sad sack, put all their earthly belongings in a big suit case and head for the hills.

Why?

Because the cyanobacteria outbreak that hit the lake in October 2009 in the form of a large green algae blob covering 85 per cent of the lake is a serious matter that threatens the lives of everyone there.

This type of outbreak, which isn’t going away anytime soon, is not only going on at Lake Atitlan but there are fresh water lakes all over the world being attacked by pollution, including lakes in America.

To show how dangerous cyanobacteria can be here is an excerpt of a report not known by the people at Atitlan from the state of New Hampshire, experiencing the same toxic bacteria outbreaks in some of its lakes.

What You Should Know
Recent attention has been directed toward cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria in New Hampshire lakes and ponds. The presence of cyanobacteria in recreational waters is a great concern of the DES Beach Program. Blooms of these primitive cyanobacteria have caused adverse health affects, even death, in livestock, domestic animals and humans.

Beach Advisory of Cyanobacteria Recreational Exposure
Cyanobacteria blooms are aesthetically displeasing in sight, odor and taste, as well as potentially toxic to domestic animals, livestock, waterfowl and humans. Cyanobacteria are a potential public health danger because they may produce toxins, collectively referred to as “Cyanotoxins,” that can be released into the water when cells die or are consumed by organisms in the food chain.

However, the amount of toxin produced varies over time and from lake to lake. A cyanobacteria bloom may produce very little or no toxin in one lake and a later bloom in the same lake could produce a large toxin concentration. Unfortunately, no known method exists for predicting the toxin content of a cyanobacteria bloom. These cyanotoxins target the liver, kidney, the central nervous system, and skin irritants. All cyanotoxins can cause both acute and chronic illnesses. Acute effects, such as skin and mucous membrane irritations, can occur after short term exposure with water containing these toxins. Chronic effects, such as liver, kidney, and central nervous system damage, can occur over a long period of time from water ingestion containing toxins.

Drinking Water Exposure
The Groundwater and Drinking Water Source Protection Program provides regulatory and non-regulatory tools to protect groundwater and sources of public drinking water. The program works closely with water systems, municipalities, residents and organizations to ensure adequate quantity and quality of New Hampshire’s drinking water and is aware of cyanotoxins. However, at this time it is not known whether cyanobacteria are a significant problem for New Hampshire water systems, other than as a source of taste and odor problems. More information is available in the fact sheet Cyanobacteria and Drinking Water: Guidance for Public Water Systems.

Prevention
You can help keep the cyanobacteria from forming in the first place. Research indicates that their numbers increase as the nutrients in the water increase. To reduce the chances of a bloom occurring, reduce the amount of nutrients, such as phosphates, that enter the water. Homeowners can help by testing their soils before applying fertilizers and, if they must apply a fertilizer, making sure that they apply only what they need. The NH Shore land Protection Act prohibits the use of fertilizer closer than 25 feet from shore. Also, between 25 and 250 feet from shore, only low phosphate, slow release nitrogen fertilizer may be used. Keeping your septic system maintained will also help keep nutrients from leaching through the soil into nearby streams or lakes.

With those serious words in mind, the first step is to build a number of waste water treatment plants.

Of course, the Guatemalen government and its U.S. partners are going to cry poverty while issuing reports that15 treatment plants at a cost of $350 million are needed to solve the problem.

Realizing government most often talks first and thinks later, the $350 million figure seems a bit high. It also gives off the impression that the task is a financial impossibility considering the state of the Guatemalen economy, not to mention the decline of the once powerful dollar.

Looking at the other side of the coin, supposedly Spain and the U.S. have already allocated $39 million for the Atitlan water problems.

But, if so, where is the money?

Where is the progress since we know nothing has even started happening seven months after the algae bloom made Atitlan stink like a big bathroom. It’s about time people in Atitlan start telling the government what to do and not the other way around.

What if we told the officials 15 water treatment plants could be built at a fraction of the $39 million? What if they could be built for say $10 million, $5 million, $3 million or even less?

What if they could be built without being chemically based facilities harmful to the environment?

What if we told them the yearly maintenance costs could be less than $5,000 a year while providing a host of jobs for the local people?

Would they listen? If you have doubts, send them a copy of this story. Translate it into Spanish. Make sure the big shots listen to this.

There is a waste water management company in British Columbia called Eco-Tek that just built a non-chemically waste water treatment plant in Havana for $150,000 in 2006.

The company’s chief operating officer has been in contact with the Arctic Beacon and after looking at the Atitlan situation for the last week, he is very excited about getting involved. He added no one from Gautemala has bothered to contact his company even though the situation at Lake Atitlan is life threatening not only for the lake but its people and wildlife.

One would think with a situation so grave all possibilities would have been explored.

Hopefully better late than never.

“In short, yes. This is something we can help with,” said Patrick Meyer, chief operations officer of Eco-TeK Ecological 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.”

Meyer said he was looking forward to opening up a line of communication with those in Lake Atitlan working on the problem. He added he was going to immediately contact his Cuban connections to see if this might help open up discussions with Guatemala..

Meyer went on to say:

“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.”

Here is more information about Eco-Tek:

ECO-TEK is an environmental leader in handling waste water through purely biological means.

While most wastewater treatment facilities treat with chemicals and dispose of treated waste into our natural environment ECO-TEK builds fully biological systems. We use no chemicals and produce useful products at the end of our process.

We can build ZERO-impact waste water treatment facilities.

Cleans Water

The system produces safe, clean water and bio-solids for reuse in a number of applications such as irrigation and industrial process water.

Beautiful

The systems are contained within a greenhouse or solarium filled with lush vegetation. Extensive aeration produces an odorless environment allowing the systems to be located in the center of communities.

Simply Built

The systems are built using reliable equipment and highly durable, lightweight components that are easy to assemble with unskilled labour.

Mimics Nature

The processes are chemical free and are resilient due to a diverse aquatic ecosystem.

Grows Plants

The system is designed to turn sewage into clean water, soil and plants. These are in the form of aquatic pond plants, flowers, tree seedlings, and plant starts.

Reusing Waste water as a Resource

ECO-TEK was established 1992 by Kimron Rink to promote social, ecological and economic sustainability in communities; creating sustainable ”planetary villages” using ecological technologies.

ECO-TEK presently focuses on Solar Aquatics System™ and other ecologically engineered technologies to reclaim water and nutrients from sewage and use these constituents to grow bio-regionally appropriate, regenerative plant material.

ECO-TEK incorporates cutting edge sustainable building principles into every project. Sustainable design and construction results in solar heated, low energy, heat recovering solariums for the Solar Aquatics System

ECO-TEK is the leader in ecological water reclamation in Canada. Although our focus has been on western Canada we have experience abroad as well.

In 2006 Eco-Tek completed a Havana Urban sewage collection systems flow by gravity to creeks and streams of the Havana Metropolitan Park. This pilot aqua-culture waste treatment facility was designed and built to reclaim this wastewater for reuse as irrigation water for organic urban agriculture and to grow flowers for export to Canada.

BREAKING NEWS: Right after the publication of this article, it was announced the Government inaugurated a waste water treatment plant to help clean up Lake Atitlán to be built in Santa Caterina Palopo. It might be added many more plants are needed and Eco-Tek may provide a financially feasible alternative that is environmentally more friendly.

Please keep an eye on progress, money spent and projected maintenance costs.

Here is the Headline:
Published: Monday, March 8, 2010 12:07 (GMT-0400)
By Business News Americas staff reporters

Guatemala’s government has inaugurated a waste water treatment plant in southwestern Sololá province’s Santa Catarina Palopó municipality, the presidential website reported.

Santa Catarina Palopó is located on lake Atitlán, and the 312,000-quetzal (US$38,898) plant is part of the government’s efforts to clean up the highly contaminated water.

The initiative was carried out with funding from the National Peace Fund (Fonapaz) in coordination with local government.

The environment ministry Marn has drawn up a 310mn-quetzal (US$37.3mn) plan to clean up Atitlán lake, which currently has high levels of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae. The algae’s proliferation is caused by the presence of domestic waste and untreated waste water in the lake.

The overall plan involves building 17 waste water treatment plants, septic tanks, sanitary sewerage systems, closing down unauthorized garbage dumps, the gradual prohibition of inorganic fertilizers and chemical soaps, technical and economic support for municipalities in the province, and sanctions for domestic and industrial users caught polluting the lake.

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 Night ‘The Green Blob’ Destroyed Lake Atitlan

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 7, 2010

Eye witnesses at Lake Atitlan in October 2009 say what happened look like something out of a Hollywood horror movie.

An American relief worker named Gerald ‘the blogger’ who helps the Mayans said it looked like “The Return of the Green Blob” or “The Night the Green Monster Destroyed Atitlan.”

In fact, rumors floating around the 12 Mayan villages dotting Lake Atitlan in the Guatemalen Highlands talked about a giant monster at the bottom of the 1,000 foot volcanic lake who became disturbed and very, very angry.

Reasons for the monster’s disturbance were varied and somewhat vague but some of the reasons given included:

“He began wagging his gigantic tale and bringing to the surface tons of green muck from the underworld because he got tired of eating all the garbage and smelling the excrement people were depositing in his lake,” said one local villager of Mayan descent, who spoke broken English and claimed to be a descendant of an old medicine man..

“The monster was disturbed and starting kicking up a green poison because he was being invaded by so many strangers from foreign lands with strange customs, strange faces, strange voices and strange feet sticking in his water,” said another villager, adding the monster has protected his Mayan friends from invaders for thousands of years but now felt threatened.

The villager continued, saying Lake Atitlan is a very important piece of Mayan holy ground, holding great significance in their religion and folklore. He added if the holy ground is disturbed, the monster becomes angry.

However from Western civilization’s point of view, the horrific 2009 “green monster” event the relief worker and the Mayans are talking about actually was the lake’s normal response to years of neglect and over pollution as a thick green toxic algae bloom surfaced taking over 85 per cent of its surface area.

The lake was simply expressing itself in the only way it could, saying it had enough and couldn’t cleanse itself from a host of man made problems, including but not limited to raw sewage being dumped in the lake, toxic agricultural run-off from the use of harmful fertilizers and garbage being thrown directly into the lake.

As unbelievable as it sounds, Lake Atitlan supports a population of more than 200,000 at the lake and in the nearby mountains, but has not one operable water sewage treatment facility to handle waste.

With 60,000 living on the shoreline in the 12 villages, a huge tourist influx and a doubling of the population in recent years, there still isn’t one effective garbage collection system with proper dumping sites put in place in any of the towns and villages.

Don’t forget Lake Atitlan also supports a booming tourist industry with annual revenues estimated at more than $30 million as of 2002, a whopping figure for an impoverished country like Guatemala.

But with tourists flocking in and millions changing hands, Atitlan still remains without efficient fresh water drinking and filtration systems.

Simply put, the lake is responding to excrement going directly into the lake from even its largest city Panajachel with an estimated 14,000 residents.

The lake is also responding to garbage being thrown into the lake or being hauled off by pick up trucks to random sites in the mountains, the garbage then returning to the lake as a part of the harmful agricultural run-off.

The lake’s response to all this:

A thick, green and obnoxious smelling algae bloom appeared last October, carrying a rare form of toxic cyanobacteria called Lyngbya hieronymusii. Scientists say this type of bacteria and its harmful effects are so rare there are no studies or records available on how to cope with such a widespread algae bloom problem.

Why is this so dangerous?

Here is the latest scientific analysis from a web site called Lake Atitan Health:

Consequences of cyanobacterial bloom
What happens to the water?

Yes, but not with such intensity. Last year there was a large outbreak, but was not as widespread around the lake. In 1968 the lake was clean with few nutrients and no cyanobacteria were detected in water analysis. At this time analysis of the water was made by foreign scientists. In 1976 the presence of cyanobacteria was detected, but concentrations were low. Currently there is a gradual increase of nutrients, chiefly phosphorus, and the cyanobacteria has flourished very quickly and very intensely.

The fact that the algae bloom this time quickly covered 85 per cent of the lake within a matter of two weeks– like a green monster in the night – troubled everyone to a point were a loud cry was put out that Lake Atitlan was dying if immediate steps weren’t taken to reverse man’s harmful ways and help the lake cleanse itself

Once the green scum surfaced, it also gave off a terrible stinking bathroom odor, according to numerous eye witnesses who have since contacted the Arctic Beacon.

The odor in fact was so strong it cut the legs right off the tourist industry overnight.

Estimates were that during the last three months of 2009, Lake Atitlan might as well have been a ghost town with restaurants and hotels suffering a 75 per cent drop in business.

“I was there when it happened,” said another American blogger returning to Atitlan in May. “It was incredible. First the green scum started to appear in certain spots and, then, within two weeks more than 85 percent of the lake was covered with a thick green scum.

“The restaurants and hotels were deserted because around the lake it smelled like a bathroom. I heard business dropped by 75 per cent. The local Mayans started talking about the monster below. Teams of people were called in after the mayors were alerted to try and physically clean it up, but it proved to be an impossible task.

“That was quite a scene. People covered in muck, carrying globs and globs of it on the shore. The children made a game of it, throwing green balls at one another like snow balls.

“Everyone was really worried back then and everybody was talking about it. News broadcasts. Government meetings with plans to spend millions on raw sewage plants. Scientific studies about the toxic nature of the problem and how the water was unsafe to drink or swim in.

“But when the algae bloom receded with the cool weather, the talk stopped and everybody now seems to want to downplay it or forget about it. That is dangerous because from what I have heard this problem is not going away but only will get worse when the warm weather returns.”

What the eye can’t see, the mind forgets is a perfect analogy for what is going on at Lake Atitlan.

According to several locals whoc contacted the Arctic Beacon, since the algae bloom has receded, the cry for help has been reduced to a whimper and the grandiose plans to improve sanitation reduced to nothing more than promised money and a bunch of scientific reports.

That is a fatal mistake.

It’s a mistake because history has shown us from similar problems in other lakes that pollution problems like this always return, most of the time returning with even more green scum and toxicity.

According to lead environmentalist, Juan Skinner, who has worked on Atitlan’s environmental problems for 18 years, innovative solutions need to be found and found quick.

In a 2002 speech in Guatemala, he criticized government barriers and needless legislation in slowing up the need for treated water and better sanitation. Skinner warned people years ago if steps weren’t taken to improve over pollution it threatened the very life of the lake and the people surrounding it.

It appears he was right.

Skinner’s prophetic words appear to be coming true since, even after the “green monster’ appeared last October, it’s turning out to be nothing more than “business as usual” at Lake Atitlan at least until “The Return of the Green Blob” surfaces again.

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 word 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 highlight Atitlan and the plight of all indigenous groups in North, South and Central America.

Tomorrow catch Greg’s story on a closer look at Eco-Tek’s environmentally friendly waste and water management plants that could help save Lake Atitlan at far less than the $350 million to solve, as government officials suggest.

Bureaucratic Brick Wall Halts Solutions For Dying Lake Atitlan

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 6, 2010

The toxic pollution at Lake Atitlan in the Guatemala Highlands isn’t going away anytime soon.

Business people, scientists, government bigwigs, foreign land owners, environmentalists and local Mayans will be all kidding themselves if they think the green stinking algae and cyanobacteria will mysteriously wash itself away.

Business Interests
Most business people will, of course, try to downplay the severity of the pollution so tourists keep spending money there. That’s the nature of business to downplay problems in order to uplift profits.

However, they only have to look to Clear Lake in Florida to see how a tourist industry can dry up overnight when that lake turned into nothing more than a big toilet.

They only have to think about how a recent American tourist left Atitlan in February diagnosed with amoebic dysentery. Now, business, restaurant and hotel owners, think about how those dysentery numbers will multiple if the severity of the problem isn’t brought out in the open and addressed immediately. Think about how the profit side of your ledger will go down while the dysentery figures go up.

Scientific “Experts”
Scientists will, as usual, keep getting government grants to come down and test the water, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for nothing more than a lot of talk and mumbo jumbo. A good example is the University of California at Davis just allocating $18,000 for a team of “experts” to go to Atitlan by June.

The result: Another report and no action and no new sewage treatment facilities. Why not spend the $18,000 on a non toxic laundry soda, giving it the Mayan women who wash their clothes daily in the lake with toxic detergents.

Why? That would be too smart and practical and we know scientists aren’t too smart and practical, especially when it comes to spending other peoples money.

We the people of America, Europe, Australia and Guatemala who live and visit Atitlan can see the green algae with our own God-given eyes. We the good people know sewage treatment facilities are needed since there are none. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out!

We the good people know we need to control agricultural run off. We the good people know the Mayans need immediate assistance.

Why not, then, spend the money on doing something practical and good instead of numerous hypnotizing reports which only confuse, delay and halt solutions. One good solid assessment of the toxicity is all we need and then let’s get to work without scientific and government interference which often times are interrelated. In essence, one large beast is feeding the other large beast while the people starve!

A little less science and government and a lot more faith in good people who do God’s work might be a good suggestion and, you see my good friends in science and government, that report cost absolutely nothing!

Government Bigwigs
Once the toxic algae bloom surfaced in Atitlan in October 2009 there was a loud roar from the people to do something. The Guatemalen government together with their overseers in the U.S. government, who really call the shots, responded like “Big Mother” always does.

They responded with an immediate report saying 15 new sewage and water treatment plants are needed at a whopping $350 million, needed since none exist now and raw sewage is being poured into the lake daily by at least 60,000 residents living on the shores, not counting tourists and others living in the highlands.

The U.S. and Spain then got together after the algae bloom surfaced encompassing much of the lake, saying they would allocate $39 million to get started on three plants.

As of today, nothing really has been done and they are already three months behind on starting anything. Also, where is the money? It surely isn’t in the hands of the people who could do something, we guarantee that.

Further, what type of treatment plants does the governments of the U.S. Spain and Guatemala intend to build? Are they chemically based? Why so expensive? What are the yearly maintenance costs? Did they ever think replacement parts for chemical plants are expensive?

Have our “Big Mothers” ever thought of alternative and environmentally sound water and waste treatment plants like just were installed by a company called Eco-Tek out of British Columbia in a project completed in Havana, Cuba.

Of course not, that would be too practical and smart. That would be trying to use the people’s money too wisely and we know government officials have a history of not acting too wise when it comes to spending the people’s money.

To prove our point, according to Eco-Tek’s chief operating officer nobody has even bothered to contact them as of Friday. He also said he’s quite excited how his company could really help the people down there at a cost affordable for a country like Guatemala facing many problems.

For example, one of Eco-Tek’s water and waste non-chemically based plants can roughly be built for $150,000 with yearly maintenance costs at $5,000 or even less.

Now, that sounds better than $350 million. We will be doing a complete story on Eco-Tek in the Sunday edition of the Arctic Beacon, perhaps acting as a conduit to at least get the company talking with people interested in solving the waste management problems on the lake.

Foreign Land Owners and Investors.
This can be a very, very greedy bunch, especially when natural disasters hit and so-called back door opportunity knocks.

Remember the old saying: “What is one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure.” Through the course of history that old saying has served the rich and elite quite well.

As history shows us with other ‘land grabs” orchestrated by the elite controlling families and interests, destruction and natural disasters can lead to opportunity and big bucks as land prices plummet, the rich buying it up at pennies on the dollar.

Once that occurs, it becomes a miraculous adventure to watch how like magic problems that could never be solved are quickly and efficiently solved.

One only has to look to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to figure that game out. Many neighborhoods still remain like ghost towns. Why were people discouraged by their own government not to go home? It was just another ‘land grab’ by the elite at the expense of the poor in New Orleans.

Don’t let this happen in Atitlan and here is a little background why some people may let this pollution problem fester, seeing now that it is fast becoming a spot on the map everybody wants to visit especially with the worldwide hype for 2012 and end of the world predicted in the long form Mayan calendar.

According to 2002 figures which have risen dramatically since, as a tourist destination, it generates more than $30 million annually, a colossal figure for a country where most of the indigenous population barely ekes out a subsistence living. During the past 23 years, the population in the lake’s watershed area has doubled, (even tripled by now.) Atitlan provides water (untreated) for more than 60,000 Guatemalans, mostly poor folk without potable water living in unsanitary conditions. It should be noted disease is spreading faster now since the toxicity in the lake has increased.

Lake Atitlan also serves as an important resource for local fishermen, generating about $400,000 a year in sale of fish, and for mat makers of Santiago Atitlan, who continue a hundreds-of-years-old tradition planting, pruning and cutting reeds which grow in a long, shallow bay on the southern side of the lake.

So, we have $30 million and more generated, but 60,000 Mayans, most of them impoverished without even, as the saying goes, “a pot to pee in!”

It is of course justified by the elite, saying: “Well, they are much better off now then they were. At least they have a few bucks in their pockets and maybe a nice pair of jeans to wear.”

Well, really, are the Mayans better off?

How erudite and pompous can Western civilization be?

Are the native Americans better off now that there land has been defiled, their people killed off and their culture and religious beliefs wiped off the map?

And it’s really the same old story going on at Lake Atitlan now.

It’s just a different time and place but the same old trampling over one more indigenous population and the land they once proudly maintained.

Environmentalists
Some environmentalists have seen Atitlan’s real problems and have tried to help.

Usually they run into a government or bureaucratic brick wall over nonsensical legislation and red tape. Although the Arctic Beacon hasn’t spoken to lead environmentalist Juan Skinner, we hope he’s not one of those environmentalist’s playing into the hands of government, one of those using the environment to actually steal land, not save it for the people.

However, from afar, Skinner appears to have tried to fight the good fight working a director of Autoridad para el Manejo Sustentable de la Cuenca del Lago de Atitlan y su Entorno Ecologico (Authority for the Sustainable Management of Lake Atitlan Basin and Environs).

Skinner, from the way he talks, seems to know all about the governmental and scientific brick walls concerning Atitlan.

Getting involved with the lake in 1992, he is not shy about calling a spade a shovel when it comes to what has turned out to be a bureaucratic nightmare at Lake Atitlan.

Here is a little of what he had to say translated from a 2002 Gautemalen magazine. He also mentions how the U.S, always seems to get its sticky fingers into everything, calling it nothing more than “disrespectful intervention”:

“They (bureaucrats) don’t look at the problem and then look for the solution,” he explains. “They look for the money and then they will do whatever the agency that is financing them wants them to do. The worst problem we have right now is [the U.S. Agency for International Development] investing outside the agenda. These guys are coming in to decide something that we don’t have priority in and they are just dumping a lot of money when we’re in need of money to do priorities. They completely break the democratic process. Their decisions come from Washington; it’s disrespectful intervention.”

Skinner strenuously objects to what he calls a “park mentality” – “putting in laws that are for jungles and tropical forests” in an inhabited area. He says that some agencies further antagonize the local population by hiring people who have never lived in the area. “They come in with a lot of money and have just a little view of the reality, when we are there with a lot of projects already planned and just waiting for the money to do it,” he says.

Mayan People
This will, of course, be the group that suffers most.

If the problems aren’t solved, they will either get sick, die off or be pushed off their own land just like the native Americans and Canadians. They will be pushed off in the name of progress and only the one’s useful to a colorful tourist trade will be left standing.

Proof of this can be seen in the Black Hills of South Dakota where Americans dress up Indians in pretty little costumes as if it was nothing more than Disneyland.

It’s always the poor indigenous people that suffer most. History proves that.

So that history doesn’t repeat itself, please, get involved and don’t let this happen at Lake 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 world wide to see the Mayans and Lake Atitlan are treated fairly. Also, a new weekly radio show will be broadcast highlight Atitlan and the plight of all indigenous groups in North, South and Central America.

Tomorrow catch Greg’s story on a closer look at Eco-Tek’s environmentally friendly waste and water management plants that could help save Lake Atitlan.

Raw Sewage Pours Into Lake Atitlan Every Day

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 5, 2010

Hurricane Stan five years ago knocked out the last water treatment facility at Lake Atitlan in the Guatemalen Highlands. It hasn’t been rebuilt and raw sewage from all 12 villages pours into the lake every day.

Atitlan’s population has doubled, even tripled in recent years as tourists from Europe and America are pouring in, further testing the lakes natural ability to cleanse itself. The great divide between rich and poor is becoming more apparent with each passing day and guess who suffers most?

To complicate matters further, a toxic algae bloom surfaced in October 2009, spreading a rare form of cyanobacteria throughout the lake, threatening to finally kill Lake Atitlan, kill the tourist industry and, most importantly uproot the approximately 50, 000 Mayans living on the shoreline in 12 villages named after the Apostles.

“The problem right now is that in the entire town of Panajachel ( a big town of 14,000) dumps raw sewage directly into the lake because the treatment plant was demolished during hurricane Stan three years ago,” said an lake advocate from America who spends much time in Atitlan and is trying to raise awareness.

Like Panajachel, the other villages have no water treatment facilities.

An American tourist who left Atitlan in February after spending five sick days recovering from dysentery had this to add:

“I think getting clean water in the towns and villages on Lake Atitlan is a real problem since the lake is so polluted. Most hotels provide bottled water, but they use lake water for general needs. I think that I got ameobic dysentery from food being washed in general water at the hotel. Although if I think about it when you shower in lake water, it would be easy to accidentally swallow some.

“Our travel guides, Moon and Rough Guide, both warn about picking up bugs. Almost every traveler that I have run into has picked up something and many have gotten sick in the towns and villages around the Lake.

“We stayed in Santiago and Tzununa. I think the problem is going to get worse rather than better with the continued pollution and I personally would be very concerned about getting clean water if I lived or owned something on the lake”

Although the problems now are grave, they have been known for a long time.

In 2002, Juan Skinner, director of Autoridad para el Manejo Sustentable de la Cuenca del Lago de Atitlan y su Entorno Ecologico (Authority for the Sustainable Management of Lake Atitlan Basin and Environs), talked about efforts to clean up the watershed of Lake Atitlan.

Skinner appears to be someone who has tried to find solutions at least as far back as 1998. But 12 years later, he would probably be the first to agree things have gotten worse, not better.

Here is a clip translated from a 2002 Guatemalen magazine article detailing some of Atitlan’s problems and Skinner’s obvious frustration in not solving them:

At times, such as when he starts to talk about waste water treatment, Skinner puts his head in his hands, rubs his forehead and exclaims, “Ai Yi Yi … .so much is needed to clean up, it’s just incredible. I don’t know how we’ll ever get the money.”

“It has beautiful crystalline water,” he explains, “but what’s really sad is to have such a healthy lake when you see the whole body of water at once, but also to understand the problems that are at the edge, at the town fronts and where the rivers come in. That’s what we’re trying to take care of.”

Editor’s Note: See more of Greg’s stories below about Lake Atitlan and how you can get involved with the Save Lake Atitlan campaign and non-profit organization here in the States. If your interested in helping in any way, contact  gregbeacon at gmail.com

‘Out of Box’ Solutions Needed at Lake Atitlan

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 4, 2010

A solution to cure Lake Atitlan’s widespread outbreak of toxic cyanobacteria, threatening it’s very existence, is not going to be easy.

In layman’s terms, the huge green algae bloom outbreak that surfaced in October 2009, was the lake’s way of saying it had enough.

It was Atitlan’s way of saying, “Thanks people, I’m dying. Thanks to you I can no longer cleanse myself from the toxic waste being dumped down my belly every day.”

To complicate matters, Atitlan has been hit with a rare form of toxic cyanobacteria called Lyngbya hieronymusii. In fact, this type of strain is so rare the world does not even have a record of blooms like the one going on in Lake Atitlan.

Today on my Radio Show, The Investigative Journal, American author Kevin Abrams weighed in on the Atitlan environmental catastrophe with some words of caution and advice to everyone involved in attempting to find solutions.

Lending his support wholeheartedly to the people of Atitlan, here is what he had to say on my radio show, which can be heard on several AM stations and LibertyRadioLive.com five days a week:

“If the body fails to give the soul what it needs, then the soul will destroy the body. Whether it be a lake, forest or the human body, “recycle,” also known as the carbon cycle, is built into the fabric of creation – it’s cause and effect felt in disease and war – war not just of conventional arms, but of pesticides and pharmaceutical drugs – wars against both man and nature.

“Concerning Atitlan, the surrounding terrain needs to be dealt with just as much as the lake. We need to discuss health, terrain and water both from a human and agricultural perspective.

“Do we select and, do those at Atitlan, select the fork in the road to knowledge, health and freedom, or do we stumble down the path to slavery, a tyranny of convenience and sickness management? Yes, the lake is sick. Are we just going to manage the illness until the lake eventual dies a slow painful death for all or are we going to bring it back to health once and for all with solutions consistent with God’s plan of harmony between man an nature.

“This, of course, brings up a bigger question and that is to what degree have people lost faith in themselves, to make informed, responsible choices and decisions on behalf of themselves and their families? To what extent do we now defer to “experts,” who are thought to possess “superior” knowledge?

“For example, do we chose Antoine Béchamp’s terrain basis for disease, or accept Pasteur’s widely imposed germ theory? To what extent have we been conditioned through a corruption of language and the meaning of words to NOT perceive truth?”

And the truth is Lake Atitlan, once considered the most beautiful lake in the world, will die a slow death unless so called “out of the box” solutions are implemented consistent with God’s intended plan.

For example, are we here in a America and our friends in Guatemala going to let the government and scientists make up our minds for us? Or, better yet, have we all lost our own common sense and ingenuity?

Why raise awareness in America for a Guatemalen problem?

Like it or not, both our countries are attached at the hip to this story since the American tourism boom in Atitlan, since the days of revolution, has contributed greatly to upsetting the flow of nature and the life of the Mayan people living on the shoreline.

Also, algae bloom problems and fresh water contamination are occurring in America as we speak. Clear Lake in Florida is a good example, an example where an algae bloom problem similar to Atitlan wiped out the tourist industry over night.

What’s interesting in both stories is that residents from Atitlan and Clear Lake reported when the algae bloom covered the top surface of their lakes, both lakes smelled like bathrooms.

“There are both long and short term goals we must meet,” said editor of the Arctic Beacon, a publication helping the Save Lake Atitlan non-profit organization raise funds for immediate needs and awareness for the long range solutions, which must be out of the box solutions, not just solutions we swallow hook, line and sinker from government officials and scientists..

“I plan on going there in June and if I see someone living on a dirt floor, I am going to make sure we fix that. If someone doesn’t have fresh water, we’ll get some. I know many women wash their clothes in the lake so why not introduce a laundry soda instead of soap, a product more harmonious with nature and not at all toxic. People need to wash their clothes so I am raising money to get those supplies and necessities to them.

“We will be putting up a web site to galvanize interests and a place where you can lend a financial hand to the people who really need it.

“In the interim, if you want to help out in any way email  gregbeacon at gmail.com for information how you can get involved. I know there already are some dedicated groups helping but it would be foolish to think after just coming back from Atitlan, that more money and help isn’t desperately needed. They haven’t even recovered from Hurricane Stan and now this!”

In a nutshell, people already getting their hands dirty at the lake, say the short term solutions are:

1. Ensuring drinking water for the inhabitants of the basin
2. Restrict water use
3. Provide assistance to fishermen and crabbers, who have no access to food.
4. Collaborate with neighbors, if your home has a drinking water well or filter
provide this vital liquid free to others.
5. Do not drink water from the lake, do not allow any person to enter the water.

Regarding long term solutions for the terrain surrounding Atitlan, a good starting point for researchers is a book recommended by Abrams entitled “Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Save The World.”

Regarding long term water and sewage problems, before running off and building 15 water treatment plants at $350 million, like the government ‘experts’ recommend, that are by the way most likely going to be chemically treated, check out a company called Eco-Tek in British Columbia

If people there haven’t looked into Eco-Tek, here is a little about the company:

ECO-TEK’s mission is to create ecosystem-based technologies to reclaim water and nutrients from wastewater and then to incubate bio-diversity for local community self-reliance.

ECO-TEK’s focus is to create Community Based Utilities (CBU) that turn waste into resources. We accomplish this by partnering with communities in win-win relationships that are economical, and environmental and socially responsible.

Cleans Water

Eco Tek’s water treatment facilities use no chemical and the system produces safe, clean water and biosolids for reuse in a number of applications such as irrigation and industrial process water.

Beautiful

The systems are contained within a greenhouse or solarium filled with lush vegetation. Extensive aeration produces an odourless environment allowing the systems to be located in the center of communities.

Simply Built

The systems are built using reliable equipment and highly durable, lightweight components that are easy to assemble with unskilled labour.

Mimics Nature

The processes are chemical free and are resilient due to a diverse aquatic ecosystem.

Grows Plants

The system is designed to turn sewage into clean water, soil and plants. These are in the form of aquatic pond plants, flowers, tree seedlings, and plant starts.

Editor’s Note: See more of Greg’s stories about Atitlan in the articles below.

State of Emergency Called For In Lake Atitlan

By Greg Szymanski, JD
March 3, 2010

Local residents at Lake Atitlan in the Guatemalen Highlands, once considered the most beautiful lake in the world, are again insisting “a state of national emergency” be put into effect due to massive lake pollution problems and health concerns.

This same cry for help was heard six months ago when a severe toxic algae bloom problem surfaced, but since then not much has been done to correct the problem, according to numerous residents interviewed.

The Arctic Beacon has spoke with at least six American tourists who returned from Lake Atitlan in February, five coming down with severe stomach ailments and another diagnosed with amoebic dysentery.

A reporter for the Beacon, who left Atitlan last week, said all but one of the 12 villages that dot the shoreline are without sewage treatment plants. Eye witness reports add that urgent help is needed before the algae bloom again returns in full force when the weather warms up.

Recent NASA photos, monitored regularly, still show huge pockets of algae bloom in most parts of the lake, some of the pockets going as deep as 80 feet.

The cause of this crisis, according to a study team from major Guatemala universities which match The Arctic Beacon findings, stems from years of ignoring the problem of sewage and agricultural run off from the farms located above the lake and the 12 villages that dot its shores.

Researcher say contaminates include fertilizers, soaps , sewage flowing directly into the lake and all the phosphates that these contaminates contain that feed this form of algae.

“From what I understood when I was there in January and February, there are several towns around the lake which dump their raw sewage directly into the lake,” said an administrator from one of Lake Atitlan’s schools. “Panajachel and San Lucas Toliman, are among them. It would seem that the obvious first step in solving the bacteria problem would be in making sure none of the towns dump sewage into the lake.”

Since American and European tourism has added to the pollution problems and change of lifestyle for the Mayans living on the shoreline, a “Save Lake Atitlan” campaign has been started in the States to raise money and awareness for this problem.

Contact  gregbeacon at gmail.com if you would like to get involved, lending any type of technical, scientific, environmental and financial help.

“We will be going down to Atitlan in two months after gathering support here,” said Greg Szymanski, editor of the Arctic Beacon. “I would like to galvanize everyone together working hard on this project into one solid unit, with one solid goal.

“That goal being to move forward in all areas to help the people on the shore have clean water and a clean lake. My main concern is going down there and improving sanitary conditions with innovative ideas and hands on work. I will be trying to raise money first here in the States and around the world to go directly to the people who need it the most.

“I will also work to help sort out how both the private and government sectors can can together to address the lager scale algae bloom problems.

“Sometimes all it takes is an energetic third party to bring everybody together. That’s the role I plan to take. Also, we will be putting up a new web site to unify everybody so they can go to one spot on the web and get the information they need to move quickly on this problem. I also will be starting a separate weekly radio show dedicated to Atitlan and the plight of indigenous people all around the world.”

According to lake activists and news reports, Spain has allocated $29 million for three sewage treatment plants to be built, but reports are no real progress has been made while the estimated target date for construction was to begin three months ago.

“Please, we beg you to get the word out and help us,” was the message on a local blog trying to raise awareness and support for Atitlan.

Here is a concise list of demands being made by concerned Atitlan residents at  http://savelakeatitlan.blogspot.com/2009…, which has been greeted with only lip service so far:

We are insisting before the national authorities (the President, Vice President and Minister of the Environment) that they act decisively to control the entry of phosphorous (P) with the following urgent actions:

F. Revise the laws and legislation regarding the maintenance of lake Atitlan to resolve with haste governmental problems and environmental justice.

—–
Editor’s Note: One reader forwarded this bit of information written by Traveler Tom about Lake Atitlan and a piece of its history, which we intend to write more about in the future.

Lake Atitlán (Ah-teat-LAN) lies nestled a mile high in the Western Highlands of Guatemala and holds a very special place in Mayan religion and folklore. The Maya believe that it’s the “umbilicus of the mother earth,” and in it lies the opening to the underworld, from which all souls emerge at birth and where they return upon physical death. The lake lies in the crater of an extinct volcano, with the dormant volcanoes of Tolimán (Tol-lee-MAHN), San Pedro, and Atitlán rising sharply from its shores. Adding to the lake’s mystery is the fact that no surface streams flow into or out of it. Lake Atitlán looks as if it rose directly from the mouth of the volcano at its fiery conclusion, and in fact is fed solely by underground springs within the crater.

Catholicism was initially forced on the Maya after the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century. Since none of the indigenous people spoke Spanish or Latin, and virtually none of the Spanish bothered to learn the local language, there was very little communication between the two groups. The Maya merely changed the names and dates of their religious deities and celebrations to comply with those of Catholicism. Since the native population went through the motions of being Catholic and observed their holidays, they were Catholic as far as the Spanish were concerned and peace was maintained. Today there are several different religions practiced in Santiago: traditional Mayan known as costumbre, Catholic, and Evangelical. The Evangelical is the newest of these, and is apparently similar to Evangelical faiths in the United States. Several of their services were held while I was in town, all outside with large speakers broadcasting the service to the entire village.

One of the saints we visited that day is the most notorious of Mayan religious figures. He is Maximón (Ma-shee-MONE), the drinking and smoking deity. Maximón has been revered in Santiago since the mid-nineteenth century and is Maximon in a smoke-filled room. represented by a three-and-a-half foot wooden statue clothed in colorful scarves. Maximón’s main trait is the enjoyment of vices, and he is reputed to seduce women in town after dark. He’s generally considered a combination of the Mayan god Mam and the apostle Simon Peter. Many other towns of Guatemala have adopted Maximón also and believe he shares traits of Judas Iscariot, the Antichrist, and even Pedro de Alvarado, the Spanish conquistador who conquered Central America under Cortez. My guide referred to him as “Lord of the Middle.” Peter Canby in his book The Heart of the Sky—Travels Among the Maya says Maximón is the attraction of opposites: day to night, wet to dry, male to female. Maximón is usually seen with a large cigar in his mouth. On several special occasions, a likeness of Christ and Maximón are marched down the streets side-by-side but are not permitted to face each other. Only during Semana Santa, or Holy Week (Easter), do they face each other in a final confrontation. The Maya see no problem with this dichotomy of good versus evil with the two deities; both represent inseparable parts of the workings of the world. Atitecos (At-tea-TEK-ohs), as the residents of Santiago Atitlán are called, sometimes pray to Maximón for worldly needs.

One of the old Catholic mandates has evolved into a distinguishing and now famous Mayan trait. Presumably to better track and control the locals, the Church insisted that each village weave and wear a style of clothing unique to that village. This developed into a rich tradition and is still followed by many today, though no longer required. The Tzutujil are well known as expert backstrap weavers, an ancient style of weaving where the woman sits on the ground with a strap around her back and connected to the other end of the loom. The Tzutujil wear the most famous “costume” of Guatemala. Men wear knee-high white pants with maroon stripes, fastened with a long colorful waistband, and a long-sleeve shirt. The women wear white wool huipiles (blouses) with maroon and purple vertical stripes, then covered with embroidered bird designs. The cortes (skirts) are a long piece of colorful fabric wrapped around their body. The women’s costume is sometimes topped off with a tocoyal, which is a 20-meter-long piece of fabric that is rolled around the head to simulate a radiant sun. This last part seems to be worn only on special occasions these days. Unless offered a few coins, the Tzutujil don’t like their picture taken because they believe that a picture causes them to lose a piece of their soul. TheThe Tzutujil outfit of Santiago. few coins seem to ease the threat. Some people travel great distances to see this costume. I’m fortunate to have acquired a picture for your perusal.