No, it’s not some bad sci-fi movie, it’s real. Mutant frogs have invaded Minnesota. According to researchers at the Environmental Protection Agency, a surprisingly large number of frogs in Minnesota waters possess deformities.
As environmental indicators, amphibians are some of the first animals to show signs of poor environmental conditions. These animals have a skin that is permeable to water and all of the pollutants dissolved in the water. If frogs are showing major changes due to the water quality, then you can bet that if water pollution continues, other species will soon follow.
I was under the impression that we had something called the Clean Water Act to keep our waters safe. Obviously, this is not doing enough. We need either to strengthen the Clean Water Act or give the EPA the funding and the power to enforce the current regulations. The current Congress doesn’t like either of the options. It would rather allow a few select people the privilege of dumping pollutants into the water, despite the risk it poses to the rest of us.
Fortunately, these mutant frogs are not going to attack you when you sleep. They simply serve as messengers, giving us a glimpse of what can happen to our own children if we continue this crash course of environmental degradation.
