United States Environmental Protection Agency. "Mercury." Environmental Protection Agency, 07 Sep. 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
Summary: This article is a good overview of the effects of mercury in fish from a trusted source. It outlines the basic effects of mercury and human consumption. In the article they talk about how you can have neurological damage in infants and young children from consuming too much fish. The main point is to make the people aware of the dangerous effects that mercury can have on you and a brief outline of where it comes from. The article also outlines the symptoms that one can have after consuming too much mercury.
Assess: The article is written by a governmental agency and is used to help inform the general public of the harmful effects of mercury in fish. It is has recently been updated and it seems to be credible. Although the article is brief, it contains a lot of valuable information that relates to my topic. The information used to create this article has been found in studies and it also provides links to additional information to the readers.
Reflection: This source can be very helpful for me. Although it doesn't contain a lot of information, the little bit that is has can help me make my argument more clear. This article will give me credible information that I can rely on for writing my final paper.
Trudel, Marc, and Joesph B. Rasmussen. "Predicting Mercury Concentration In Fish Using Mass Balance Models." Ecological Applications. JSTOR. 02 Apr. 2001. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
Summary: This article is a detailed description mercury and how the fish that people consume get contaminated. They have studies on three different fish and how much different each fish is affected by the mercury in the waters. It provides a detailed description of their model they used to determine how the fish are impacted by the mercury levels. The point of this source is to make people aware of how fish is actually contaminated and they effects it may have on different people. It also talks about how not only humans can be effected by the mercury but other animals consuming the fish or inhabiting in the waters that are infected.
Assess: Although this article is dated, it still contains very valuable information. This source can be very helpful in writing my paper because it contains detailed information that supports my topic. The authors also are credible and they give the sources that they used to generate this article. The information used in this article comes from detailed studies on fish with the results to prove their theories.
Reflection: This article will be very helpful for me to support my arguments. With all the detailed information it will give me valuable and credible facts to base my arguments around. The information provided will fit into my arguments well because it is very descriptive and comes from credible and reliable source.
Bender Michael T., and Jane M. Williams. "A Real Plan of Action on Mercury." Public Health Reports. JSTOR. 1974. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
Summary: This article describes how the general public is unaware of what they are really consuming when the eat fish that contain high mercury levels. It also talks about how they don't believe that the government is doing enough to prevent the contamination of our waters and the fish they effect. It talks about the states that have guidelines to help prevent the contamination and how all states should become more aware of the harmful effects of mercury. The overall main point of this article is to make people more aware of the effects and it gives a recommended plan of action.
Assess: This source could be very useful in writing my final paper but it is very dated and their may even be outdated. The authors are credible but there have been so many changes in the environment and technology that the information in this article will probably not be useful. The information is very relevant to my arguments and is intended for the general public to become more aware of the harmful effects of mercury. The main purpose is to inform and persuade the people that there is not enough being done to help prevent the contamination of fish.
Reflection: This information could be very useful in my paper but I do not believe I will use it because it is very outdated. Their may be a few things that I could use to make some arguments but I would have to check on them to make sure they are still true and credible.
Griesbauer, Laura. "Methylmercury Contamination in Fish and Shellfish." CSA Discover Guides. CSA. Feb. 2007. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
Summary: This article gives a detailed description of how fish become contaminated with mercury. It also gives a brief outline of what mercury actually is and how the fish are effected by it. It gives sources as to how the water that the fish inhabit gets contaminated and how it gets into the fish that we consume. There is also information on how the mercury effects the human body. The article contains a chart of how different fish are effected by the mercury and what fish are worse for people to consume. Another thing that it contains is an incident that happened where industrial pollution effected the waters and contaminated the people in the surrounding area.
Assess: This article may be a little outdated but it contains some good information that can be used to support my arguments. It contains very relevant information and a good example of how mercury can contaminate the waters and effect the people that consume the fish. The author is credible and she provides resources of where she found her information. The overall purpose of this article is to inform and persuade the people of the harmful effects of mercury levels in fish. It also does not seem to be biased because it is just providing facts that support her argument of the effects of mercury.
Reflection: This information will fit well with my arguments in my paper. I believe that it is credible and will give me a good basis for my argument. I like that it contains an actual incident that occurred from the waters being contaminated from industrial pollution. Although this happened quite some time ago it is still relevant and it could happen again today.
Mercola, Joesph. "If You Choose Wisely, the Benefits of a High Fish Diet Can Still Outweigh the Risks Associated with Mercury Contamination." Mercola Articles. Mercola. 23 Dec. 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Summary: In this article the author talks about how eating fish can still be good for you although it contains varying levels of mercury. In the article he interviews the founder and president of a salmon producer. The article states that if you are aware of the fish you are consuming then you should not have to worry about the levels of mercury effecting your body. The main point is to make the people aware that not all fish is bad for you and if the right fish and portions are consumed that they may have a healthy effect on you. It gives you information on what you should look for when buying fish and certain fish that are raised in farms that may be more contaminated than others. It also gives a brief overview of how companies try to decontaminate the fish before they provide them to the public.
Assess: The author seems to be credible and the information is up to date. He brings in another person to go over what is done to help prevent the fish from effecting the people that consume it. This provides good information on the other side of the argument but also contains relevant information for my side of the argument. The source provides the resources that he used to write the article and the information is provided by evidence. This articles main purpose is to inform and persuade people that although fish may contain mercury that with the right knowledge you can be alright from consuming fish.
Reflection: This source can be very helpful in my argument because it gives a brief look at the other side. I can use the information that is gives to support my argument better. In my paper I don't want to scare people away from eating fish I just want to inform them that with the right consumption and knowledge fish can be very beneficial for you. This doesn't talk about how it effects young children and pregnant woman but it lets the people know what fish are good and bad for you.
Cool, Lisa Collier. "Mercury in Seafood. Is It Still Safe to Eat Fish?" Yahoo Health. Yahoo. 02 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Summary: This is a brief article that still contains valuable information about the mercury levels in seafood. It discusses how it effects young children and how it could possibly harm them in the long run. It gives a brief description on how the fish get contaminated from the different industries. The main point is to make the people aware of what fish are worse to consume and tips on how to prevent mercury poisoning. The main argument is to let people know that eating fish is not the worst thing for you and with the right knowledge you will be alright consuming fish.
Assess: Although this article contains some good information, it may not be the most credible. The source does not contain any information of where she got her information from and it may be biased. The information is still relevant to my topic but it seems to contain more opinions than it does facts. This source is different from my other sources because it does not use as many facts as the other sources use. The purpose of this article is to inform the general public that consuming mercury in fish at young ages can be harmful but later on in your life if you consume the right seafood it may not be as harmful as you think.
Reflection: Like I said before I do not believe that I will use this information to make my arguments. Since I do not know how credible the author is I do not want to use information that is not backed up by facts. The source is still helpful because it gives me a little more information on how fish effect young children and how the fish actually get contaminated.
Willingham, Emily. "ADHD, Fish and Mercury Exposure During Pregnancy — What's The Connection?" Forbes Pharma & Healthcare. Forbes. 08 Oct. 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.
Summary: This article gives information on how pregnant woman can be affected by high mercury levels in fish when they consume them. Mercury has been linked to ADHD in children when they are born from woman consuming fish when they were pregnant. It also gives a brief overview of what mercury is and how it effects the woman when they are pregnant. The overall main point of the article is to make women aware of the dangerous effects of mercury and that they should not consume fish while they are pregnant.
Assess: The author of this article seems to be credible and the article provides good information for me to base my argument around. Since my topic has been an issue for quite some time, I believe this article contains information that is up to date for me. This source is different from the other sources because if focuses more on pregnant woman and how mercury levels effects them. Forbes is a reliable source and I believe that the author can be trusted. The article contains links to studies that provide more information on the arguments in the article. This main purpose of the article is to inform and persuade pregnant woman about the mercury levels in fish and not to consume them during pregnancy.
Reflection: I believe that this information will support my arguments very well. I want to make people aware of the harmful effects of mercury in fish during pregnancy and on young children. There are studies shown that mercury may cause ADHD and other harmful effects and this article provides me with them.