Monetary donations

Atitlánica society of all ages, races, nationalities and professions have been grouped in individual committees in each village under the umbrella of TODOS POR EL LAGO. We, as members of TODOS POR EL LAGO SANTA CRUZ, want to start by bringing in an Environmental consultant to give us a comprehensive study of the problems and will include recommendations to solve the problems. This will likely be the reduction of our discharges of phosphorus and nitrate-food for the cyanobacteria into Lake Atitlan, including solutions for the treatment of wastewater, waste management, erosion, reforestation and responsible farming. We need at least 12,000US now to fund this first study, from which we can see what the best course of action is, so all contributions will be gratefully received, no matter how big or small. We are currently 25,000 members in this cause, if we all help with even 5 or 10 Qs, maybe we can do it! To ensure complete transparency in the handling of funds we have decided not to touch a single Q personally, all fundraising is being done through the NGO "Amigos de Santa Cruz" www.amigosdesantacruz.org, whose director is part of our committee. As well we have been told by many people in this forum, lets stop the chats and get to work. So with all of us working together, we can turn the situation around and demonstrate that the world does care about its natural resources, and that yes, we can have a harmonious relationship with our environment. Recall the obsidian mirror of Tezcatlipoca symbolism ... the mirror that reflects the dark and deep about ourselves... Lake Atitlan was considered exactly this, it seems clear that now the lake is reflecting exactly how we live and how we relate to it. The geometry of how excess nutrients reach the lake is none other than the geometry of how we treat our environment and ultimately, ourselves. Let the mirror give us a clear reflection, a reflection of a justice and a responsible society... As for the cyanobacteria, we must not forget that we put it there. Quoting a friend biologist who is helping us from Spain .... these are very old organisms, which have been around for more millions of years than we have (actually, many more than all animals and plants). The cyanobacteria exist in all algae and plants, it is believed that they began as symbionts of other organisms. Photosynthesis changed the planet and allowed complex organisms to arise that need to eat other organisms to live. So,we actually owe them our life, our existence. The cyanobacteria are old rockers. Carts and wagons have endured and that has made them very resistant patients. They are there, in Atitlan and almost everywhere, reproducing themselves very slowly and being frozen when conditions are not favorable. They have unique adaptations that algaes envy, her fellow medium. They can control its buoyancy, rising and falling in the water column and finding their proper place to live. They use the light that algae can not take advantage of, many can take nitrogen from the atmosphere, other ones produce toxins. Some, when they have enough food and display its full potential, form colonies with trillions of cells lining the waters with many colors, bright green, brown or even blood red. In these orgiastic feasts almost all eventually die, but those remaining wait for the next opportunity. It's their way of life. They are rich, almost nothing eats them (there is a tiny crustacean called Daphnia that devours them) and almost no one appreciates them. But still, whatever we do, they will remain. If there is luck, will and some chat, Atitlan lake will be, again, a lake of clear water without those smells and dangerous. Meanwhile we must learn to live with these blooms of the water and watch them with the respect they deserve, a tradition for millions of years.