TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE
Mussels can be used for food and their shells used to be used as decorations by native people of the Ohio and Mississippi River basins.
Mussels are used to extract pearls, which are used in the jewelry industry. They are also used in the button industry and the cultured pearl industry.
Mussels are ecosystem engineers, they provide a habitat for others, and they even clean the water.
You can conserve energy in order to reduce the number of power plants and thus pollutants. You can help lower the use of pesticides, and use IPM (Integrated Pest Management) to reduce pesticides. In addition you could plant trees in order to control erosion, and finally you can make sure that you clean your boat* off when you exit a lake to reduce the spread of zebra mussels.
*If you have a boat
You can help support and follow zebra mussel quarantine, inspection, and decontamination programs.
You can discourage people from buying clothing with mussel shell buttons. Also a federal tax could be issued to the clothing/buttons that use mussel shells.
How you can help?
Mussels impact on TBL
Economic
Environmental
Social/Political
Economic
Social/Political
Environmental