Invasive species are something I think about a lot, so I decided to research them. Imagine your favorite lake, go for a swim. While in the lake you step on something sharp and your foot bleeds. You've stepped on a zebra mussel, one of thousands of invasive species found around the world. Invasive species are a real problem, a problem worth solving, and a problem that can be remedied. An invasive species is, according to Executive Order 13112, a species that is non-native and causes damage (1). No matter what damage a species may cause, if the species is native it cannot be invasive, instead it can be classified as a nuisance. Invasive species and non-native species are not the same thing (NOAA 2). To be an invader, the species must cause problems, as Executive Order 13112 defines as “causing or being likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.”(1) This simply means that invasive species are unlikely. Therefore, if people like the non-native species and its consequences, it is classified as non-invasive. This problem has several causes. All these species have to come from somewhere. According to NOAA, most aquatic invaders come from ships' ballast water(14). An example of this is zebra mussels and some marine algae. Additionally, many invaders are imported for aquarists (NOAA 28). According to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, other ways invasive species travel include moving soil that contains invasive species/seeds/eggs, the same goes for firewood, releasing pets, gardening and transportation aquatic.(3)These species cause many problems. “In 1997, a Michigan paper mill spent $1.4 million to remove 400 cubic yards of zebra mussels from its plant” (NOAA 6) that's a lot of capital for a while... half of paper... ..pdf>."Ten invasive species exported from the United States." National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species RSS. National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species, nd Web. 01 May 2014.Matsumoto, Nancy. “Have you ever tried to eat a wild pig?” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, July 11, 2013. Web. May 5, 2014."Where do invasive species come from and how do they spread?" - Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, August 27, 2012. Web. May 5, 2014. “Economic Impacts of Invasive Plants in California.” Cal-IPC: cost evaluation. Invasive Plant Council of California, n.d. Web. May 07, 2014."Raccoons Damage Japanese Temple." Japanese probe RSS. Np, nd Web. May 7, 2014."What we do to stop invasive species - National Wildlife Federation." What do we do to stop invasive species. National Wildlife Federation, n.d. Web. May 13 2014.