Currently, Florida is in their heart of their tourism season. A season that brings in tourists from all over the world who come to visit Florida's beautiful beaches and walloping water ways. However, just last week a stench arrived, surrounding beaches and water ways all over the coast, offending tourists and even locals. Shortly after the stench arrived, officials declared a state of emergency due to the toxic algae that covered the water.
Unfortunately there was not much to be done when this
algal bloom occurred. The algae had been building for weeks with no signs of leaving any time soon."The mess in Florida is only the latest in a string of algal blooms that some experts believe are increasing in frequency and in severity." Although, these algal blooms occur naturally it has been shown more frequently that human activity has been increasing the frequency and intensity of them. The activity spoken of in the article includes runoff from farms, feedlots and municipal sewer systems. Hopefully, scientist and locals can get a grasp on these algal blooms to prevent from loosing tourists and consequently economic growth.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/19/science/algae-blooms-beaches.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fearth&action=click&contentCollection=earth®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0
So interesting that the northeast is benefitting from the phytoplankton bloom while beautiful Florida suffers with this algal bloom!
ReplyDeleteWith all the advancements in biofuel and producing energy through algae, I wouldn't be surprised if in our lifetime, these blooms are seen as "striking it rich" like hitting oil on your land. For now though, these things are nasty and we would all certainly prefer to do without them.
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