Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Toxic Algae Threatens Florida's Gulf Coast

Posted by timothy on from the bigger-than-rhode-island-and-providence-plantations dept.

As reported by Discovery News, After Toledo had to temporarily ban residents from using tap water last weekend because of a toxic algae bloom on Lake Erie, you probably figured that we’d filled the quota of bad algae-related news for the summer. No such luck, unfortunately. Off the Gulf Coast of Florida, the biggest red tide bloom seen in Florida in nearly a decade already has killed thousands of fish. The bloom, which contains the microorganism Karenia brevis, may pose a public health threat to Floridians if it washes ashore, which is expected to happen in the next two weeks, according to Reuters. NBC News says this is the largest such bloom seen since 2006 — approximately 50 x 80 miles.

67 of 99 comments (clear)

  1. So... by thieh · · Score: 1

    Does it have anything to do with the BP oil spill?

    1. Re:So... by Kuroji · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Unlikely. Fertilizer runoff from farms being dumped in a body of water will help algae growth, that's a very large part of what happened in Ohio, because apparently farmers in Ohio are fucking retards who think dumping manure on fields that are FROZEN OVER is a good idea and that it won't just all wash out into the lake there.

      Petroleum isn't going to have the same effect by a long shot. There is no algae that eats oil.

    2. Re:So... by Eravnrekaree · · Score: 1

      These red tide problems have been going on for decades, long before the oil spill. The oil spill has been devastating but I dont think its causing this.

    3. Re:So... by rmdingler · · Score: 1

      I am certain there's a plausible six degrees of separation link that you're overlooking.

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

    4. Re:So... by Kuroji · · Score: 3

      Fertilizer is among its many byproducts, but raw petroleum is not going to work as fertilizer and requires quite a bit of processing in order to split into the products that we use today.

      This has been an ongoing problem, periodically, if you'll recall. And the use of fertilizers is only increasing. The oil spill didn't contribute, it's causing its own problems but this is not one of them.

    5. Re:So... by sillybilly · · Score: 1

      Fuck Monsanto!

    6. Re:So... by Mashiki · · Score: 4, Informative

      There is no algae that eats oil.

      Maybe no algae, but plenty of bacteria do.

      Anyway, don't discount the number of farmers in Canada who've done the same thing with manure, and screw up the lakes too. There was a farmer upstream of Pittock Dam, who used to do the same thing. Took the ministry of environment(MoE) in Ontario nearly 25 years to "get around" to finally fine the dumb bastard. Or as many people put it, "the dumb french bastard." Since dumping manure on frozen ground is very common in Quebec as well.

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    7. Re:So... by TapeCutter · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There's no ice in Queensland, the prevailing ocean currents go south and are replenished by clean water from the coal sea. However fertilizer runoff has been the barrier reef's #1 enemy for decades. We don't get red-tides so much but the runoff triggers the regular crown of thorns plagues whose larvae eat the algae, then as adults eat the coral. The plagues can and do occur naturally, usually after floods from cyclones. The fertilizer both amplifies and increases the frequency of the plagues to the point were the reef does not have enough time between plagues to fully recover.

      The reef's in the Caribbean and mediterranean were already heavily damaged when Jack Cousteau was swimming around taking notes in the 60's. Since then Science has discovered that a healthy reef actually has the majority of its biomass stored in large fish such as sharks, a severely degraded reef has the majority of its biomass stored in small fast growing invertebrates and weeds. The only reason the filthy Ganges river has not destroyed the Seychelles and other pristine reefs nearby is that it's mouth is clogged with thousands of acres of mangroves that act as a natural (and extremely efficient) water filter.

      Nearly all marine biologists will tell you the answer to the serious problem of collapsing fisheries is to set aside marine parks in specific locations that would cover approximately 5% of the world's coastline and some specific deep sea ridges, virtually everyone else will say there's "plenty of fish in the sea".

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    8. Re:So... by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      There is no algae that eats oil.

      It's unfortunate, mostly for you, that you cannot imagine second-order effects. For example, what if the oil (or dispersant) is killing off something which normally retards the algae? Farmers, landscapers, and homeowners use too much fertilizer every year, but there isn't a toxic bloom of this scope every year.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    9. Re:So... by torsmo · · Score: 1

      only reason the filthy Ganges river has not destroyed the Seychelles & other pristine reefs nearby/quote The Ganges-Brahmaputra delta is over 5000 kms away from Seychelles. The only "nearby" reefs are in the Andaman islands (still a distance of over 1200 kms).

    10. Re:So... by azav · · Score: 1

      Red tide blooms are an over reproduction of a type of phytoplankton. This is a world wide phenomenon and though there are many ideas why this happens, we don't have conclusive indicators why yet.

      --
      - Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
    11. Re:So... by RabidReindeer · · Score: 2

      These red tide problems have been going on for decades, long before the oil spill. The oil spill has been devastating but I dont think its causing this.

      To the best of my knowledge, there have been red tides there since before the Spaniards hit the beaches.

      The question here, as in so many other cases, isn't whether it's something new, but whether people have been doing things that make it more intense and/or more frequent.

      And since it's not a simply provable binary condition, people will argue about it.

    12. Re: So... by RabidReindeer · · Score: 1

      Wait, so you're saying all of this is Kevin Bacon's fault?

      Everything is Kevin Bacon's fault. Remember, no more than 6 degrees of separation between Bacon and the leaders of Al-Qaeda.

      Examine the metadata. Why doesn he hate our Freedoms???!!

    13. Re:So... by eric_harris_76 · · Score: 1

      Or not [mentally handicapped] but simply responding to perverse incentives provided by our omniscient, all-wise legislative and regulatory overlords.

      One such example -- right down to the manure on frozen ground detail -- is given in a book on organic farming, "Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal". Well-meaning environmental activists got the law (or regulation, I forget which) they'd asked for. But there were unintended consequences, bad ones. Repealing the law (or rescinding the regulation) would have meant declaring an environmentalist victory a mistake, and nobody involved wanted that.

      Well, the wildlife in Chesapeake Bay would have.

      But they're not as important as the egos and careers of those who got what they asked for (but not what they wanted).

      --
      There's no time like the present. Well, the past used to be.
  2. Crimson Tide in Florida? by turkeydance · · Score: 4, Funny

    nope....Gators come to Tuscaloosa next month.

    1. Re:Crimson Tide in Florida? by wooferhound · · Score: 2

      Roll Tide

      --
      We are Dead Stars looking back Up at the Sky
    2. Re:Crimson Tide in Florida? by LongearedBat · · Score: 1

      It's remnants of the Red Weed from when the martians attacked.

    3. Re:Crimson Tide in Florida? by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

      Are they planning to retire in Montana too?

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    4. Re:Crimson Tide in Florida? by Rotag_FU · · Score: 1

      Either we will actually field an offense this year and make games against powerhouse teams like 'Bama competitive (not saying we will win, but at least won't be embarrassed) or we will continue to get stomped and get a new coach next year. Either way, win-win for the Gators. :)

  3. Toxic Algae Threatens Florida's Gulf Coast by Fear+the+Clam · · Score: 2

    And those are just the Yankee fans from Queens.

  4. An economic and environmental disaster by Eravnrekaree · · Score: 5, Informative

    The smell from this can be horrendous and is bad for tourism. Several counties on the West coast of Florida have issued restrictions on the use of fertilizers. The fertilizers used on lawns is blamed for the red tide outbreaks by feeding the organisms, it is believed. The effect on the environment can be harmful in depleting and causing population loss of fish and other species. A large portion of the runoff of fertilizer is from entirely ornamental landscape applications, a complete waste of resources, especially considering the issue of Phosphate depletion. I would like to see a broad restrictions on such fertilizers except for production of food crops. That some people would waste the resource nd threaten the ecosystem, for the vanity of a perfect green yard is outrageous. In Florida, they often use grass species which are pretty much impossible to keep going without these massive applications, such as St. Augustine. When you stop throwing the chemicals on the yard, the St. Augustine will mostly go away.

    1. Re:An economic and environmental disaster by NoKaOi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The fertilizers used on lawns is blamed for the red tide outbreaks by feeding the organisms, it is believed.

      Not to mention that most people (pro landscapers included) dump a lot more phosphorus than is necessary. A mature lawn needs very little phosphorus fertilizer, and in most areas none at all because the soil has enough. Using a phosphorus free fertilizer, which still contains the nutrients the plant needs such as nitrogen and potassium, is sufficient in most areas. And yet, general purpose fertilizer is often used (flowers and fruit needs phosphorus), and even fertilizer marketed for lawns usually unnecessarily contains fertilizer. And that's all about marketing and distribution. The fertilizer companies want to produce stuff they can market everywhere. Additionally, what are most people who don't know anybody going to buy, the fertilizer that says "27-3-10" or the one that says "27-0-10." The former of course, because 3 is better than 0! And lots of "lawn food" products contain plenty just for good measure without even having the N-P-K ratio on the label.

      Education in this area would go a loooong way. Educate the public, the professional landscapers, and the fertilizer suppliers. There are even some municipalities where it's illegal to dump phosphorus containing fertilizer on lawns. Yes, it's easy to get away with breaking that ordinance (especially with the pretty labels at Home Depot), but what having the ordnance does in particular is educate the landscapers who will then buy phosphorus free fertilizer, which will in turn educate (to some degree) the public, and make phosphorus free fertilizer more available and the de facto standard.

    2. Re:An economic and environmental disaster by JimSadler · · Score: 1

      St. Augustine has not been very popular in Florida for a couple of decades. It used to be about the only grass planted here. Bitter Blue and other, better grasses are now popular. Watering restrictions alone would have limited the use of St. Augustine but the big factor seemed to be runners and also insect vulnerabilities. St. Augustine also grows way too quickly if rain and summer sun are just right. Mowing a lawn every three days is tiresome and expensive. My county has limited residential fertilizer use already but we suffer from agricultural run off from the sugar cane industry. Due to excessive development and population we can no longer be effective in storing rain water. If we store a bit too much the farms flood and some homes as well. If we store just a tiny bit too little we go into water restrictions. Every year we dump huge amounts of rain water into the sea. Yet no government agency will buck the developers and shut down building permits which is exactly what we need to do.

    3. Re:An economic and environmental disaster by silfen · · Score: 1

      It's inconvenient. It's not a "disaster". And although humans clearly are causing many algal blooms, they are also a natural phenomenon; you can't eliminate them.

    4. Re:An economic and environmental disaster by geekoid · · Score: 1

      The fact that you seem to think you can't have a natural phenomenon be a disaster is mind boggling.

      Also, Red Tide is 10 times stronger then they where 50 years ago specifically due to human activities.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    5. Re:An economic and environmental disaster by silfen · · Score: 1

      The fact that you seem to think you can't have a natural phenomenon be a disaster is mind boggling.

      Where the hell did you get that idea? Something is a "disaster" if it unexpectedly and unpredictably destroys a lot of infrastructure and/or kills a lot of people; earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, tornadoes, and hurricanes can all do that. An algal bloom does none of those things.

      This knee-jerk reflex to call inconveniences "disasters" is as stupid as the knee-jerk reflex to call crimes "terrorism". Of course the motivation is the same: if it's a "disaster" or "terrorism", money starts flowing.

      Also, Red Tide is 10 times stronger then they where 50 years ago specifically due to human activities.

      Oh, I'm sure you can dig up some fear mongering web site purporting to show that. In reality, people don't know:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R...

      While red tides in the Gulf of Mexico have been occurring since the time of early explorers such as Cabeza de Vaca,[16] it is unclear what initiates these blooms and how large a role anthropogenic and natural factors play in their development. It is also debated whether the apparent increase in frequency and severity of algal blooms in various parts of the world is in fact a real increase or is due to increased observation effort and advances in species identification methods.[17][18]

    6. Re:An economic and environmental disaster by Rotag_FU · · Score: 1

      In Florida, they often use grass species which are pretty much impossible to keep going without these massive applications, such as St. Augustine. When you stop throwing the chemicals on the yard, the St. Augustine will mostly go away.

      This might vary depending upon the area of Florida that you lived in. I lived in the Tampa Bay area when growing up and never had to fertilize our St. Augustine, nor did I have to water it. It rained almost daily during the summers at ~3 PM and the grass seemed to grow too quickly to mow. Even when there was some drought and Xeriscaping was touted as the solution, this was supposed to be to address high water consumption ornamentals rather than St. Augustine grass. There were many times mowing the grass as a kid that I wished the grass would have died or at least slowed down. :)

      However, I haven't lived in Florida for 16 years so it is possible that much has changed in the intervening years.

  5. Lake Champlain is impacted by algae as well by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    St. Albans Bay and Missisquoi Bay on Lake Champlain are on high alert for blue green algae blooms and associated cyanobacteria.

    Communities up and down Lake Champlain in New York and Vermont have been dealing with this for years.

    1. Re:Lake Champlain is impacted by algae as well by sumdumass · · Score: 2, Interesting

      We used to tackle blue green algae with copper sulfate in the 400 acre pond where i grew up. We just put about 2 lbs in a burlap sack, tied a rope around it and trolled it around the algae areas once or twice a week for three to four weeks in a row durring the heat of summer. It took about 2-3 hours to hit the blooms

      Do they not do this any more? Or is there something different about in your area that makes it impractical or inneffective or something?

    2. Re:Lake Champlain is impacted by algae as well by ColdWetDog · · Score: 3, Funny

      With the price of recycled copper these days, people don't do this often because the low lifes will steal the pond.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    3. Re:Lake Champlain is impacted by algae as well by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      A pond is a little bit different than the ocean. Copper is fairly toxic to marine invertebrates. With it already being a given that the invertebrates in the area of the bloom are going to die; the question becomes how many will die from a large amount of copper drifting out of that area. And will it even be all that effective with the kinds of currents that are in the ocean. You can saturate a pond, even 400 acres. It will take some time for the copper concentration to wash out. In the ocean it could wash out in a matter of minutes, or hours. And that's not even considering the shear volume. I'm guessing that the pond you mentioned has no where near the depth that many of these areas in the ocean that are being affected.

    4. Re:Lake Champlain is impacted by algae as well by MrL0G1C · · Score: 1

      in the 400 acre pond where i grew up

      You grew up in a pond, are you a frog?

      In the UK a pond is 10ft, 400 acres is a big lake.

      --
      Waterfox - a Firefox fork with legacy extension support, security updates and better privacy by default.
  6. Phosphates by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Let's not forget phosphate mines, or leaks: e.g., Piney Point, Jeb Bush & Friends

    http://www.thebradentontimes.com/news/2011/06/22/environment/piney_point_1966_2011_a_retrospective/#.U-gRnviGTgA

    http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/huge-red-tide-algae-bloom-could-move-ashore-florida-n175506

    1. Re:Phosphates by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      posted wrong link: http://www.sptimes.com/2003/07/06/Tampabay/A_140_million_mess.shtml

      http://baysoundings.com/legacy-archives/sum02/pineypt.html

  7. Synthetic Grass by labnet · · Score: 1

    One reason I turfed my backyard with artificial turf.
    I was sick of weeds, animals digging in it, mowing it, fertilizing it, the kids trampoline killing it.

    Synthetic grass can now look as good as the real deal. It can get hot in summer, but otherwise its nice having an always perfect looking lawn.

    --
    46137
    1. Re:Synthetic Grass by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      It would be interesting to calculate the relative use of petroleum products in a synthetic lawn (made primarily out of plastics which are made primarily out of fossil fuels) with a 'natural' lawn (grown primarily with added fertilizer which is primarily made out of fossil fuels). The astroturf would be a one time event while the natural lawn requires input on a regular basis.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    2. Re:Synthetic Grass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I don't get artificial turf as a "green" alternative. If you just stop applying chemicals, and keep applying water you still have a lawn. It's just not a monoculture lawn. One place I lived in my college years did this out of sheer laziness, not a desire to be "green". This was in Virginia. Result? A lawn with some residual turf grass, but visually dominated by flowering clover, dandelion, some purple flowers I never learned the name of the whole time I grew up there, and a smattering of less common wildflowers. That was what survived the occasional mowing to about six inches. It was absolutely beautiful and when my Dad come down one weekend I told him that. He said what you'd expect from any post-war suburban parent: "Weeds".

      Sheesh. I never did get that. Dandelion is actually useful. It's edible for cryin' out loud. Clover fixed nitrogen. Turf grass? I'm hard pressed to think of a use.

      Anyway, I digress. I don't get the whole idea of covering the grass with a petroleum product. Just stop applying chemicals, keep watering if there's not a drought, and mow to six inches. Let nature take it's course, and explain be the change you want to see--owner of diverse, healthy lawns.

    3. Re:Synthetic Grass by aXis100 · · Score: 1

      I've never understood why synthetic turf owners down throw a splash of water over their yards in summer - the evaporating water will keep the heat down.

      Yes, it does waste a little water, but far less than regular lawn and you can do it just on the days you want a cooling effect.

    4. Re:Synthetic Grass by Eravnrekaree · · Score: 1

      I don't think artificial turf is the answer. Its planting a drought resistant fiolage, some xeriscaping, etc. There are plenty of things you can plant in the yard. And why not let the weeds take over? Whats wrong with having a yard full of globesedge and matchweed. Nothing in my view.

    5. Re:Synthetic Grass by Immerman · · Score: 3, Informative

      The trick is to *plant* weeds, preferably wild local plants that won't be invasive and are pleasant and well-adapted to the climate. Repeatedly massacre anything that put out thorns or such, and in a year or two you'll have such a nice dense mat of well-established and non-noxious wild growth that the unpleasant stuff will be hard pressed to sneak in. Essentially you're cultivating a lawn that can out-compete noxious weeds with little or no help from you.

      Of course the drought thing can still do a number - between the beaver and the buffalo we massacred the most important animals on the continent for retaining surface ground water (the one built temporary ponds and channels that stored and distributed water and rich sediment, while the other churned standing grasses into the soil so they could break down and maintain a healthy, water-retaining loam rather than remaining on the surface and slowly oxidizing away.)

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    6. Re:Synthetic Grass by Immerman · · Score: 2

      Should also mention - greywater use is *extremely* effective in desert areas, especially if you're cultivating native plants that can survive the drought to begin with. Even just catching the gallon or so of water you run to let your shower warm up and tossing it on the lawn every day can make the difference between plants struggling to survive and flourishing. And if you have a bathtub, then using a submersible pump to transfer the dirty water to your garden/lawn instead of sending it down the drain will make your yard the envy of the neighborhood.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    7. Re:Synthetic Grass by Immerman · · Score: 2

      > I don't know why the current 'front lawn culture' is a thing.
      My guess - uselessness as an expression of wealth. Look at pretty much *any* of the trappings of wealth, virtually all of them are not just useless, but *intentionally* useless. Once upon a time it was silver swords and petticoats that took hours to don. And lawns - through their very existence you are stating "I have sufficient wealth to not only maintain a swath of fertile land growing a non-aggressive plant only good for walking on, but also systematically exterminate the endless onslaught of much-more-viable plants trying to get established". At one time it was only the nobility with their sweeping estates who could afford such a luxury, but now you too can have your very own tiny fragment of an estate and validate your self-worth as a modern American micro-noble.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    8. Re:Synthetic Grass by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      Sheesh. I never did get that. Dandelion is actually useful. It's edible for cryin' out loud. Clover fixed nitrogen. Turf grass? I'm hard pressed to think of a use.

      It makes a lot more sense if you think of ornamental landscaping (and much of fashion in general) in terms of competitive display rather than pursuit of some specific aesthetic ideal. It is precisely because something is pointless and relatively resource intensive that it is a good competitive display. If it were purely utilitarian, or if it were trivial, everyone would have one. Lawns are also good for this because deficiencies in maintenance become publicly visible, in the form of various 'weeds' and irregularities of color or height, fairly quickly.

    9. Re:Synthetic Grass by TapeCutter · · Score: 2

      Aussie turf grass (mainly cooch) good at stopping sandy soil from eroding and is kind to bare feet (but may contain funnel web spiders). The worst weed to have in an aussie lawn is the bindi, it has a large seed that no matter which way it lands has a thorn pointing upwards. Still, most (not all) people here in Oz fall into the "lazy" camp, we just mow whatever grows and maybe throw a box of seed mix around after a severe drought has turned it to dust. During a drought there are severe restrictions on water use for everyone with harsh penalties for breaking them, watering lawns (if permitted) is 2hr window on two or three days a week, sprinklers are generally banned. We aussies really do take water rationing very seriously during a drought, people or companies who flaunt the heavily advertised water rationing rules are about as popular with the general public as arsonists and pedophiles. All but the most dedicated gardeners see their laws disappear in the first or second February.

      Having said that, wild grass is incredibly resilient, my house is near the beach, during the last major drought the yard was bare sand for several years, the lemon tree died in the second of five of our driest summers on record, the handful of native bushes and trees I have took it in their stride, two weeks of good rain in mid autumn then BOOM a carpet of green shoots across the entire yard, not an ounce of fertilizer, not a single seed sown. The easiest way to thicken it up after a drought is as you say cut high and often but also leave the catcher off the mower, this holds in the moisture, allows more species to reseed themselves, and gives pollinators a better chance of surviving the mower.

      Flowers are not the only interesting feature of a wild lawn, we have a local grass that puts up a fast growing stem like a dandelion and at roughly the same time as dandelions are turning to seed. A narrow seed pod forms on top of the steam and when ripe explodes shooting hundreds of pinhead sized seeds waist high.

      Disclaimer: I am an average (Aussie) post-war suburban grandparent :)
      When there's enough rain to have a lawn I pay someone $50 to mow it and trim the edges every 3-5 weeks depending on the season, he does a great job. I am however a little odd (ok very odd) in that I don't mow it in early spring because it is covered in weeds (wild daisies) or late summer ( dandelions and grandpa's exploding grass :). Happily the road people seem to have also noticed the daisies since the drought broke and now appear to time their spring mowing so as to be just the right height when the 6-8 inch tall daisies flower (roughly a 2 week window in early spring). Makes the freeway commute feel like a spring meadow and doesn't cost them a cent.

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    10. Re:Synthetic Grass by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      Be even more interesting to find out how many people don't bother fertilizing their lawns.

      Me for instance.

      I can think of one of my neighbors who fertilize their flower beds (not their whole lawns), but the rest of us might toss in some weedkiller every few years (or not), and otherwise let it grow...

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    11. Re:Synthetic Grass by SumterLiving · · Score: 1

      Believe it or not, in some towns in the USA, the local leaders consider xeriscaping just slightly less communistic than not allowing pub patrons to carry loaded guns. Until the days when water becomes too expensive to use in anything other than a drinking cup, my local leaders will insist all residents have lush, weed-free, green lawns. And they enforce that green grass / no weeds ordinance with tickets. Just try changing their minds to allow xeriscaping? Been down that road and got weed tickets 3 straight weeks in a row. I'll move as soon as I can break even on this money pit I called an investment.

    12. Re:Synthetic Grass by geekoid · · Score: 1

      I just like the way it feels on me toes.
      However, I'm not obsessed with perfect lawn.
      I also try to put my clippings into my yard. either around plant to minimize weeds, or a cycle it into the planter areas.
      I would rather have weeds then use a poison.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    13. Re:Synthetic Grass by operagost · · Score: 1

      One time event? I don't think artificial turf is exempt from the laws of physics. It's going to need repair, cleaning, and eventual replacement.

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    14. Re:Synthetic Grass by operagost · · Score: 1

      some purple flowers I never learned the name of the whole time I grew up there

      Probably chicory (which is more of a lavender color) or creeping charlie. I guess you could steep the roots and see if it tastes like camp coffee. :-P

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  8. Spoiler Alert: FTA by rmdingler · · Score: 5, Informative

    Red Tide, which happens in other coastal areas as well, is a phenomenon that's been occurring for centuries.

    Undoubtedly, there are anthropogenic influences on this and every facet of the environment. Rightfully so, restrictions on fertilizer use are already in place, or pending in, affected areas.

    Though it is inconvenient and unprofitable in the short term, the collective conscience of the governed requires the governors to care about and remedy shit like this.

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

    1. Re:Spoiler Alert: FTA by penguinoid · · Score: 3, Funny

      shit like this.

      He means "fertilizer".

      --
      Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
    2. Re:Spoiler Alert: FTA by sillybilly · · Score: 1

      Phosphate fertilizer is not that soluble to wash off like that, compared to old school phosphate detergents. I think it's more like somebody deliberately dumping soluble sodium phosphate and salicyl chelated iron fertilizers to create algal booms on purpose, to entice people into some carbon-neutral biofuel future (as nobody really likes the nuclear proliferation alternative), as in ocean farming or something, inside a big plastic bag of water floating on top of the ocean. But they say I'm just paranoid, not every frigging thing in the world is a conspiracy. And they would be right, but one has to keep the possibility in mind.

    3. Re:Spoiler Alert: FTA by Immerman · · Score: 1

      What if the proliferation of conspiracy theories is actually the result of a disinformation-spreading conspiracy to divide and sidetrack those who might otherwise organize to resist an otherwise relatively mundane agenda?

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    4. Re:Spoiler Alert: FTA by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

      A meta-conspiracy.

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    5. Re:Spoiler Alert: FTA by mspohr · · Score: 1

      The Cleveland toxic algae bloom was due to farm phosphorous runoff. It seems that the restrictions on phosphorous in laundry detergent worked for a while but the farmers found a way around the regulations and dumped too much shit (literally) into the lake.
      Clearly a need for more government regulation. I don't think the "free market" can take care of this...

      --
      I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
    6. Re:Spoiler Alert: FTA by Kozar_The_Malignant · · Score: 1

      Out here on the West Coast, all it takes to get a good dinoflagellate bloom going is ocean water temperature a bit higher than normal. A variety of factors can contribute to this, including El Nino, lower than normal winter rainfall, increased air temperature, weakening of the longshore current. Of course in the Southeast, consideration of climate change is illegal in many states. In Florida, it's probably easiest to blame it on Cuban Communists.

      --
      Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
    7. Re:Spoiler Alert: FTA by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Which is just what they want you to think.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    8. Re:Spoiler Alert: FTA by sillybilly · · Score: 1

      I said NOT every friggin thing in the world is a conspiracy, or they say, and I said they would be right. But one has to keep the aji, the latent possibility, in the back of one's mind.

  9. Can be dangerous for humans by theshowmecanuck · · Score: 5, Informative

    And when it is a red tide... red tinged algal bloom... it is almost always very harmful and contaminates all the shell fish in the affected area making them toxic to humans... highly toxic. And the effect can last for years. Being sea water people are not likely to drink it, so that is one difference from Ohio.

    --
    -- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
  10. Filter in / Filter Out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Why don't these farms have filtration systems that filter the waste water *before* it goes out to sea?

    1. Re:Filter in / Filter Out by rmdingler · · Score: 3, Interesting
      You can not economically filter out things dissolved in water... reverse osmosis comes to mind and I suspect there are other methods involving distillation.

      It goes to scale.

      The one that measures influence.

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

    2. Re:Filter in / Filter Out by jklovanc · · Score: 1

      Water from a farm escapes along every edge and goes into the ground water it then goes into creeks. To filter all the groundwater is just not possible.

  11. buzzhead by AndyKron · · Score: 1

    They just don't want you to drink the water because the toxin gives you a good buzz.

  12. Been there during "Red Tide" by zoid.com · · Score: 1

    We were there for the last red tide back in 2006 and one thing we noticed is it makes you cough similar to pepper spray (yes I have experience pepper spray).

    --
    Zoid.com
  13. Silver lining by scubamage · · Score: 1

    So what you're saying is this may be a good time to invest in companies that make bottled water or purification systems.

  14. Ganges to Seychelles is over 2500 miles! by Bruce66423 · · Score: 1

    The point about filtering is well made, but to believe that 2500 miles of ocean is not enough to disperse the gunk seems pessimistic!

  15. About the bloom? by Bender+Unit+22 · · Score: 1

    Are the bloom moving closer to Orlando?