Florida's red tide crisis shows how climate change will make the world an ugly place
SARASOTA, FLORIDA, Aug. 22
All the water birds—pelicans, egrets, cormorants—are gone.
Flies swarm the coast of the seaside city of Sarasota, Florida. Crows caw. The air stinks of death. Carpets of fish, belly-up, mouths gaping, line the shore. This is the putrid new world created by a toxic red algae bloom spanning 130 miles of the state’s west coast, which has so far killed masses of fish, 12 dolphins, more than 500 manatees, 300 sea turtles, countless horseshoe crabs, a whale shark, and the local economy.
The docks behind otherwise desirable condo buildings are surrounded by fish carcasses. The waters of the bay are dotted with them, silver and white, glinting in the hot sun, looking from a distance like the crests of thousands of small waves. At least 100 tons of sea creatures have fallen victim to the toxic bloom known as “red tide.” Meanwhile, when breezes blow the toxin inland, people cough, and reports of respiratory problems are on the rise in local hospitals.
The bloom occurs almost annually in Florida. But its effects this year have been exceptionally devastating. It’s a terrifying sight to behold, and a stark foreshadowing of what may become commonplace as climate change transforms nature and our lives. Although scientists don’t know exactly what caused this particularly vicious red algae bloom, they do believe that warming waters brought on by human-induced weather changes and the effects of building development have contributed to the ever-more extreme red tides of the last half-century.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/floridas-red-tide-crisis-shows-how-climate-change-will-make-the-world-an-ugly-place/ar-BBMhMKJ?li=BBnbfcL
Any of this occuring near Merde A Lago?
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