Posts

Toxic Algae Outbreaks Off US West Coast Set to Worsen With El Niño

Sea lions and dolphins have been washing up sick or dead on Southern California beaches, poisoned by eating fish containing a dangerous neurotoxin. It’s the result of a harmful algae bloom, a natural phenomenon that turns water blue, bright green, brown or red, and occurs mostly in the summer and fall.

Double Whammy: Heat, Toxic Algae Bedevil Water Sector

One of the two rivers flowing into the heart of Iowa that provide 500,000 residents with drinking water is slowly being infiltrated by toxic algae as temperatures climb.

The other river is drying up and dipping to dangerously low levels as a historic drought grips the United States.

The Hawkeye State’s plight underscores why climate change is seen as a threat multiplier for the drinking water sector — from cratering water levels and drought to floods and extreme weather. And then there are toxic algal blooms that can kill fish, foul water, and threaten human and ecosystem health.

Toxic Algae Has Killed Dogs Across The U.S. This Summer. Now California Is On Alert

Toxic, blue-green algae blooms that poisoned dogs across the country this summer with deadly results have California water officials on alert for the dangerous bacteria.

The bacteria are blamed for the deaths of three dogs after a swim in a Wilmington, N.C., pond that contained the algae beds, reported Raleigh-Durham television station WTVD-TV on Monday. The North Carolina dogs began having seizures at home and were dead within hours, according to the report. Another three dogs in Austin, Texas perished after swimming in a lake there earlier this month, city officials said.