neonvincent

Over the weekend, Gothamist and DNAInfo, along with other affiliated local online papers, were closed town and their content temporarily removed because the publications' owner did not want unions in his business (never mind that he owns the Chicago Cubs, where the players are also unionized). That reminded me that something similar happened to me a year ago, when Examiner.com closed down. All of my articles disappeared. However, I still have the last year and one half of them on my hard drive. Just as I did with my notes for Crazy Eddie's Motie News, I am posting them here. Yes, I'm treating this journal as my online attic, but at least I have a use for it.

Without any further ado, here is one of several articles I wrote as Detroit Science News Examiner that I still have saved to disk.

NOAA, U-M predict even larger Lake Erie algae bloom in 2015

Last year, 400,000 residents in and around Toledo had their water supply shut down for three days during August because of a bloom of toxic blue-green algae in Lake Erie. This year's algal bloom is predicted to be even more severe, according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Michigan, and could become the second largest in recorded history by the time the bloom peaks in September.

In statements released on Thursday, July 9, researchers predicted that this year's algal bloom would very likely be more severe than last year's. This year's bloom could range in severity from 8.1 to 9.5 on a ten-point scale with the record 2011 bloom given a rating of 10. In contrast, the 2014 bloom had a rating of 6.5.

"Last summer's Toledo water crisis was a wake-up call to the serious nature of harmful algal blooms in America's waters," said Jeff Reutter, retired director of Ohio State University's Sea Grant program and Stone Laboratory, in a press release. "This forecast once again focuses attention on this issue, and the urgent need to take action to address the problems caused by excessive amounts of nutrients from fertilizer, manure and sewage flowing into our lakes and streams."

NOAA and University of Michigan scientists based their forecast using models that translate the amount of nutrients delivered into Lake Erie during the spring into predicted algal blooms in the Western Basin of Lake Erie. After a relatively dry April and May, June's heavy rains produced record discharges of water and nutrients, including phosphorus, from the Maumee River into Lake Erie, which runs through Toledo and northeastern Indiana. The models predict that these will result in a more severe bloom.

The effects of algal blooms include increased costs to municipalities to treat their water supply, risks to swimmers in waters with high algal concentrations, and nuisances to boaters when blooms form. These effects will vary in severity and location based on wind direction and water temperature.

In a press release, NOAA scientist Richard Stumpf said "While we are forecasting a severe bloom, much of the lake will be fine most of the time. The bloom will develop from west to east in the Lake Erie Western Basin, beginning this month. It is important to note that these effects will vary with winds, and will peak in September."

University of Michigan aquatic ecologist Don Scavia at first echoed Stumpf's tone, saying in a press relase "While this year's toxic algae forecast for Lake Erie calls for a bloom larger than the one that shut down the Toledo area's water supply last summer, bloom predictions—regardless of size—do not necessarily correlate with public health risk."

As Scavia continued, his words became less reassuring. "We cannot continue to cross our fingers and hope that seasonal fluctuations in weather will keep us safe. These blooms are driven by diffuse phosphorus sources from the agriculturally dominated Maumee River watershed. Until the phosphorus inputs are reduced significantly and consistently so only the mildest blooms occur, the people, ecosystem and economy of this region are being threatened."

NOAA will be keeping track of this year's bloom, issuing bulletins twice weekly. This continues a pace established during last year's event.

In addition to the University of Michigan, a number of universities, private companies, and government agencies will be providing data to NOAA. Ohio State University's Sea Grant program and Stone Laboratory, Heidelberg University, the University of Toledo, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, and LimnoTech will also be making field observations on water quality, algal biomass, and toxicity. In addition, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) will work with the National Aeronautics and Space Adminstration (NASA) to provide satellite tracking of the bloom.

The Detroit Free Press has reported that University of Toledo researchers have already found toxic algae in Lake Erie. The paper also reported that city officials have so far found not found these toxins in Toledo's water.