Foam from ocean algae bloom killing thousands of birds along Oregon and Washington coast

By Lynne Terry, The OregonianOctober 22, 2009, 7:36PM A slimy foam churning up from the ocean has killed thousands seabirds and washed many others ashore, stripped of their waterproofing and struggling for life. The birds have been clobbered by an unusual algae bloom stretching from the northern Oregon coast to the tip of the Olympic […]

Ocean dead zones number 400, doubling every decade

CORVALLIS, Oregon, October 8, 2009 (ENS) – Climate change is likely responsible for the formation of a large dead zone that has formed off the coast of Oregon and Washington for the past eight years, researchers from Oregon State University said today. Dead zones are ocean expanses that lose most of their marine life during […]

Seaweed invasion plagues France's pristine Brittany

Hillion, France (AFP) Sept 28, 2009 – Hillion is a picture-postcard Breton town with grey stone houses, a pretty granite church and long sandy beaches. But the seaside idyll has been ruined by mounds of rotting seaweed that have settled across swathes of France’s northwestern coast, giving off a potentially deadly gas. “It’s a never-ending […]

Toxic algae blooms increasing in Midwest U.S.

By ROBERT IMRIE (AP) WAUSAU, Wis. — Waterways across the upper Midwest are increasingly plagued with ugly, smelly and potentially deadly blue-green algae, bloomed by drought and fertilizer runoffs from farm fields, that’s killed dozens of dogs and sickened many people. Aquatic biologists say it’s a problem that falls somewhere between a human health concern […]

Fish killed by algae bloom in Australia duck pond

By ARJUN RAMACHANDRAN, September 21, 2009 – 1:25PM Hundreds of fish have died and the lives of dozens of eels and turtles have been threatened apparently after an outbreak of algae in the duck pond at Centennial Park. Park patrons described as “tragic” the sight of hundreds of European carp lying on the surface of […]

Algae bloom suspected in French death

French investigators are examining whether a lorry driver has become the first victim of a toxic seaweed that is clogging parts of the Brittany coast. The driver died in July after carrying three truckloads of sea lettuce away from the beaches where it has been decaying, releasing poisonous gas. His death was originally recorded as […]

Pollution killing Queensland dolphins

A peak wildlife body has blamed stormwater pollution for the deaths of three bottlenose dolphins in three days in southeast Queensland’s Moreton Bay. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday last week, an adult carcass washed up at Victoria Point, a small adult was found at Ormiston and a calf at the Port of Brisbane. The cause […]

River that supports Australia's bread basket replaced with desert and toxic algae

Farmer Mazzareno Bisogni fights back tears as he stands among the remains of trees he planted 35 years ago, victims of a drought hitting “Australia’s Mississippi”. Bisogni’s orchard lies in the heart of the once-mighty Murray-Darling river system which irrigates Australia’s food bowl, the vast southeastern corner responsible for 40 percent of agricultural output. The […]

Algae blooms choke south coast of Britain

Algae chokes estuaries on south coast as England enjoys hottest day of year By Steve Connor, Science Editor A combination of calm, sunny weather and high concentrations of nitrate pollutants running into the sea from local farms and sewage works has caused thick mats of green algae to form at a dozen sites on the […]

Algae on French beaches emitting lethal levels hydrogen sulfide

Mounds of rotting seaweed clogging beaches across northwestern France are emitting a toxic and potentially lethal gas, test results released by the government showed on Thursday. Tests were ordered on the foul-smelling algae, which green groups blame on nitrates fertilisers used by local farmers, after a horse apparently died from inhaling fumes on a beach […]

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