On 06/02/07, RTSea wrote: One of the issues we must address is how we are impacting our marine environments with methods that we have, in the past, thought were ecologically safe. Treated sewage discharged miles of shore is now found to be producing excess nitrogen which is fueling the growth of algaes, some of which are highly toxic and cause everything from rashes and coughing spells to advanced neurological problems and even death.
The Los Angeles Times wrote a sobering series of award-winning articles in August of "06 about this situation, titled "Altered Oceans." You can view an online multi-media presentation of the articles and/or purchase a DVD of the series by logging on to http://www.latimes.com and typing in Altered Oceans in the Search window.
We stand at an aquatic precipice, pushing our marine ecosystems to various tipping points and we are seeing the effects now - in Florida reefs denuded of coral and covered by algae and seaweed, ailing seal populations in Southern California crippled by domoic acid - an algae byproduct, and in "Fire Algae"-infested areas of Australia"s Great Barrier Reef.
The time to act is now.
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