Noxious 'Green Slime' Returning to Great Lakes

[silvershadow]

Updated: 01:52 PM EDT


Noxious 'Green Slime' Returning to Great Lakes
Algae Making a Return to Waters After Phosphorous Cleanup in 1960s
By JOHN FLESHER, AP

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (June 14) - Call it the return of the green slime.

Back in the 1960s, foul gobs of algae along Great Lakes shorelines made swimmers and sunbathers miserable before a crackdown on phosphorus pollution repelled the invasion. Now the algae is mounting a comeback, and controlling it may be a tougher this time.

"The nightmare may be poised to repeat itself," the Michigan Environmental Council said in a statement accompanying a report released Wednesday.

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[Lefty48197]

1. Lake St. Clair has has slimy algae problems quite a bit

in the last few years. Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River connect Lake Huron to Lake Erie.

[amandabeech]

2. I remember how disgusting Lake Michigan was in the 1960s,

having grown up about 10 miles from prime public beaches.

It sounds like reducing phosphate pollution will help, but it sounds like the exotic mussel species are the real problem here, as they are in other environmental areas.

Since the areas around the Lakes range from purple to blue, I don't expect any federal money at this time. The Lakes states themselves together with Canada will have to solve the problem themselves at least until a Dem controls the government.

Once they've figured out what to do with the mussels, they can start with the shrimp, the gobies, the Asian carp and return to the lamprey eel.

The St. Lawrence Seaway looks worse and worse every year.