Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Algae returns to Great Lakes

Algae returns to Great Lakes: "Algae returns to Great Lakes

By JOHN FLESHER, Associated Press Writer
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - 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 are mounting a comeback and controlling it may be tougher this time, according to the Michigan Environmental Council, an umbrella organization for a host of environmental and public interest organizations in the state.

'The nightmare may be poised to repeat itself,' the council said in a statement accompanying a report released Wednesday.

Algae blooms have been on the rise since the mid-1990s in parts of all of the Great Lakes except Lake Superior, whose icy waters are not as hospitable to the slimy aquatic plants."