toxic algae

Peter Dykstra: How the magic went away from my family's summer escape

Summertime for many now means red tide and algal blooms.

There’s a little pond on Cape Cod that’s been a treasured place for three generations of my family.

The five acres of Moll’s Pond were larger than life for me, and, later, for my own kids. My mom and dad both had their ashes scattered there. Even if we only spent a week or two of summer vacation there, that short time was magical. Bellowing bullfrogs provided the soundtrack to tadpole-catching, and the first experiences with fishing and boating left indelible memories.

Here’s how the magic went away.

Algae takes over

Mom eventually bought the vacation cabin we had rented, spending a full summer there for nearly 20 years.

Since 2012, the little pond has periodically closed due to cyanobacteria blooms. Also known as blue-green algae, cyanobacteria can cause digestive or respiratory problems in people or pets. At its worst it can also kill.

Moll’s Pond shares many of the same risks with hundreds of other “kettle ponds” on the Cape: Individual septic systems surround these ponds, so named because the glaciers of the last Ice Age scooped out these ponds in the shapes of kettles. Homes built on the porous, sandy soil left behind were equipped with septic systems that tend to fail within 25 to 50 years.

Here‘s the cherry on the toxic sundae: Warmer summers make the algae outbreaks more certain. Last year, the pond held out till late August before the Town of Eastham’s Health Department closed it to swimming, fishing, and boating.

Algae’s celebrity victim

Unfortunately, it's not just Cape Cod.

Until 2011, blue-green algae had never been a visitor to Oklahoma. But a combination of farm runoff and unusually hot summer weather brought the green slime to the Grand Lake o’ the Ozarks in the northeast corner of the state.

Senator Jim Inhofe went for a morning swim near his lake house. By nightfall, the Senate’s Alpha-dog climate denier was “deathly ill” with an upper respiratory illness.

He canceled a keynote speaker appearance at the Heartland Institute’s annual Deny-a-Palooza conference (my name for it, not theirs). Inhofe quipped that the environment was exacting revenge for his Senate career.

A toxic told-you-so

The warnings had been out there for years, from scientists, activists, and reporters.

Lake Erie’s return from biological death wasn’t a done deal. Blue-green algae blooms were a known threat to Toledo’s water system for years before the summer of 2014, when the algae hit the fan and half a million Toledoans lost their water supply for three days. The culprits? Agricultural runoff at the end of a particularly hot summer.

 Dead and red in the salt water

Saltwater has similar threats. A regular feature along the Louisiana Gulf Coast is the late summer Dead Zone. It’s a byproduct of the torrent of farm chemicals and fertilizers that make their way from mid-America’s fields to a growing area of offshore lifelessness.

All of which makes my little five acre pond seem like a petty complaint. But a beautiful, unforgettable place it is. Or was.

Peter Dykstra is our weekend editor and columnist and can be reached at pdykstra@ehn.org or @pdykstra.

His views do not necessarily represent those of Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate, or publisher Environmental Health Sciences.

Banner photo credit: Barnstable County Department Of Health And Environment

A house is loaded onto a truck at a dock next to a body of water.

How a First Nation’s housing project could spark a home-rescue revolution

A small First Nation in British Columbia is showing how salvaged homes can become sustainable housing — and a blueprint for greener development.

David Beers and Quinn Kelly report for The Tyee.

Keep reading...Show less
Rows of solar panels in a large parking lot with a sign in the foreground displaying a General Motors logo.

Michigan reimagines its toxic land as a solar-powered future

Michigan wants to clean up its polluted past by turning contaminated industrial sites into a new solar-powered frontier.

Douglas J. Guth reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
Beige mushrooms grow alongside moss on a wet fallen log.
Credit: Rob/Unsplash

Mushrooms are cleaning up wildfire ruins — and may revive toxic land across America

After the deadly Los Angeles wildfires turned homes into chemical-laced rubble, one scientist is using mushrooms and native plants to detoxify the land and rethink how to clean up after disaster.

Mattha Busby reports for Atmos.

Keep reading...Show less
A group of people at a demonstration holding signs in support of science.
Credit: Photo by Vlad Tchompalov/Unsplash

Trump’s EPA quietly backs off from enforcing pollution laws

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has dramatically scaled back enforcement against major polluters, raising fears about the future of public health protections.

Tom Perkins reports for Grist.

Keep reading...Show less
Red car with EV charger hooked up to it.

Trump administration sued by 17 states over frozen funds for electric vehicle charging network

Seventeen states have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for halting billions in federal funding intended to expand the national electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Sophie Austin and Alexa St. John report for The Associated Press.

Keep reading...Show less
White microscopes on top of black table.

Zeldin’s EPA restructuring could curb climate action and strain environmental protections

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under Administrator Lee Zeldin, is downsizing staff to 1980s levels despite decades of added environmental responsibilities and growing public health challenges.

Sean Reilly, Jean Chemnick, Ellie Borst, and Miranda Willson report for E&E News.

Keep reading...Show less
A space satellite hovering above the coastline.
Credit: SpaceX/Unsplash

Trump moves to end federal studies on rocket and satellite pollution, raising concerns over Musk’s influence

The Trump administration plans to shut down research led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) into pollution from satellites and rockets that is tied in part to Elon Musk’s expanding space ventures.

Tom Perkins reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.