The Stream, May 11: Chesapeake Bay Algae Blooms Become More Common

The Global Rundown

Blooms of harmful algae in Chesapeake Bay increased significantly over the past two decades, researchers found. Nicaragua is moving forward with a massive shipping canal project through Lake Nicaragua, a lawsuit in California seeks to stop the injection of wastewater from oil and gas operations, and human rights activists are raising the alarm over prepaid water meters in Africa. Water is key to magma formation and the violence of volcanic eruptions in the Cascades.

“It has more staying power than one might have expected. The way it has been handled by the Nicaraguan government is the opposite of transparent. It’s as opaque as all those sediments that would be rendered in the lake. … It’s a great example of how bad ideas never go away.”–Thomas Lovejoy, ecologist at George Mason University, on the planned shipping canal that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by cutting through Lake Nicaragua. (Yale Environment 360)

By The Numbers

2,500 wells Number injecting wastewater from oil and gas operations in California, according to a new lawsuit filed to stop the state from allowing some injections to continue until 2017. Buzz Feed News

Science, Studies, And Reports

The incidence of algal blooms in Chesapeake Bay nearly doubled between 1991 and 2008, according to researchers at the University of Maryland. The blooms, caused by excess nutrients flowing into the bay, deplete oxygen levels in the water and produce toxins that kill fish. Yale Environment 360

The movement of water through subducting ocean plates helps explain how magma forms beneath the Cascades, researchers from the University of Oregon found. The amount of water also influences the violent eruptions of volcanoes along the mountain range. Science 2.0

On The Radar

Prepaid water meters are threatening universal access to clean water in Africa, human rights and development organizations say. Activists argue that the meters impose burdens on the poor, denying them access to water. Inter Press Service

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek