Two China lakes menaced by algae outbreaks - Reuters

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Two China lakes menaced by algae outbreaks
Sun Jun 17, 2007 2:50AM EDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - Two of China's major lakes are again
threatened by spreading algae that has endangered drinking
water and underscored the pollution choking the country's
waterways, state media reported on Sunday.

Satellite pictures of Taihu and Chaohu Lakes in the country's
heavily populated east showed canopies of blue-green algae
covering big stretches of the lakes, the China News Service
reported.

A putrid algae outbreak in past weeks led to the shutdown
of tap water to much of Wuxi, a city beside Taihu Lake in
Jiangsu province.

-snip-

Algae blooms develop in water that is rich in nutrients, often
because of run-off from heavy fertilizer use, industrial runoff
and untreated sewage -- all pollutants in ready supply in
eastern China.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSPEK24293620070617

[Deja Q]

1. Didn't somebody once postulate algae could be turned into biofuel?

[hogwyld]

2. I was at that lake in April

And the pollution is so bad, that the crops are dying in the fields from the irrigation. China's going to be paid a visit by the wrath of Mother Nature soon, and it will not at all be pleasant. The whole country is turning into one giant superfund site.