As the summer winds down, much of western Lake Erie stinks. Green goo—miles and miles of it—floats on the surface, emanating a smell like rotting fish as it decays. The scum isn’t just unpleasant. It’s dangerous. Harmful algal blooms are a health hazard in all 50 states. But Lake Erie, the shallowest, and therefore the warmest, of the five Great Lakes, is uniquely vulnerable to algal blooms. Like most other water bodies suffering from blooms, the lake is overloaded with nutrients, forming the perfect breeding ground for a bacteria known to poison pets, contaminate drinking water and create oxygen-deprived “dead zones” that kill aquatic life. The lake’s immediate future looks grim: the blooms are worsening with climate change, and pose a threat to tourism and recreation. But research into the lake’s gunky plight […]