They call it the green slime, a toxic ooze of algae that covered lakes and other bodies of water across the United States this summer, closing beaches and killing scores of dolphins, manatees, birds and fish, a report says.
At least 21 states closed lakefront beaches and issued public health advisories as a result of toxic algae between May and earlier this month. Last year, 20 states took similar actions.
Toxic algae is the byproduct of the same types of pollution that causes dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico and Chesapeake Bay — phosphorous and nitrogen from livestock manure and chemicals sprayed on crops such as corn that spills from farms into assorted waterways during moderate to heavy rains.