The inconvenience of connecting harmful algae outbreaks (HABs) and Climate Change
Though Climate Change is moving quickly through New York and other regions, it’s still difficult for scientists to evaluate the precise consequences because changes in climate still take decades to play out. We know that our heavy rainfall events have increased 71% since 1958 , for example, but we still don’t know the exact relationship between the recent outbreaks of harmless algae, harmful algae outbreaks (HABs), and Climate Change. HABs are a danger to our drinking water, our pets, our shoreline properties, swimming beaches, and much more. [Check out Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) , by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation) We know that there has been a dramatic increase in HABs in our Finger Lakes region. “Unseasonably warm days in early and mid September have fueled a surge in harmful algal blooms, or HABs, in New York’s Finger Lakes, firmly establishing 2017 as the region’s worst year on record. Last year, the often toxic green scum was reported on the surface...