An abandoned fertilizer plant could devastate Tampa Bay

A large reservoir at an abandoned fertilizer plant near Tampa Bay became unstable last week, and Florida officials are now pumping millions of gallons of contaminated water into the bay to prevent the reservoir’s walls from bursting. The plan protects downstream homes, but it comes with an extraordinary risk: The water contains phosphorus and nitrogen – ingredients in fertilizer that can fuel massive algae blooms. Those blooms have the potential to devastate marine ecosystems. Toxic red tide would be a worst-case scenario, and a red tide outbreak is already underway just down the coast.

Marine biologist Larry Brand of the University of Miami explains the risks and how agriculture across South Florida is increasingly putting the state’s fragile marine ecosystems at risk.

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Stacy Morford

General Assignments Editor

Tampa Bay’s sea grass meadows need sunlight to thrive. Algae blooms block that light and can be toxic to marine life. Joe Whalen Caulerpa/Tampa Bay Estuary Program via Unsplash

Water being pumped into Tampa Bay could cause a massive algae bloom, putting fragile manatee and fish habitats at risk

Larry Brand, University of Miami

Harmful algae blooms are an increasing problem in Florida. Once nutrients are in the water to fuel them, little can be done to stop the growth, and the results can be devastating for marine life.

Health
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Education
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Arts + Culture
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Politics + Society
‘Our ultimate choice is desegregation or disintegration’ – recovering the lost words of a jailed civil rights strategist Bobby J. Donaldson, University of South Carolina A long-lost letter from prison by a civil rights activist provides a window on the pivotal role protesters in South Carolina played in fighting segregation.

Economy + Business

Pandemic recovery will take more than soaring growth – to fuel a more equitable economy, countries need to measure the well-being of people, too

Bas van Bavel, Utrecht University; Auke Rijpma, Utrecht University

GDP only measures economic growth – not inequality, poverty or unpaid work like elder care. So researchers in the Netherlands developed a new way for governments to see how people are actually doing.

Science + Technology

What is mRNA? The messenger molecule that’s been in every living cell for billions of years is the key ingredient in some COVID-19 vaccines

Penny Riggs, Texas A&M University

Recently in the spotlight for its role in the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, mRNA is not a new invention. It's a crucial messenger molecule at work every day in every cell in your body.
Planning the best route with multiple destinations is hard even for supercomputers – a new approach breaks a barrier that’s stood for nearly half a century

Nathan Klein, University of Washington

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Ethics + Religion
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Podcast
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From our International Editions

Prince Philip dies: old-school European aristocrat and dedicated royal consort

Sean Lang, Anglia Ruskin University

Born into post-World War I European royalty, the Duke of Edinburgh came to represent the archetypal English aristocrat. Along with those 'gaffes'.
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Phil Hosegood, University of Plymouth

Climate change is strengthening the division between the ocean surface and the abyss.
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Anthony Richardson, The University of Queensland; Chhaya Chaudhary, University of Auckland; David Schoeman, University of the Sunshine Coast; Mark John Costello, University of Auckland

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