Blue-green algae – the bad … and good.

Blue-green algae are, by a general definition, also known as Harmful Algae Blooms (HAB). The planet is getting more HAB activity every year, according to science reports from across the globe – as illustrated in commentaries from the USA and China.

Nobody is arguing that these blooms are toxic. Disastrous, even, when areas such as Florida’s Gold Coast are affected.

HAB in China's Yellow Sea
HAB in China’s Yellow Sea

HABs, everywhere, need to be reduced and where possible eliminated. But, in many cases, HABs can and will occur every year.

Thankfully, HABs do hold some value.

To the human body, potentially in the form of health supplements and as a protein.

For fertilizer in agriculture.

As an alternative source for clean energy, according to information provided by the Soil and Water Conservation Society of Metro Halifax.

” … the utilization of blue-greens in food production and in solar energy conversion may hold immense potential for the future, and could be exploited for man’s economy.”

One can only hope that the initiatives to aggressively harvest HABs swiftly take hold. Left unchecked, and unused for any socioeconomic gain, HABs are more than a nuisance. They are a threat to the food chain on which, ironically, algae are the very foundation.

 

 

Author: Paul

Paul Barnes, MA, has a 25-year career in publishing, and is founder of Clean Water Warrior.