"Are You Going to Close the Beaches?"

There are daily warnings that climate change is bringing on a new reality. Yesterday, the state of Mississippi demonstrated that new reality when it closed down the two beaches in the state that had remained open when the other 19 state beaches were closed over the last two weeks.

Along the state's Gulf Coast, all 21 of the state's beaches have been shut down for swimming due to a blue-green harmful algal bloom (HAB), according to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ).

HABs occur when "colonies of algae -- simple plants that live in the sea and freshwater -- grow out of control and produce toxic or harmful effects on people" or wildlife, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says.

HAB events are not unusual. However, closing the entire state beach system is a rear occurrence.  This particular HAB event had its origin in the massive spring floods in the Mississippi River basis.  Those floods washed soil and fertilizer down the river where after a spillway in Louisiana was opened allowed an increased volume of river water to enter the Gulf of Mexico.

HABs aren't rare. In fact, every US coastal and Great Lakes state experiences them, the NOAA says. However, they are popping up with increasing frequency due to climate change and increasing nutrient pollution, according to the NOAA.

HABs are detrimental to the health of the people and marine ecosystems, as well as local coastal economies who rely on revenue from fishing and tourism, the NOAA says.

So, when we flood a lake of even part of the ocean with excessive nutrients and global warming heats up the water for good measure, we get rapid algae growths that are dangers to health and economic well- being.