Yesterday, we posted about Florida manatees that are starving because pollution in Florida waterways has decimated the sea grass that manatees rely on as food during the winter months. I was reminded of a post from 2017 about snorkeling with manatees in Crystal River, Florida that captured both the hope for manatee recovery while also observing the problem of water pollution.
2017 was actually a very good year for Florida manatees. The state manatee population had grown from just over a thousand in 1991 to over 6,000. Regulations to limit boat speed in areas frequented by manatees have been largely successful as have efforts to preserve winter habitats.
Nevertheless, water pollution was an increasing problem. Crystal River, known for gin clear water, had grown murky due to a type of alga known as Lyngbya, fed by excess fertilizer, leaky sewer and septic tanks, and domestic animal waste leaching into the local springs from the groundwater. Here is a 2017 repost, including video of snorkeling with manatees:
In December 
Congratulations to Captain Becky Wright and Nathan Sigouin who have taken over the helm and the stewardship of the historic Maine schooner
Congratulations to glaciologist 
On March 13th, the container ship 
On February 24, 2022, the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian naval vessel 
Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro has announced that the US Navy will name a replenishment oiler now on order in honor of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The new ship will be the eighth of the 
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has been hit with a sixth mass coral bleaching event, the marine park’s authority has confirmed, with aerial surveys showing almost no reefs across a 1,200km stretch escaping the heat, as reported by the 
The