This Comic Strip Explains Why We Could See More Disasters Like Toledo’s Toxic Algae Bloom

Farming practices and climate change are creating a “perfect storm.”

Symbolia/Years of Living Dangerously


Editor’s note: Over the weekend, officials in Toledo, Ohio, warned 400,000 residents not to drink their tap water after dangerous levels of a toxin called microcystin were detected—possibly the result of an algae bloom in Lake Erie. (Officials lifted the restrictions on Monday.) As this April comic from Years of Living Dangerously and Symbolia Magazine explains, agricultural practices and climate change are helping turn algae into a growing threat in the region.

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You can read more comics exploring the impacts of climate change here.

More Mother Jones reporting on Climate Desk

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