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0000017b-35e5-df5e-a97b-35edaf120000The Great Lakes are changing. Warming air and water, shorter winters with less snow and ice and more extreme weather are impacting the lakes and the fish that live there. This could make it harder for native cold water fish to survive, and give invasive species an edge. In addition, harmful algal blooms are creating dead zones that are bad news for fish, and impact boaters and everyone else that enjoys being on or near the water. These changes impact both sport fishermen and the commercial fishing industry, which together contribute an estimated $5 billion to the Great Lakes economy.The Environment Report is examining this issue in a special five part series, In Warm Water: Fish & the Changing Great Lakes. You can listen to the reports on Michigan Radio (91.7 FM in Southeast Michigan, 104.1 FM in West Michigan, 91.1 FM in Flint) Monday, Sept. 30 – Friday, Oct. 4 at 8:50 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. Updated reports will also be posted each day on this page. Support for this series is provided by the Great Lakes Fishery Trust. Michigan Radio is making a free audio CD of this series and the accompanying photo slide show available for educational use. To request a copy, please click here.

This guy gets all offended when you call him "algae"

That's me in the studio at Michigan Radio with ATC host Jennifer White. I think she finally gets it.
Steve Chyrpinski

If you go out in western Lake Erie right now, you'll see us.

We turn the water green. The wakes of the boats -- normally a frothy white -- we turn them a frothy green.

We've been at it for billions of years, and the more you feed us (thank you farmers and the people of metro Detroit), the more we multiply in your warm slow moving waters. But when experts and reporters talk about us, they call us "toxic algae."

Algae? Seriously? Just because we look like plant-scum growing in the water doesn't mean that's what we are.

We are the only kind of bacteria that can release the microsystin toxin into water supplies.

Scientists are starting to call us by the right name. My scientist-friendstalked with Rebecca Williams about it today for the Environment Report, thank goodness.

And now I'm trying to work on the reporters and hosts at Michigan Radio. 

See for yourself:

http://youtu.be/PubDuWiUh84

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