Editorial: Gulf algae

No surprise.

Slimy, stinky reddish-brown algae is back. Fort Myers Beach area beaches were fouled with the seaweed over the Memorial Day holiday — just in time to spoil the fun of local residents as well as tourists whose disdain for the mess is now documented by Lee County tourism officials.

We’ll see if this spreads to the Bonita Springs and North Naples areas, as these algae attacks have a knack for drifting southward.

Most noteworthy about the algae is its timing — three years after the last serious outbreak — and only two months after a scientist actually predicted it.

We’re convinced that until Caloosahatchee River and more localized stormwater runoff programs take hold, algae blooms and even red tides will be commonplace. When nature’s backlash gets to be this predictable, it tells us nature’s balance is very out of whack.

It adds a sense of urgency to environmental do-the-right-thing efforts ranging from Lake Okeechobee to our own backyards and bays.