Posthuman Blues

New England Red Tide Grows

"The toxic algae bloom began in the waters off Maine last month and spread quickly. It had already shut down shellfish beds as far north as New Hampshire. On Thursday, Massachusetts officials closed the highly productive flats of the Monomoy Natural Wildlife Refuge, off Chatham, to shellfishermen. About half the state's shellfish beds are now closed."

There's something powerfully metaphorical about red tides; they're microcosms of planetary blight. Even the color is perfect.