Algae Openings
How the Bloom Boom in the United States and Mexico makes Environmental Protection Actionable
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Abstract
Humans have always lived with and around algae. At times, algae enable life, and at others, render life difficult. This article examines two sites suffering from atypical—and potentially harmful—algae blooms: Lake Erie in Ohio (USA) and the Riviera Maya (Mexico). Referring to ethnographic fieldwork, as well as to newspaper articles, policy papers, and online fora, we demonstrate how the narratives around algae have changed over time and shed light on how changes in these narratives opened the discussion of wetland repair and coastal integrity. We argue that conceptualizing algae as the “unwanted” unifies people, brings them together, and makes the treatment of lake eutrophication and coastal protection actionable.
Contributor Notes
Laura Otto is professor for the Anthropology of the Rural at the University of Würzburg (Germany). Her research focuses on coastal and rural transformations, multi-species studies, harmful algae blooms, and responsibility in the Anthropocene. Her research is funded by the German Research foundation (DFG) under project number: 461841531. Email: laura.otto@uni-wuerzburg.de
Carly Rospert holds an MA in Science and Technology Studies from Goethe University Frankfurt. Following her research on algae blooms in Lake Erie and wetland conservation in Ohio, she took a position in the SOSA Project at the Senckenberg Society in Frankfurt am Main, which focuses on invertebrate species description and drives global conservation efforts. Email: carly.rospert@senckenberg.de