Reflections on biology

Wishful thinking and ignorance will not make biology go away. The massive algae bloom in the National Mall Reflecting Pool would be amusing if not for the millions of taxpayers’ dollars being spent on the fiasco. It is one of the most basic examples of why water temperature and water chemistry are worth considering.

Now, in very basic terms, everyone can see why we need to factor biology into decision-making processes. It empowers us to avoid massive blunders. Oh, but wait, this most-predictable of outcomes is now being blamed on “vandalism.” For those who never took Biology 101, I guess the only recourse is to blame the green mess on someone else.

Closer to home, I send a heartfelt “thank you” to Sen. Lisa Murkowski and others in our government who acted quickly and decisively by enacting legislation to ensure that deepwater ocean monitoring systems are not dismantled. Trump was under the impression that spending more money to remove those systems was a good idea, but with the next record-breaking El Nino upon us I am grateful that we will be able to continue collecting data which will predict and protect us from otherwise unforeseen disasters. That is what science does.

Kathy Coghill

Juneau