Florida gutted water quality monitoring—as killer algae increased

During the past 10 years, Florida has resisted federal assistance in testing and improving the state’s water quality, while reducing the size of its own environmental and water-management agencies. This summer, an algae bloom is covering the Caloosahatchee River with blue-green slime while a red tide kills off fish, sea turtles and other marine life on the Gulf Coast. Read more at Tampa Bay Times …

California Today: Warmest waters ever on record in San Diego

Researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego last week found a record-high 78.8° Fahrenheit sea surface temperature near the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier. The temperature broke the 78.6° reading that was recorded just two days earlier. The institute began measuring and recording the water’s temperature in 1916. Read more at The New York Times …

US apple industry braces for tariffs and price drops on eve of harvest

As Mexico, China and India threaten to impose retaliatory tariffs on American products, U.S. apple farmers are concerned. In New York, Crist Brothers Apple Orchard has recently increased the size of its apple production because overseas buyers wanted more of the fruit. Now, though, the trade war that President Donald Trump initiated could drop apple prices to a point that would put the company out of business. Read more at CNBC …

Why the Midwest’s food system is failing

America’s breadbasket—the Midwest where, legend has it, farmers grew the country’s food—isn’t living up to its reputation anymore. Instead, the area grows mostly corn and soybeans. Most of the corn is used for vehicle fuel and animal feed, with some left over to export and to produce high-fructose corn syrup. The concentration on the two crops degrades the soil, requires high quantities of fertilizer and leads to more insect pests. Read more at Civil Eats …

Brazil judge suspends use of agrochemical glyphosate

A federal judge in Brazil has suspended the registration of new products that contain glyphosate, and could suspend existing registrations within 30 days. Read more at Reuters …