Did Robin ever really say that?
The National Guard is making water deliveries in Toledo, Ohio, where officials say the tap water isn't safe to drink even if it's been boiled. Gov. John Kasich has declared an emergency in the area, as officials await tests on levels of toxins that can cause flu-like symptoms and liver damage.
The water ban is affecting more than 400,000 people. Officials are telling some residents to avoid showering with the water, reports Toledo News Now, and to make sure their children and pets stay away from it as well.
The toxins' presence is blamed on algae from Lake Erie, sparking a water ban that was first announced this weekend. In addition to internal problems, the toxins can also cause a skin rash. ...
As for what caused the harmful algal bloom — or HAB — ABC 13 says, "HABs occur when excess nitrogen and phosphorus are present in lakes and streams. Such nutrients can come from runoff of over-fertilized fields and lawns, from malfunctioning septic systems and from livestock pens."
via www.npr.org
A very conservative estimate (since you can't boil water in Toledo) of the costs of the drinking water ban is $333 thousand per day (here is the back-of-the-envelope estimation method).
Personal note: the New York Times is making it increasingly difficult to blog. From some reason I'm not able to copy and paste from their articles. In Mozilla, copy and paste sends me to their next article. In Chrome I'm not even able to highlight anything.
