A few years ago, I wrote of a freak wave of jellyfish attacks along the coast of Spain, made possible by a combination of pollution and warming sea temperatures. Then, the next year, a funny thing happened: There were freakish jellyfish attacks again.
Since then, there have been unusual jellyfish attacks every year. New Jersey and Florida have had problems here in the United States. Across the Atlantic, Spanish jellyfish are at it again.
How long will it be before we stop calling these unusual jellyfish attacks “unusual”, and work seriously to address the unusual environmental degradation that has led to them?
Our local beaches here in South Carolina have also seen a dramatic increase in jellyfish stings this summer.
Here’s a local newspaper report from late last month:
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jul/31/jellyfish-invasion/