Commissioned scientific illustration of a Red Fish; one of the most impacted fish species in Florida by the recent severe algae blooms. Unlike a natural red tide event, these blooms, which also harm human life by releasing a choking poison in the air, are human-made - exacerbated by high heat and rain from climate change.
What’s causing these red tides is an abundance of fertilizer - the stuff thrown on a lawn as well as the industrial fertilizers used on agricultural crops. When this flood of nutrients compounds in our rivers and oceans from runoff, it feeds the tiny algae’s that bloom into red tide, which has the potential to kill thousands of animals, including sea turtles, manatees, and even whale Sharks.
If you have a home in #florida you can help reduce your footprint by not fertilizing the lawn during the high-rain summer months between June - September, since the runoff from lawns is a key factor leading to the aggregation of nutrients. Learn more about efforts to restore fish populations by viewing @cca_florida and learn about the @evergladesfoundation leading the efforts to reduce fertilizers in our state💙
Painted with @winsorandnewton watercolors on @archespapers watercolor paper from @blick_tampa 🤗
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